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All diaries in this series:
Link to Part I of the Funky Parade
Link to Part II of the Funky Parade
Link to Part III of the Funky Parade
Link to Part IV of the Funky Parade
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Overlapping the Seventies and Eighties :
During the mid-70’s Art Neville of the Meters did a project with his brothers Charles, Aaron, and Cyril called the Wild Tchoupitoulas, a Mardi Gras group led by their uncle, George Landry ("Big Chief Jolly"), which would lead to the Neville Brothers working together regularly and making Funk History in the Eighties. HEY POCK A WAY! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BB8mxXJ7s9E&list=PLA5C0813A019546CB&index=4
Going forward -- although Funk is fundamentally Black Music, there have been many contributions to the form through White traditions and White artists, and I’ll keep revisiting this fact. Mixed-race “Lipps, Incorporated” from Minneapolis made an internationally-successful record in 1980 called Funky Town, featuring African-American singer Cynthia Johnson.
Strange things happen, though -- the very popular video for Lipps, Inc’s Funky Town starred a pretty European-looking White lady, “lip-synching” while performing an intentionally-robotic dance, emphasizing the effective electronic effects in the mix. I have yet to learn her name, but here she is on a TV show, with additional backup dancers, re-creating the kitschy choreography from the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_0l3rCgW1c
The 1980’s implosion of the insanely expansive Music Scene of the 1970’s resulted in a few new faces, and ‘made room’ for Punk Rock and British New Wave. Disco literally became passe, but those that made and played it sensibly adopted the term Dance Music, and continued to make money. Funk groups like Earth Wind and Fire, Kool and the Gang, and the Spinners hung on to their places in the charts for awhile.
George Clinton lost both of his record companies. Casablanca became extinct, and the name “Parliament” went into Limbo again. Disputes with Warner Brothers and former band members put “Funkadelic” into a metaphorical twilight zone as well. During the Eighties, Clinton made some well-received albums and singles on Capitol Records under his own name, and Urban Dance Floor Guerillas came out by the P-Funk All-Stars on ”Uncle Jam” Records, which was, at best, erratically distributed by Westbound and CBS.
Black History Month will end too soon, so I am reluctantly skipping George’s deepest cuts of the 80’s to save time, and presenting Clinton’s biggest hit, Atomic Dog, written by his late concertmaster Garry Shider, which is a fixture of every concert by the P-Funk All-Stars. My title photo above captures my hometown crowd responding to this very same tune – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nAhCkuA2StM
George, Bootsy, Bernie Worrell, and the All-Stars went for a good natured follow-up on Urban Dance Floor Guerillas, called Copy Cat -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AIk15-wwi6A&list=PLfRxuHJ-mA12T6ITmg48mzzcl0CXzCopn&index=6
Warner signed George and Bootsy’s protégé Roger Troutman and his band Zapp, who had a substantial ready-made hit called More Bounce to the Ounce from collaborating with P-Funk’s best arrangers and producers. Another P-Funk spin-off band called Kiddo had some good times on the road, but didn’t sell many records. Bootsy Collins had one more hit single with Body Slam (Burning Down the House) , but retired from music for most of the decade. Bernie Worrell made the transition to a respected sideman, especially with Tom Tom Club / Talking Heads. I’m choosing Bootsy & Bernie’s original Burning … because it is a different song, and isn’t heard near as much as the Talking Heads’ hit that utilized the same phrase -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vE3tlGWoRg
Hip-Hop and Rap Music started climbing to the top with the Sugar Hill Gang, who sampled Nile Rogers’ tracks from Chic. I am only linking to one song, though -- Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five’s The Message (Don’t Push Me ‘Cause I’m Close to the Edge.) -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PobrSpMwKk4
A decade earlier, Gil Scott-Heron and the Last Poets pioneered this musical form in the USA. It had already been a staple in Jamaica by Sound System DJs like King Tubby, plus Toasters/Rappers like Big Youth and Yellow Man. No matter what continent it was produced on, the music leaned on out-takes and samples of other records, though. DJ Afrika Bambatta made an international smash with Planet Rock.
Here’s Gil Scott-Heron in the Post-Rap period of his career, performing his socially realistic classic The Bottle at Reggae Sunsplash in Jamaica during the early 80’s -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MnOVbMFiGVg
Rick James became a producer at Motown with The Temptations, but he was also a somewhat-derivative bandleader, doing his so-called “Punque-Funk,” making hits like Busting Out. His biggest record was Super Freak, purportedly about sophisticated Jamaican/French model and singer Grace Jones, a lady who was obviously out of his class IMHO.
Motown released some smooth Funk by Smokey Robinson and DeBarge, but they also put out some delightfully original Funk by the energetic Dazz Band . LET IT WHIP ! -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSIL-SU--Lw
The Eighties saw returns to the popular charts by Aretha Franklin, and Tina Turner. The latter moved away from the United States, simply because she was considered a Funk Goddess in Europe, and it made sense to live near her producers, songwriters, and VERY supportive fans. Miles Davis’ return to the stage and recording studios was just one sign of ever-evolving Jazz re-asserting its place in High Culture. Funk ran deep in every contemporary style of Jazz, as it still does today. Grover Washington enjoyed a Pop hit, and George Benson kept going on in his classy way. The great mind of keyboard master Herbie Hancock unleashed yet another Funk Classic on the Pop Charts – Rockit (Rock Hit) with a droll, creative MTV video involving actual robots, but I’m not linking to that commercial-laden thing. How about the album cut? -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dHh_imdLKCk
We are about to leave Motown, like Michael Jackson did, and pay a visit to the Land of the Giants – Quincy Jones achieved his success by MERIT -- the ultra-hard way for an African-American in segregated America. I heard his smoothly hip large-band records on Jazz Radio, and saw his name conducting orchestras on network television and the movies while growing up. The musicians I knew assured me: “Quincy Jones has the best band in Hollywood!” He made some fine Funk with the Brothers Johnson and James Ingram, but hit the moon when he collaborated with Michael Jackson.
Jones first worked with Scarecrow Jackson while they were doing the The Wiz soundtrack and within a few months he produced “Off the Wall,” Michael Jackson’s first solo album on Epic Records. Their album “Thriller” was the best-selling album of the Eighties, and a phenomenon that rivaled the Sixties’ “Sgt. Pepper.” As far as Funk went, Michael Jackson was unequaled in his eclecticism and mainstream success. Jones and Jackson’s last collaboration was the album “Bad,” which demonstrates how high a watermark they’d previously reached with “Thriller.”
Jackson’s myriad projects are too numerous, and his descent into eccentricity is too sad, to belabor them much in this essay, but he remained a musical force until his death in London, England – rehearsing for a string of fifty concerts at gigantic Wembley Stadium. I have chosen an uptempo jam with Quincy Jones’ crack studio band called Wanna Be Starting Something , featuring a quote from Soul Makosa by Manu Dibango MAMA SAY MAMA SAH MAH MAH KOU SAH -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZqM_PgQ7BM
Prince Rogers Nelson of Minneapolis, Minnesota, had a surprise hit with his song I Want to be Your Lover just as the record industry was imploding. He persevered, though, and after a few years his continuing hard work paid off with one chart hit after another, after another, and another, then a successful motion picture, then a record label of his own -- until he found himself facing Michael Jackson eye to eye as a giant of Funk himself.
For some reason, Prince’s many old hit videos seem to be disappearing from YouTube (1999 was pulled from the comments under Part III.) I am going to link to a fifteen minute live clip from the Capitol Theater in 1982, right before stardom struck -- with Prince leading an exciting young band blessed with greatly skilled players and singers. A listener may discern influences from Sly and the Family Stone, James Brown, P-Funk, Jimi Hendrix,, and even the Ohio Players, but THOSE RHYTHMS and THOSE SONGS couldn’t come from anywhere else than Mr. Nelson’s soul -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FwWBJ3U3THs
Prince was remarkable in sharing his success with other talented artists. Chaka Khan and Afrika Bambatta racked up a massive hit with his help. Sheila E (Escovedo) from an extended musical family played percussion and drums for Prince for years, plus had her own career and a hit record called The Glamorous Life. Prince’s Minneapolis peers Terry Lewis & Jimmy Jam recorded allied Funk acts like Vanity, Apollonia, and The Time with Morris Day. British songbird Sheena Easton benefited greatly from Nelson’s songs. His musical entourage was integrated, and he hired more woman musicians than was usual in male-dominated Funk, and we’ll revisit that point very soon, but first, someone else started recording in Minneapolis ...
An unfortunate dispute with Morris Day found Terry Lewis and Jimmy Jam unemployed, on the outs with Prince, and scratching their heads about what they’d do next, when they got a call from Janet Jackson. She’d been a remarkably charming child actor, but ran into unfair expectations and gossip after she grew up. Considering her family’s history, it was too grimly logical. Whatever really happened in all that turmoil, the three of them produced an amazingly successful album called “Control” in 1985 that spawned FIVE Top Five singles. Janet Jackson asserted herself as a world-class singer, songwriter, and showy dancer for another two decades. (“MS. Jackson to YOU!”)
Outside of Minneapolis, Mainline Pop was infused with Funk, although one might have to metaphorically look under the bed to find it in works by Whitney Houston, Boyz 2 Men, or New Edition. (Don’t remove the tag!) James Brown enjoyed one last Top Forty hit during the eighties – Living in America, from “Rocky IV,” co-produced and written by the brilliant white musician Dan Hartman, who’d also been successful as a performer in Disco and Rock. Hartman made a splash with another one of his movie songs called I Can Dream About You , from the rather misbegotten “Streets of Fire.” MTV extensively played a clip from the flick, performed by a fictional African-American vocal quartet named the Sorels. Here it is -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFmG0WhFG2M
Hartman successfully re-established ownership and credit for his funky song, and put out a recording under his own name. This lip-synched segment and live interview from “Soul Train” features Hartman’s integrated road band, with my friend Linda K. (Anton) Curtis on percussion. She’s from New York, but I met her in Amsterdam, and nowadays she plays Salsa Music in Miami. I CAN DREAM! -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yp0tIiJn-oI
The Neville Brothers believed in themselves when nobody else did, and they kept rattling the chains of prejudice holding their Funk back until the world outside of New Orleans took notice in the 80’s. Aaron Neville was built like a Football lineman, but sang with a lilting high voice that was almost a female alto. Aaron made hit records with Linda Ronstadt and others, but I’m going to present the whole band doing a bittersweet adaptation of the Mardi Gras standard Iko Iko -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99NYJkWZC9I
We are going back to the story of Prince Rogers Nelson in Minneapolis as he continued to expand and revitalize the whole genre of Funk. Speaking of Amsterdam (two paragraphs above,) Prince hired a beautiful young blonde saxophone player from the Netherlands and shared his spotlight with her as she tore out one effortless solo after another. Her name is Candy Dulfer, and I was absolutely stunned to see and hear her. The reason why is that I knew Candy’s father Hans Dulfer in Amsterdam – he played saxophone too and ran a dynamic Jazz band which played a lot of Funk. I’d seen him with his family at the Shaffy Theater’s cafe once or twice, and can assure one and all that Candy got her good looks through her mom.
I never met Hans’ kids directly, but later learned that Candy studied music with Rosa King, a female African-American trumpeter/singer/bandleader who regularly performed right around the corner from where I lived. Rosa King and the Upside Down Band played raw soulful FUNK five nights a week. Candy Dulfer sat in with the group as part of her schooling, starting when she was eleven years old. I knew Rosa socially, and am sure that young Ms. Dulfer learned a lot from her (and her father) about the ins and outs of running a band, as well getting the most from her own instrument.
Candy Dulfer not only formed her own successful, and integrated, Funk band in Europe, but she toured the world with Prince for the rest of his life. I am linking to a Candy-clip featuring 10 minutes of a live medley recorded outdoors between Amsterdam’s art museums and the concert hall in 2010, including the Average White Band’s Funk milestone Pick Up The Pieces, which is one of Ms. Dulfer’s signature songs now -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8GLXPbfrcq0
There are many hours of fine performances by Candy Dulfer all over YouTube for those who love good clean classy Funk, and I haven’t even mentioned her best-selling duet Lily was Here , originally done with David Stewart of the Eurythmics.
We still aren’t out of Minneapolis quite yet! George Clinton declared formal bankruptcy in 1985, but retained the rights to his own name and the P-Funk All-Stars, who continued to scratch out an existence on the road. The publishing rights to all those great songs written with Bootsy Collins & Bernie Worrell were lost, though – and made millions for others as they were extensively sampled by Hip Hop artists like MC Hammer ( Turn this Mutha Out ) and Digital Underground.
George sent some studio tapes to Prince along with an offer (or plea) for collaboration, and Nelson responded positively. They made two albums together on Paisley Park Records before a nasty fight with Warner Brothers shut the studio down, and “The artist formerly known as Prince” stopped recording under his own name for a decade until he settled the legal issues.
I am linking to a slamming performance by George Clinton and the P-Funk All-Stars from around that time, embedded in a goofy video where Prince’s name is thrown around by a bewildered lady announcer. After giving up her search for Prince, who is actually out on the dance floor, she introduces Let’s Get Satisfied , but that sing-song chant surrounds Dope Dog , an intricate rap by George Clinton that may make you laugh, but isn’t really funny. OLD McUNCLE STARTS A WAR! B-C-C-I-O -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tEb9LRt1DO0
The Parliafunkadelicment Family started recording and performing again during the early Nineties. They benefited from “face time” in movies and on TV. One example was Dee-Lite’s exuberant Groove Is In The Heart video, featuring Bootsy Collins and Maceo Parker. Another example was the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ massive hit Give It Away Now , where Flea thumped a major-league Funkadelic bass riff to honor the legacy of George Clinton, who had produced their first records. The Chili Peppers brought George and the All-Stars with them to the Grammy Awards broadcast, where Anthony Kiedis wore a clown suit, dreadlocked George sang a verse or two while Flea hammered away wearing only underpants, big, black, and burly Andre Foxxe Williams played alternate lead guitar in a white wedding gown, with full train, Garry Shider was in his signature diaper, and one of P-Funk’s guitar army sported a long tail, with its tip held aloft by an aluminum balloon.
George was releasing material from his vault of master tapes on CD in those days, and I’m treating everyone to a Master Class on Funk with the Brides of Funkenstein, Bernie Worrell on acoustic piano, George shouting his fool head off, plus Funkadelic originals “Billy Bass” Nelson and drummer Tiki Fullwood doing The Rat Kissed the Cat -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQPjAuakckI
Bootsy’s Rubber Band was able to re-form, backing Dee-Lite when they toured festivals and arenas, and regularly employing Bernie Worrell with his magical keyboards. The P-Funk All-Stars played several seasons with the ultra-popular Lallapalooza tours which swept the USA. They put out many CDs on Rykodisc, Sony, and some other independent labels. They also collaborated with Mutant Funkateers Bill Laswell and Brian (Buckethead) Carroll from the West Coast.
My favorite example of Electro-Funk from the 90’s is Seven Laws of Woo, written by Bernie Worrell, with Bootsy Collins, and Praxis, featuring Buckethead in all his glittery guitar glory -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9EHw_lIc6EY
Since then, Bootsy has been able to perform as much or as little as he desired. My friend Bernie Worrell, loved and respected by music lovers in and out of the industry, passed away from %$#@! cigarette smoking not too long ago, though. George Clinton and the P-Funk All-Stars have toured constantly since the Nineties. The Rock and Roll of Fame recognized their importance and sixteen members of Parliament-Funkadelic were inducted in 1997.
I’m happy to number some members of this ever-shifting band among my friends, since I’ve repeatedly gone to their shows and even partied with them afterward. (We may have different lives, but we intimately know The Road.) In fact, I’ve seen them TWICE over the last six months – George’s current band includes sons and daughters of P-Funk veterans and a number of Clinton’s grandchildren.
The CD Revolution of the 80’s and 90’s made it easy for white people like me to finally buy long-unavailable P-Funk records too. Since I can’t do justice to everything the Funk Mob has done over the last twenty-five years, I’m choosing a jam from the Nineties called Take A Summer Swim featuring most of the Hall of Fame inductees -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJXM2h0G01Y
Since we’ve gone back in time, I’ll note that on an average week on the music charts during the 90’s, Top Singles were largely by Black artists, and Top Albums were dominated by White singers and groups. Hip Hop never stopped its inexorable growth, and the turbulent years of East Coast/West Coast Rap made news for all sorts of reasons, some of them ugly indeed. Sampling also caused chaos and lawsuits, but I’m presenting Public Enemy’s incredible reworking of the Isley Brothers’ Fight the Power anyway -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcbFJAcuomI
After James Brown went to prison, his longtime sax soloist Maceo Parker found himself in a tough spot financially. His incredible talent and quality work over thirty years drew attention to his plight from some good angels in the music industry, though. He began to record his own albums plus lead his own band on tour, which he continues to do all over the world. Here’s a link to songs from his album “School’s In” with my friends, P-Funk expatriates Rodney Curtis on bass and Greg Boyer on trombone, starting with Basic Funk 101 -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGVxjDAgAZI&list=PL849_l8E-r1xGIdFz9jkJ99K-vbrQ7aD1
The Nineties were known for Jam Bands, who delivered hours of music to their eager fans. The Dirty Dozen Brass Band from New Orleans had quite a career as an “opening act” on this circuit, especially on tours with the bass-oriented Widespread Panic. They entertained literally millions with traditional New Orleans Funk.
Here’s a pair of YouTubes; The first one highlights the great David Bartholomew of New Orleans, who was Fats Domino’s producer and bandleader, doing The Monkey Speaks His Mind in 1958 -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLaW9NnKU6M
This second clip is the Dirty Dozen Brass Band’s ‘”Widespread” version -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUKLjtqWPuM
The Grey Boy All Stars played smooth classy Funk in the United States, and their former saxophonist Karl Denson continues on with his Tiny Universe band. Great Britain exported the sophisticated Brand New Heavies, plus Jamiriquoi made international Funk hits without too much muss, fuss, or flash. “Acid Jazz” and “House” were sought out by Club DJs around the planet, but they strongly relied on Funk for their content. Eclectic British DJ Fat Boy Slim recruited Bootsy Collins for his hit Weapon of Choice in the early 2000’s. African-American trio Destiny’s Child emerged from Los Angeles, but say what you will about their good looks and popular success, they made some wonderfully polished Funk, and their first-rate lead singer Beyoncé Knowles became an entertainment giant.
The amazing Dap Kings have had quite a significant career in the Twenty-First Century, recording with the brilliant, but doomed, Amy Winehouse among many others, and touring with recently-departed Sharon Jones. It is tough to say what will happen next for them. Aretha Franklin has announced her impending retirement, but Funk is part of Music’s DNA, and isn’t about to go extinct.
In the age of digital effects and downloads, live music is more important than ever for the survival of music and musicians. I’ve seen the New Orleans band Galactic both in small town Montana and in big city Utah.
Here’s a link to the playlist of their album “Into the Deep,” I’ve chosen the second cut. HIGHER & HIGHER, STEP INTO THE FIRE, SEE HOW FAR YOU CAN SEE -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDkjAtY0xvw&list=PLz8ufS3KEgcbGcIP0agdd_Aak9uemM3Qp&index=2
This mixed-race group never sits still, either physically or musically. Their drummer Stanton Moore is re-writing the book on Funk and drumming for dancers – nobody understands Shuffle, Second Line, or The One better than this soft-spoken white guy who grew up playing “Klezmer” music. Oh Yeah -- Funk always finds its way back to church!
As my unabashedly personal, and sometimes-forgetful, Funk Parade reaches its end, I’m thanking the Readers and Book Lovers of Daily Kos, and DK Fans of 90 for 90 for participating in this thing. Think of me when you’re catching beads at Mardi Gras celebrations this weekend.
Instead of sensibly marching out with New Orleans music, I’m going to “play” one of my late friend Bernie Worrell’s favorite cuts. He always told me that “Funk is a feeling.” And his collaboration with Jazz great Pharaoh Sanders is all about that same feeling – it is called Our Roots Began In Africa -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_YfUqVrbyQE
Peace
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All diaries in this series:
Link to Part I of the Funky Parade
Link to Part II of the Funky Parade
Link to Part III of the Funky Parade
Link to Part IV of the Funky Parade
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