Funk

Funk on vinyl: groove, bass and the seventies

In short: Funk puts everything on the rhythm: the emphasis on the one, hard bass lines, tight guitars and short horn lines. James Brown made it big at the end of the sixties, Sly & the Family Stone, Parliament-Funkadelic and the Ohio Players carried it through the seventies, and Prince and Zapp into the eighties. The Vinyl Room currently has 1,066 funk records.

What is funk?

Songs such as James Brown’s “Cold Sweat” from 1967 are seen as the start of funk. In the seventies a scene of its own grew up in Dayton, Ohio, with the Ohio Players, Slave, Lakeside and later Zapp. George Clinton took funk into psychedelia with Parliament and Funkadelic, while Kool & the Gang and Earth, Wind & Fire moved it towards pop and jazz. In the eighties came drum machines and synthesizers – most clearly with Prince and his Minneapolis sound.

What to look for

Funk originals from the seventies are mostly US pressings. Many singles also exist as 12-inches with longer versions that DJs still look for today. Label, catalogue number and runout together tell you whether you have a first pressing.

From our stock

First pressings

Funk on Warner

Still sealed

New in

→ Funk & soul on vinyl · Prince · How to spot a first pressing · Grading explained · Plattenparty on YouTube

FAQ

What’s the difference between funk and soul? Soul puts the voice at the centre, funk the rhythm – bass, drums and guitar.

Who invented funk? James Brown is seen as the main pioneer, with songs such as “Cold Sweat” from 1967.

What is P-Funk? The psychedelic funk of George Clinton and his bands Parliament and Funkadelic.