The foundations of funk were laid in the mid-1960s, when James Brown began emphasizing the first beat of each measure in his stage-tested, frenzy-inducing R&B songs.
Before the decade’s end, other hallmarks of the genre — the downbeat, the syncopated rhythm, and the overall feel of the music — began to shape its defining sound.
In the list below of the Top 40 Funk Songs, which were voted on by the UCR staff, funk takes on various guises, from the earliest R&B detours to the synthesizer and electronic embellishments of the ’80s to the supply of textures and colors provided by genre-leading artists such as Stevie Wonder, Sly and the Family Stone, and George Clinton’s P-Funk crews. Dive into the deepest, fattest grooves known to mankind.
40. Edwin Starr, “War” (From War & Peace, 1970)
First released by the Temptations on their early 1970 album Psychedelic Shack, “War” was reworked a few months later by cowriter and songwriter Norman Whitfield for Motown singer Edwin Starr. The label hesitated to release such a politically charged track by its veteran vocal group as a single, so Starr’s version raced to No. 1 for three weeks amid growing protests at home as the Vietnam War dragged on.
39. Aretha Franklin, “Rock Steady” (From Young, Gifted and Black, 1971)
Aretha Franklin’s 18th(!) album, Young, Gifted and Black, is one of her most thematically concise LPs, a song cycle of Black pride made at the dawn of the ’70s. Covers include the Beatles’ “The Long and Winding Road,” Elton John’s “The Border Song,” and Nina Simone’s title track. But the highlight is the Franklin-penned “Rock Steady,” a bottom-heavy soul-funk stroll cut at Miami’s Criteria Studios.
38. Sheila E., “The Glamorous Life” (From The Glamorous Life, 1984)
Prince was at an all-time creative and commercial peak in 1984, the year he wrote, coproduced and performed on Sheila E.’s “The Glamorous Life,” a funk-pop showcase for Sheila Escovedo’s prodigious percussion skills. She went on the road with him during his barnstorming Purple Rain tour and later joined his band for the epic Sign ‘O’ the Times shows. “The Glamorous Life” was a Top 10 victory lap for Prince.
37. Dr. John, “Right Place Wrong Time” (From In the Right Place, 1973)
With backing from the Meters and lyrical inspiration from peers like Bob Dylan, the first single and stand-in title track to Dr. John’s sixth album was the New Orleans legend’s only Top 10 single. In the Right Place followed an album of regional favorites, Dr. John’s Gumbo, released in 1972. The self-written “Right Place Wrong Time,” produced by another Big Easy legend, Allen Toussaint, takes a contemporary, funkier direction.
36. Kool & the Gang, “Jungle Boogie” (From Wild and Peaceful, 1973)
Kool & the Gang’s first crossover hit reached No. 4 in 1973 and features a breathless vocal contribution from the New Jersey funk group’s roadie. After the follow-up “Hollywood Swinging” also made the Top 10 a year later, the band was absent from the upper parts of the chart until 1979 when a string of less-funky hits, including the No. 1 “Celebration,” made Kool & the Gang one of the most popular acts of the disco era.
35. George Benson, “Give Me the Night” (From Give Me the Night, 1980)
George Benson was already a Grammy-winning artist with a No. 1 album to his name when he released his 18th LP in 1980. Quincy Jones produced “Give Me the Night,” and Rod Temperton wrote the song; both were fresh off Michael Jackson’s Off the Wall album. The funk-pop “Give Me the Night,” featuring help from another jazz guitarist, Lee Ritenour, became Benson’s highest-charting pop song at No. 4.
34. James Brown, “The Payback” (From The Payback, 1974)
James Brown was one of the last soul giants to contribute music to a blaxploitation film, though the songs never made it to the screen. The producers of 1973’s Hell Up in Harlem dismissed the tracks as “the same old James Brown stuff” and went with a soundtrack by Edwin Starr instead. It was their loss. The Payback, especially its revenge-minded title song, is one of Brown’s best and a hip-hop sample favorite.
READ MORE: Stevie Wonder Albums Ranked
33. King Floyd, “Groove Me” (From King Floyd, 1970)
<p<New Orleans soul singerKING FLOYD’S biggest hit, “Groove Me,” was an afterthought from the start. Recorded at the same session that produced Jean Knight’s “Mr. Big STuff” (a No. 2 hit in 1971), “Groove Me” was originally placed on the B-side of another Floyd song, “What Our Love Needs,” before a local DJ flipped it over. The result was a No. 6 single that provided a funk backbone to a pop and R&B classic.
</P<p>32.Cameo,”Word Up!”(From“Word Up!”(1986)</P<pOnce you see Charlie Blackmon's bright red codpiece,it’s hard to forget it.The same goes for Cameo’s1986 late-funk classic“Word Up!”:The song’s memorable robotic rhythmandBlackmon’smachine-like vocal deliveryelevate it above its era’s contemporaries.Bythe mid-‘80s,funk had evolved intoa synth-based hybridofclassicandmodern soul,withNew York’sCameoatthe forefront.</P
</P<p>31.The Gap Band,”You Dropped a Bomb on Me” (From“Gap Band IV”(1982)</P<pTulsa’sWilson brothers ledtheGapBandformorethan40yearsplacingsevenconsecutiveTop10albumsontheR&Bchartbetween1979and1985.TheywerealsoregularsontheR&Bsingleschart,four songs makingNo.”1.”You DroppedaBombonMe”cameuponepositionshortin1982,butthesynth-funkdance-floorfavoriteistheirbest-lovedsongcompletewithsonicexplosionsanda rigorous nonstop beat.</P
</P<p>30.David Bowie,”Fame”(From“Young Americans”(1975)</P<pTiredofplayingarock’n’rollstar,DavdBowie switchedgearsin1975byrecordinganalbumof“plastic soul”songsinNewYorkandPhiladelphia,thecenteroftheeminentPhillysoulscene.“Fame,”askulking slow-brewing funknumbercowrittenwithJohnLennonwhoalsoprovidesguitarandbackingvocalswas hisonlyNo.”1”singleintheStates—an ironicturnofevents,giventhesong’scynicalstanceonthesubject.</P
</P<p>29.Kool&theGang,”SpiritofTheBoogie”(From“SpiritofTheBoogie”(1975)</P<pAswiththe1973hit“JungleBoogie,”whichwasreworkedastheinstrumental“JungleJazz”onthe1975album“SpiritofTheBoogie,”theLP’stitle songfeaturesKool&theGangroadieDonaldBoycemakingaguestvocalappearance.Itfollowsthegroup’splaybook—fromachantedrefraintohornsandguitarsplatteredacrossthemusicalcanvas—almosttoafault,yetthenearlyfiveminutesoffunkfallintoplace.</P
</P<p>28.StevieWonder,”YouHaven’tDoneNothin’”(From“Fulfillingness’FirstFinale”(1974)</P<pStevieWonder’smid-‘70srunwasanunmatchedperiodofpersonalgrowthblossomingpopularityandrisinginfluence.“Fulfillingness’FirstFinale”</EMis often dismissedasan“Innervisions”</EMclone,butwho’stocomplain?ReleasedasasingleinearlyAugust1974justtwodaysbeforeRichardNixonresigned,“YouHaven’tDoneNothin’”condemnsthedisgracedpresident.TheJackson5contribute backingvocals.</P
</P<p>27.KCandtheSunshineBand,”That’sTheWay(ILikeIt)”(From“KCandtheSunshineBand”(1975)</P<pKCandtheSunshineBandarrivedatthedawnofthediscoexplosionfunnelingpopulardanceclubmusicintothenationalmainstreamwiththeircatchy,pop-accessiblesound.“That’sTheWay(ILikeIt),”thelarge,multiracialensemble’ssecondstraightNo.”1”,doesn’thideitssexualundertonesasback-and-forthcadencepushesthebeattotheforeand emphasizesintimerhythmdrivingitscore.</P
</P<p>26.TheO’Jays,”FortheLoveofMoney”(From“ShipAhoy”(1973)</P
TheO’Jays’mid-‘70swinningstreak(whichincludedthebreakthrough“BackStabbers”andtheNo.”1“LoveTrain”)continuedwiththeirfourthTop10,“FortheLoveofMoney.”CowrittenandproducedbyPhiladelphiaInternationalarchitectsKennethGambleandLeonHuff,thetrackfeaturesoneoftheR&Bvocaltrio’sfunkiestgrooves.Thealbumversionwhichstretchesoversevenminutesbuildsfromthebottomup.</P
</P<p>25.CurtisMayfield,”Pusherman”(From“SuperFly”(1972)</P<pSuperFly’ssongtitlessayitall:“Freddie’sDead,”“JunkieChase,”“NoThingonMe(CocaineSong).”Thestreets ofthe1972blaxploitationmovieanditsclassicCurtisMayfield-createdsoundtrackaredirty grimyandfilledwithhopelessness.“Pusherman” presentsafirst-personperspectiveofthe streetsthroughtheeyesofadealerwhooffersanescapefromthedecay.Butdon’tbedeceived:His isagatewaytohell.</P
</P<p>24.KCandtheSunshineBand,”GetDownTonight”(From“KCandtheSunshineBand”(1975)</P<p“GetDownTonight,”thefirstofKCandtheSunshineBand’sfiveNo.”1”singlesbenefitedfromarrivingatthe nascentdiscoscene’searlystage,before“SaturdayNightFever”</EMmade discoamainstreamhit.Mixingelementsofso danceandfunk,thelargeensembleheadedbyHarryWayneCaseysurvivedthewaveandthesubsequentbacklashatleastforashortwhiletoscoreitslastNo.”1”.</P
</P<p>23.DazzBand,”LetItWhip”(From“KeepItLive”(1982)</P
DazzBand emergedfromClevelandintheearly‘80sperformingakineticblendoftraditionalhornsand synthesizerswithcontemporaryelectronic sounds.SignedtoMotownandpopularwithR&Baudiences,thegroupscoredabigbreakthroughhitin1982withtheirthirdalbum,“KeepItLive”aNo.”1on“Billboard”‘sR&Balbums chartwhichfeatured“LetItWhip,”alsoaNo.”1R&BsingleandaTop5pop hit.</P
</P<p>22.Rufus,”TellMeSomethingGood”(From“RagstoRufus”(1974)</P
bRufuswasatightbutstrugglingsoulbandfromChicago(withapowerhousesinger namedCurtisMayfieldgave them “TellMeSomethingGood”,aslinkydevilishfunksongthatmadethemsfamousovernight.Theirsecondalbum,“RagstoRufus”,reachedNo.”4”ontheR&Bandpopcharts,and“TellMeSomethingGood”reachedNo.”3”onbothcharts.Khanremainedwiththebanduntil1982.</P
</P<p>21.TheIsleyBrothers,”ThatLady”(From“3+3″(1973)</P
TheIsleyBrothersrodethewaveofR&Bpopularityformorethan sixdecadesstartinginthe mid-‘50s.They peakedinthe‘70swhenagroupaddedatriosofnewmembersincludingguitaristErnie,theyoungerbrotherwho learnedtheinstrument firsthandfromtheIsleys’tourguitarist JimiHendrix.”ThatLady”wasfirstrecorded in1964,butit’sthescalding1973psychedelicfunkreworkingthatmerits attention.</P
</P<P>20.Prince,”Sign’O’theTimes”(From“Sign’O’theTimes”(1987)PPincehadreorderedandscrappedhismasterpiece“Sign’O’theTimes”</EMseveraltimesonitswaytoreleasein1987 Originallyenvisionedasatriplealbum,thefinaltwo-LPcollectionspotlightsanartistadeptatpop psychedelia,gospelandsoul.MinimalistfunkisondisplayintheharrowingtitletrackinwhichPrince runsdownalistofmid-'80sconcernsfromdrugsandAIDSto gangviolenceandpoliticalwarfare.
Top 25 Funk Albums
From kings of the genre to under-the-radar gems, the best LPs to break out a cold sweat.
