Where'd you get your Funk from?

[Brother Goose]

Where did I get my funk? Well at the beginning (1977/78 I was a kid) from the music listened to by my sisters that is Chic, , Diana Ross, Strvie Wonder, Sister Sledge, K. C. & the Sunshine Band, Micheal Jackson, EW&F etc.. (Yes I know the OP will opine that most of this is disco ... Yes but for me this is the quintessence of well played funk).
I was also very influenced by the sound of popular late 70s movies such as those which OST was written by a famous Italian composer, Mr. Piero Piccioni.
Later on when I started playing from Herbie Hancock (with and without the Headhunters), Jaco Pastorius, Bob James, Lee Ritenour, Crusaders, Jamiroquai, Brand New Heavies etc. (jazz funk? Yes but this is what I naturally lean towards).

PS

Fender Amwrican Elite Precision bass Vs. Rest of the world = 1 - 0

Funk is Funk is Funk! I'm a huge fan of everything you mentioned (although not familiar with Piccioni).

Gary King, in particular, has one of the best tones and and tastiest licks of that era...

I'm honored to be close friends with his son Kinyatta (who is a MONSTER on drums) and wish I could have met him here on Planet Earth.

 

[Jhengsman]

Kool and the Gang dropped this album just as I was entering a band in junior high school.

 

[Brother Goose]

There are so many wonderful cats putting the Funk on blast these days, but I have to give extra special props to Marlowe DK for having such an incredible tone, touch, approach to deploying information, and awesome accent!

I'd love to hang with that dude.

Here is a two-for-one with him documenting the bass solo that changed the world: Willie Weeks' etude on Donny Hathaway's "Everything is Everything"

 

[Bass'd on a true story]

I learned about funk by learning the entirety of Aeroplane, including the solo. It made me comfortable with the blues scale, using octaves effectively, and slapping/popping tastefully. I recommend any new funk player learns that song and jams on it for a few hours/days.

 

[jnsnj]

Aww c'mon, you're tellin me this aint funky?

I dig this

 

[Sixgunn]

From not showering.

 

[Mvilmany]

From my dad.

 

[ThuzzleFump]

As others have noted, there's a direct line from James Brown to P Funk. That's a whole education.
I guess my other faves are Rocco Prestia of Tower of Power and Louis Johnson of The Brothers Johnson.
Rocco of course plays a heck of a lot of notes while being funky. He's a real master.
IMO you can learn a lot from bands with great horn sections because the level of musicianship is high.

I'll leave you with this, as it's one of my all time faves and not one that we hear every day (well, I hear it a lot):

 

[jamro217]

Our well pump broke and we couldn't afford to have it fixed. I couldn't take showers anymore and before long I was FUNKY! Oh, the bass...let's see... when I was a kid my dad used to bring home bags of 45 rpm records that a friend of his would sell at the flea market. They were $.10 each, 10 in a bag for a buck. There may have been one or two names you'd recognize and the rest were a mystery. I ended up with all sorts of stuff: Solomon Burke, Sonny and Cher, The Who, Rare Earth, Patti LaBelle, Wayne Newton, and lots that no one ever heard of. To a 9 year old kid music is music and you either liked it or you didn't. Labels didn't matter. Some of the funkiest stuff I've ever heard was on those records by obscure musicians struggling for fame (and most never found it). I remember one was called "Homicide Dresser" and was about a dancer who had a "mini skirt 9 inch above the knee, yeah, what she's got was made for you to see, yeah. She's a Homicide Dresser..." With this cranked Hammond organ and crisp drums. I bet if my dad ever listened to the lyrics he'd have brought home Montovani instead. Later on I was influenced by the usual suspects: T.O.P., The Crusaders, The HeadHunters, etc.

 

[ERIC31]

This is another funky jam that caught my ear back in 1981. I was in high school. Heard this on KSOL 107.7FM in the Bay Area. Still the jam and on of my fave basslines to play along to!

 

[Sweet Willie]

Thanks my bro for the Maceo jam (pretty sure you know my Maceo love). You are definitely on my page, and always on point.
Plus Ms. Page- simply stellar.

I do what I can, bruthaman. Your Maceo love is multidimensional for sure.

Fred!!

Fred?!?!?

Fred!!! (Breaking down the funk for the audience...with subtitles en francais no less...)

 

[Hankenstein]

Old Greg. Didn't everyone?

 

[macmanlou]

My funk got started with Jamerson backing up Motown, but I really wanted to start playing it when I saw Bootsy backing up James Brown.

 

[ritz]

 

[mambo4]

My funk comes from the rhythmic awareness I gained from learning to read rhythmic notation.

As Anthony Wellington explains it:
"the ability to acknowledge any subdivision at any time, down to the 16th note"

 

[Tom Howland]

James Brown.
Jaco.
Willie Weeks.
Chuck Rainy.
Rocco Prestia.
George Porter Jr.

 

[JohnPaulSmith]

How about a little blues funk? It's still all about the one.

 

[Tjazz5]

In the interest of expediting the process of Funkentelechy and creation of a higher/lower groove awareness, I hope this thread can serve as an invaluable resource for new players and refresher for fellow funkateers.

Where should be begin?

One!

Everything is on 1!

 

[funkinbottom]

James Brown; Tower Of Power; Sly Stone; Parlament; Herbie Handcock & Head Hunters; Graham Central Station; Chuck Rainey; Jerry Jemmott; The Crusaders; Kool & Gang.
You get the Idea. A lot of stuff already posted. I remeber covering these songs back in the day.

 

[Brother Goose]

Often imitated but NEVER duplicated!



and my absolute favorite off his debut album...