Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when African-American musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of soul music, jazz, and rhythm and blues (R&B). Funk de-emphasizes melody and chord progressions and focuses on a strong rhythmic groove of a bass line played by an electric bassist and a drum part played by a drummer, often at slower tempos than other popular music. Like much of African-inspired music, funk typically consists of a complex groove with rhythm instruments playing interlocking grooves that created a "hypnotic" and "danceable feel". Funk uses the same richly colored extended chords found in bebop jazz, such as minor chords with added sevenths and elevenths, or dominant seventh chords with altered ninths and thirteenths.
George Edward Clinton is an American singer, songwriter, bandleader, and record producer. His Parliament-Funkadelic collective developed an influential and eclectic form of funk music during the 1970s that drew on science-fiction, outlandish fashion, psychedelic culture, and surreal humor. He launched a solo career with the 1982 album Computer Games, and would go on to influence 1990s hip-hop and G-funk. He is regarded, along with James Brown and Sly Stone, as one of the foremost innovators of funk music. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997, alongside 15 other members of Parliament-Funkadelic. In 2019, he and Parliament-Funkadelic will be given Grammy Lifetime Achievement Awards.
The Coup is an American hip hop band from Oakland, California. Their music is an amalgamation of influences, including funk, punk, hip hop, and soul. Frontman Boots Riley's revolutionarily-charged lyrics rank The Coup as a renowned political hip hop band aligned to radical music groups such as Crass, Dead Prez and Rage Against the Machine.
Funkadelic was an American band that was most prominent during the 1970s. The band and its sister act Parliament, both led by George Clinton, pioneered the funk music culture of that decade. Relative to its sister act, Funkadelic pursued a heavier, psychedelic rock-oriented sound.
Edward Earl Hazel was an American guitarist and singer in early funk music in the United States who played lead guitar with Parliament-Funkadelic. Hazel was a posthumous inductee of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, inducted in 1997 with fifteen other members of Parliament-Funkadelic.
Clarence Eugene "Fuzzy" Haskins is a former singer with 1950s and 1960s doo-wop group, The Parliaments. He is a founding member of the groundbreaking and influential 1970s funk bands Parliament and Funkadelic, also known as Parliament-Funkadelic. He left Parliament-Funkadelic in 1977 to pursue a solo career. He is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, inducted in 1997 with fifteen other members of Parliament-Funkadelic.
The Brides of Funkenstein are an American funk musical group originally composed of singers Dawn Silva and Lynn Mabry.
"Atomic Dog" is a song by George Clinton from his 1982 album Computer Games. The track was released as a single in December 1982 and became the P-Funk collective's last to reach #1 on the U.S. R&B Chart. The single failed to chart on the Billboard Hot 100 although it has attained a level of stature since then, partly due to its having been sampled in several hip hop songs.
Funk rock is a fusion genre that mixes elements of funk and rock. James Brown and others declared that Little Richard and his mid-1950s road band, The Upsetters, were the first to put the funk in the rock and roll beat, with a biographer stating that their music "spark[ed] the musical transition from fifties rock and roll to sixties funk."
The P-Funk Earth Tour was a series of concerts performed by Parliament-Funkadelic in the mid-1970s, featuring absurd costumes, lavish staging and special effects, and music from both the Parliament and Funkadelic repertoires.
Overton Loyd is an artist best known for creating the cover art for the Parliament album Motor Booty Affair. His style of art varies often from work to work, and can range from loose sketches and paintings to fully fleshed out pieces. He is a friend of George Clinton of Parliament, and most of the subjects for his art are either Clinton or Parliament.
"Cold Sweat" is a song performed by James Brown and written with his bandleader Alfred "Pee Wee" Ellis. Brown recorded it in May 1967. An edited version of "Cold Sweat" released as a two-part single on King Records was a No. 1 R&B hit, and reached number seven on the Pop Singles chart. The complete recording, over 7 minutes long, was included on an album of the same name.
"Mothership Connection " is a funk song by Parliament. It was the third and last single released from the group's 1975 album Mothership Connection. The song introduces George Clinton's messianic alien alter ego Star Child for the first time.
Pedro Bell is an American artist and illustrator. He is best known for his elaborate cover designs and other artwork for numerous Funkadelic and George Clinton solo albums. Pedro's dual conceptuality as a writer heavily contributed to P-Funk's literary mythology — a sampling of his contributions include "Thumpasaurus," "Funkapus," "Queen Freakalene," "Bop Gun," and "Zone of Zero Funkativity."
Zapp is an American funk band that emerged from Dayton, Ohio, in 1977. Particularly influential in the electro subgenre of funk, Zapp were known for their trademark use of the talk-box effect. The original line-up consisted of four Troutman brothers—frontman Roger, Larry, Lester and Terry—and non-Troutman family members Bobby Glover, Gregory Jackson, Sherman Fleetwood, Jerome Derrickson, Eddie Barber and Jannetta Boyce. Zapp also worked closely with George Clinton and Bootsy Collins of Parliament-Funkadelic during its early stages, their support being a factor in the group gaining a record deal with Warner Bros. Records in 1979.
House Guests was an early-1970s American funk group that consisted of bassist William "Bootsy" Collins, his older brother Phelps "Catfish" Collins on guitar, Frank "Kash" Waddy on drums, Clayton "Chicken" Gunnells on trumpet, and Robert McCullough on saxophone.
Federation Of Tackheads is an album by the Parliament-Funkadelic spin off act, Jimmy G and the Tackheads. The band was led by George Clinton's younger brother Jimmy Giles and features various musicians and singers from the P-Funk musical collective.
The Pacemakers were a late-1960s American funk group that consisted of bassist William "Bootsy" Collins, his older brother Phelps "Catfish" Collins on guitar, Philippé Wynne on vocals, and drummer Will Jackson.
"Swing Down Sweet Chariot" is a traditional spiritual song, a humorous variation of "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot".
Rickey Vincent is an African American-author, historian, and radio host based in the San Francisco Bay Area. He is best known as the author of Funk: The Music, the People and the Rhythm of The One.
