Chapter 17 – Funk and Disco “All these parts jump around on each other—maybe that’s why it makes you dance; because these parts were bouncing off each other it was just one of those things that all fit together perfectly. The horn line flowed across all of it.” Fred Wesley, from James Brown’s band, describing the polyrhythms in funk music McGraw-Hill/IrwinCopyright © 2011 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

Funk Invented by James Brown in 1964, based on African polyrhythms, but not as complex as those found in Africa The first funk recording was Brown’s “Out of Sight,” the first big hit in a funk style was Brown’s “Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag” (1965) Brown’s polyrhythms usually have the drums play evenly subdivided beats, with a syncopated bass line that counters those rhythms, and a horn section that is separate from the drums and bass Funk groups commonly have electric guitar, electric bass guitar, sometimes a keyboard, a horn section, and drums Other performers further advanced the polyrhythmic funk style, including Sly and the Family Stone in

Listening Guide “Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag” by James Brown (1965) Tempo: 126 beats per minute, 4 beats per bar Form: 12-bar blues Features: Even subdivisions, except that Brown’s vocals sometimes relax into uneven subdivisions The guitar accents the backbeats Even sixteenth-note subdivisions strummed on guitar add energy at the end of each chorus (except the last) Polyrhythms are created among the horns, the bass, and the drums, each of which maintains its own simple and repetitious rhythm pattern that is different from the others Lyrics: Papa’s “bag” is dancing Charts: Pop, #8, R&B, #1 for eight weeks, British hits, #25s 17-3

Listening Guide “Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)” by Sly and the Family Stone (1970) Tempo: 108 beats per minute, 4 beats per bar Form: Mostly 8-bar sections, with one 4-bar instrumental section Features: Each instrument repeats its own rhythmic patterns Polyrhythms created between the separate patterns of the electric guitar, bass, and drums Even beat subdivisions Lyrics: Street fights and violence and efforts on the part of the singer to avoid those problems and “be himself” through family unity and music Charts: Pop, #2 for two weeks, R&B, #1 for five weeks 17-4

Chicago Soul and Curis Mayfield Chicago Soul of the sixties tended to have a smooth rhythmic flow with doo-wop influenced vocals, the Impressions Curtis Mayfield sang lead with the Impressions, then wrote, sang, and produced music in a funk style for the blaxploitation” (black exploitation) film Superfly (1972), about the drug subculture in a black urban ghetto 17-5

Listening Guide “Freddie’s Dead” by Curtis Mayfield (1972) Tempo: 92 beats per minute, 4 beats per bar Form: Recording begins with a 7-bar instrumental introduction, then sections that vary in length from 8, 12, 16, to 20 bars Features: Instrumentation – voice, guitar, funky syncopated electric bass guitar, drums, other percussion, and an orchestra Introduction comprised of a 2-bar bass and guitar riff played three times, followed by 1-bar of solo drums The refrain is sung five times through, with some variations in the text. The third refrain references Freddie’s death, and the fourth warns the listener might die too Drums play even beat subdivisions, but the bass plays the riff more freely around the drums, creating a funky sense of rhythmic freedom The orchestra enters at the first verse about Freddie’s death A flute joins the bass and guitar on the riff toward the end of the recording Between the fourth and fifth verses, the bass, guitar, and drums play a 16-bar vamp with a repeated riff Lyrics: Freddie was a low-level cocaine dealer and addict in the movie Superfly who is killed by a car. Freddie’s death represents the short and unhappy lives of people in the drug trade. Charts: Pop, #4, R&B, #2 for four weeks 17-6

Street Funk A seventies funk style dominated by: Bass guitar lines Harmonies filled in by guitars or keyboards Complex rhythms played by a variety of drums including Latin bongo and conga drums A flat-four beat (all 4 beats accented evenly) A party-like atmosphere complete with whistles, tambourines, and conversational vocals Street Funk bands: Kool and the Gang The Ohio Players George Clinton’s groups Parliament and Funkadelic 17-7

Listening Guide “Flash Light” by Parliament (1978) Tempo: 108 beats per minute, 4 beats per bar Form: Mostly 4-bar sections with pickups Features: Even beat subdivisions in instruments, but uneven in vocals Hand claps stress the backbeats Bass riff imitates the rhythm of the drums at the beginning A synthesizer plays the bass lines Polyrhythms created between the separate patterns of the synthesized guitar, bass, and drums The recording includes long, extended repetitions of the 4-bar sections that include dubbing of prerecorded fragments of music, rhythmically random lines played on a synthesizer, and vocal interpolations all held together with rhythmic playing of the drums, and claps, and bass line Lyrics: A disco club has a sparkling ball that creates “flash lights”, but the polyrhythms are more funk than disco Charts: Pop, #16, R&B, #1 for three weeks 17-8

Disco Term “disco” first used for clubs that played recorded music instead of having live bands Seventies disco developed out of sixties soul styles in Detroit (Motown) and Philadelphia (Philadelphia International Records) Disco is all about dancing and the music stresses every beat of each 4-beat bar to be reliable for creative dancing First popular in homosexual and African American clubs in New York, then dance craze spread Dancers were the performers in clubs and many techniques were developed by disc jockeys to extend the time of recordings Important performers: Barry White, singer, keyboard player, songwriter, producer for his Love Unlimited Orchestra Donna Summer, singer for European producer, Giorgio Moroder, whose productions included Moog synthesizers to create a funky, electronic style called “Eurodisco” Gloria Gaynor The Village People KC and the Sunshine Band The Bee Gees 17-9

Beat-mix – Overlapping the ending and beginning of two recordings, keeping their drum beats constant Cueing up – Preparing the next record to be played Cutting up records – Playing sections of recordings as short as ten seconds each from one record to the other back and forth Double up – Having two copies of the same recording on two turntables and playing from one to the other to increase the length of play time Phrasing – Playing two copies of the same recording at the same time, but slightly out of synch to create an echo effect Reedit – Cutting and splicing a tape recording to extend the length of play time Remix – Separating the track on a recording to mix the chosen ones back together Slip cuing – Holding the disc still until the precise moment it should start Twelve-inch single – a larger disc with more space between the grooves to make them easier for disc jockeys to manipulate The Language of the Disco Disc Jockey 17-10

Listening Guide “Hot Stuff” by Donna Summer (1979) Tempo: 120 beats per minute, 4 beats per bar Form: 8-bar phrases, AABCCABCCAACBA A sections have beat pattern and chord progression from the beginning B sections are vocal verses C sections are refrains with repetitions of the words “hot stuff” Features: Backbeats are accented in the A sections, but all four beats are stressed equally in other sections A synthesized 4-bar melody plays twice during the second a section The recording ends with a fade out Lyrics: The singer is an amorous woman looking for a male sex partner and she wants him that night Charts: Pop, #1 for four weeks, R&B, #3, British hits, #

Listening Guide “Stayin’ Alive” by the Bee Gees (1977) Tempo: 104 beats per minute, 4 beats per bar Form: 6-bar instrumental introduction followed by sections of varying lengths Features: Instrumentation consists of three voices (the three Bee Gees), guitar, bass, keyboards, drums, and other percussion Even beat subdivisions in drums A riff that repeats through much of the recording changes to an accompanying bass line in the refrains All verses begin with the word “Well,” and the refrains begin with “Whether you’re a brother…” Lyrics: Despite the troubles of his hard life and upbringing, the singer exults in his ability to transcend his existence through dancing with the “wings of heaven” on his shoes Charts: Pop, #1 for four weeks, R&B, #4, British hits, #

Listening Guide “Good Times” by Chic (1979) Tempo: 108 beats per minute, 4 beats per bar Form: Constant repetition of a 4-bar pattern, with lyrics often pairing with that pattern to make up 8-bar phrases Features: Even beat subdivisions Each beat is solidly accented by the bass Drums and hand claps accent the backbeat The harmonies avoid any sense of a cadence at a tonic chord, creating a feeling that the music could play on forever A synthesized string section is used to play fills at the ends of vocal lines The bass plays a riff in a Cuban-influenced rhythm Lyrics: The lyrics celebrate the pre-AIDS “good times” of the late seventies associated with disco dancing and promiscuity Charts: Pop, #1, R&B, #1 for six weeks 17-13

Discussion Questions Along with most rock music, funk is a style that is primarily dominated by male performers (at least as group leaders), whereas many disco stars are female. How do those styles each compare with other rock styles that are or are not also male dominated? Are the male-dominated styles ones that women would not care to perform, or is there something inherently macho about them to the point that fans do not want to hear female performers? Are there any characteristics about disco that give it particular appeal for women and homosexuals? 17-14