Showing posts with label Kool and the Gang. Show all posts

Saturday, June 6, 2020

The Top 100 Funk Songs of All Time

First posted 6/6/2020.

Funk:

Top 100 Songs

Funk was an R&B sub-genre which emerged in African-American communities in the 1960s and became especially popular in the 1970s. The music was marked by an emphasis on strong, rhythmic grooves supported by bass and drum. It was instrumental in the development of the even more dance-oriented disco music of the 1970s.

19 lists were aggregated to create this list. Click here to see other genre-specific song lists.

1. Stevie Wonder “Superstition” (1972)
2. Parliament “Flashlight” (1977)
3. Funkadelic “One Nation Under a Groove” (1978)
4. Parliament “Tear the Roof Off the Sucker (Give Up the Funk)” (1975)
5. Rick James “Super Freak” (1981)
6. Sly & the Family Stone “Thank You Falettin Me Be Mice Elf Again” (1969)
7. Zapp “More Bounce to the Ounce” (1980)
8. Kool & the Gang “Jungle Boogie” (1973)
9. Average White Band “Pick Up the Pieces” (1974)
10. George Clinton “Atomic Dog” (1982)

11. The Commodores “Brick House” (1977)
12. Earth, Wind & Fire “Shining Star” (1975)
13. Herbie Hancock “Chameleon” (1973)
14. Curtis Mayfield “Superfly” (1972)
15. Wild Cherry “Play That Funky Music” (1976)
16. Marvin Gaye “Got to Give It Up” (1977)
17. Kool & the Gang “Get Down on It” (1982)
18. The Isley Brothers “It’s Your Thing” (1969)
19. War “Low Rider” (1975)
20. The Gap Band “You Dropped a Bomb on Me” (1982)

21. James Brown “Get Up (I Feel Like Being a Sex Machine)” (1970)
22. Funkadelic “Not Just Knee Deep” (1979)
23. Ohio Players “Fire” (1974)
24. Cameo “Word Up!” (1986)
25. The Staple Singers “I’ll Take You There” (1972)
26. Stevie Wonder “Higher Ground” (1973)
27. James Brown “The Payback” (1974)
28. Aretha Franklin “Rock Steady” (1971)
29. Brick “Dazz” (1976)
30. Slave “Slide” (1977)

31. The Brothers Johnson “Get the Funk Out of Ma Face” (1976)
32. Dazz Band “Let It Whip” (1982)
33. James Brown “Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag” (1965)
34. Michael Jackson “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough” (1979)
35. Lipps Inc. “Funkytown” (1980)
36. The Meters “Cissy Strut” (1969)
37. Rufus with Chaka Khan “Tell Me Something Good” (1974)
38. Stevie Wonder “Living for the City” (1973)
39. Jean Knight “Mr. Big Stuff” (1971)
40. Rose Royce “Car Wash” (1976)

41. James Brown “Say It Loud, I’m Black and I’m Proud” (1968)
42. Ohio Players “Love Rollercoaster” (1975)
43. Kool & the Gang “Funky Stuff” (1973)
44. The Temptations “Cloud Nine” (1968)
45. Rick James “Give It to Me Baby” (1981)
46. Isaac Hayes “Theme from Shaft” (1971)
47. Prince “When Doves Cry” (1984)
48. Prince “Kiss’ (1986)
49. James Brown “Get Up Offa That Thing” (1976)
50. James Brown “Cold Sweat” (1967)

51. Edwin Starr “War” (1970)
52. Sly & the Family Stone “Dance to the Music” (1968)
53. The Isley Brothers “That Lady’ (1973)
54. Mtume “Juicy Fruit” (1982)
55. Prince “Little Red Corvette” (1983)
56. Sly & the Family Stone “(Family Affair” (1971)
57. The Isley Brothers “Fight the Power” (1975)
58. Hot Chocolate “You Sexy Thing” (1975)
59. Carl Carlton “She’s a Bad Mama Jama (She’s a Built, She’s Stacked)” (1981)
60. Tom Browne “Funkin’ for Jamaica (N.Y.)” (1980)

61. Carl Douglas “Kung Fu Fighting” (1974)
62. The O’Jays “For the Love of Money” (1974)
63. Prince “Sign ‘O’ the Times” (1987)
64. Ann Peebles “I Can’t Stand the Rain” (1973)
65. Instant Funk “I Got My Mind Made Up (You Can Get It Girl)” (1978)
66. Kool & the Gang “Hollywood Swinging” (1973)
67. Chuck Brown & the Soul Searchers “Bustin’ Loose” (1979)
68. The Gap Band “Burn Rubber on Me (Why You Wanna Hurt Me)” (1980)
69. The Temptations “Papa Was a Rolling Stone” (1972)
70. Earth, Wind & Fire “Let’s Groove” (1981)

71. The Gap Band “I Don’t Believe You Want to Get Up and Dance (Oops, Up Side Your Head)” (1980)
72. B.T. Express “Do It ‘Til You’re Satisfied” (1974)
73. James Brown “Out of Sight” (1964)
74. Con Funk Shun “Ffun” (1977)
75. Lynn Collins “Think About It” (1972)
76. James Brown “Get on the Good Foot” (1972)
77. Eddie Kendricks “Keep on Truckin’” (1973)
78. Rufus with Chaka Khan “Ain’t Nobody” (1983)
79. The Meters “Just Kissed My Baby” (1974)
80. Betty Wright “Clean Up Woman” (1971)

81. The Temptations “Shakey Ground” (1975)
82. Diana Ross “Upside Down” (1980)
83. King Floyd “Groove Me” (1970)
84. The Temptations “Ball of Confusion (That’s What the World Is Today)” (1970)
85. Tower of Power “What Is Hip?” (1973)
86. Lakeside “Fantastic Voyage” (1980)
87. Bill Withers “Use Me” (1972)
88. Dr. John “Right Time, Wrong Place” (1973)
89. Taana Gardner “Heartbeat” (1981)
90. Bill Withers “Lovely Day” (1977)

91. KC & the Sunshine Band “Get Down Tonight” (1975)
92. Chic “Good Times” (1979)
93. Mandrill “Fencewalk” (1973)
94. The Commodores “Machine Gun” (1974)
95. Dyke & the Blazers “Funky Broadway” (1967)
96. The Brothers Johnson “Stomp!” (1980)
97. Graham Central Station “The Jam” (1976)
98. Prince “Controversy” (1981)
99. Herbie Hancock “Rock-It” (1983)
100. L.T.D. “Back in Love Again” (1977)

Resources and Related Links:

Amazon Music: “100 Greatest Funk Songs”
Billboard (9/20/2016). “The 30 Best Funk Songs Ever”
Cobb (6/4/2007). “100 Greatest Funk Songs of All Time”
Daily Kos (10/1/2009). “My Top 10 Funkiest Songs of All Time”
Digital Dream Door (8/7/2008). “100 Greatest Funk Songs”
Esquire (12/2/2013). “Chromeo: Top 10 Funk Songs Ever”
Funknstuff.net (12/9/2019). “Top 50 1970s Funk/R&B Songs”
The Greatest Funk Hits of All Time (2006 various artists album)
LiveAbout.com (4/23/2018). “12 of the All-Time Greatest Funk Songs”
TheManual.com (7/30/2018). “The Best Funk Songs for Getting Down”
Melodyful.com “Best Funk Songs”
Music to Die For (3/9/2010). “40 Heavy Duty Funk Classics”
The Pueblo Chieftain (12/29/2019). “We Need the Funk: Getting Down with 10 of the Best”
Treblezine.com “10 Essential Synth-Funk Tracks”
WatchMojo.com (12/31/2014). “Top 10 Greatest Funk Songs”
WeddingWire.ca (1/8/2020). “40 Best Funk Songs to Get Your Guests Onto the Dance Floor”
With the Song of Life (7/16/2019). “The 100 Greatest Funk Songs of All Time”

Saturday, December 15, 1984

Band Aid’s “Do They Know It’s Christmas” hit #1 in the UK

Do They Know It’s Christmas

Band Aid

Writer(s): Bob Geldof, Midge Ure (see lyrics here)

Released: December 3, 1984

Peak: 13 US, 7 CB, 39 GR, 35 A40, 32 AR, 1⁵ UK, 1² CN, 1⁴ AU, 2 DF (Click for codes to charts.)

Sales (in millions): 1.0 US, 3.94 UK, 11.7 world (includes US + UK)

Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 39.3 video, 403.22 streaming

Awards:

Click on award for more details.

About the Song:

Bob Geldof made his name initially as the frontman of the Boomtown Rats, an Irish punk-pop outfit which got its start in the late ‘70s and found success with a pair of #1 songs on the UK charts with “Rat Trap” and “I Don’t Like Mondays.” However, in his obituary someday, the leading line will reference him as the man who organized Band Aid and Live Aid.

Geldof was so moved one night by images from the BBC of “Ethiopians as they trudged for miles in search of food” ^HL that he felt obligated to do something. He started out collecting money at Boomtown Rats shows ^HL but wanted to do something on a grander scale. He connected with Midge Ure, the frontman from Ultravox, to pen a song about those suffering in the African famine. He wrote the lyrics in the back seat of a taxi and Midge produced the backing track in his studio. ^TB

To garner even more attention to the cause, however, the pair then tackled their collective rolodexes to round up a Who’s Who of British pop superstars to sing a Christmas charity single as the collective Band Aid. Among the stars enlisted were Bono, Phil Collins, Sting, George Michael, Duran Duran, Culture Club, Status Quo, Paul Weller, Spandau Ballet, Heaven 17, and Kool & the Gang.

36 artists ^HL gathered at Sarm West Studios in London on November 25, 1984. Geldof implored attendees “to leave your egos outside the studio” ^HL and, in a wonderful display of unity, “everyone got on with everyone else.” ^HL They started the recording process by singing the “Feed the world, let them know it’s Christmas time” refrain first as a group. Then individual singers sang the song the entire way through so that Ure, who also produced the song, could splice the best parts together for the final version. ^WK The whole song was recorded within a 24-hour period. ^WK

Geldof wanted to make sure all the proceeds went straight to the Ethiopians so he in addition to getting the musicians to work for free, he arranged for free studio time, manufacturing, and distribution. The song sold 750,000 in its first week of release in England, making it their fastest-selling single in history at the time. ^MG It went on to sell more than 3.5 million, making it the best-selling song in Britain until Elton John’s 1997 re-recording of “Candle in the Wind”. ^WK Combined with the 1985 Live Aid concert, Geldof’s efforts raised £110 million. ^MG

Resources:

DMDB encyclopedia entry for Band Aid
The DMDB Blog: “Live Aid: July 13, 1985”
^HL Michael Heatley and Spencer Leigh (1998). Behind the Song: The Stories of 100 Great Pop & Rock Classics. Blandford Books: London, UK. Pages 148-9.
^MG Theo Morgan-Gan “The UK’s Best Selling Singles”
^TB Thunder Bay Press (2006). Singles: Six Decades of Hot Hits & Classic Cuts. Outline Press Ltd.: San Diego, CA. Page 217.
^WK Wikipedia

First posted 12/15/2011; last updated 4/12/2023.

Saturday, February 7, 1981

Kool & the Gang hit #1 with “Celebration”

Celebration

Kool & the Gang

Writer(s): Robert "Kool" Bell, Ronald Bell, George Brown, Robert Mickens, Claydes Smith, James "J.T." Taylor, Dennis "D.T." Thomas, Earl Eugene Toon Jr., Eumir Deodato (see lyrics here)

First Charted: Octrober 18, 1980

Peak: 1² US, 1¹ CB, 1¹ HR, 7 RR, 34 AC, 1⁶ RB, 7 UK, 1³ CN, 33 AU, 1 DF (Click for codes to singles charts.)

Sales (in millions): 2.0 US, 0.25 UK, 2.5 world (includes US + UK)

Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 1.0 radio, 221.0 video, 259.43 streaming