HISTORY OF FUNK Funk emerged as part of a long evolution of African American music. Distinguished by its stripped down beat, heavy drums and bass, with razor sharp rhythm guitars and rhythm oriented horn sections, Funk is soul’s rougher, tougher cousin. In the 1960s, African rhythm and blues became watered-down as it was increasingly marketed to whites. The 1970s marked a desire to recapture the sound that expressed the essentials of African culture. Through this desire, funk was born. The Godfather of Soul, James Brown, became the proud father of funk when he evolved from gospel-style music to cutting edge rhythmic music. Other luminaries such as Sly & the Family Stone, The Meters, Curtis Mayfield and Parliament/Funkadelic led by George Clinton helped to push funk in different directions. Funk is such a vast musical movement that it often crosses musical and geographic boundaries. Artists build off of the fundamentals of funk, using it to create their own distinct expression. Rock bands added elements of Funk to their sound, creating new combinations of "funk rock" and funk metal. Jane's Addiction, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Prince, Primus, Fishbone, Faith No More, and Rage Against the Machine spread the approach and styles garnered from funk pioneers to all new predominantly white audiences in the mid-to-late 1980s and the 1990s. Cities infuse their own cultural influences into funk’s overall rawness to form an often eclectic sound. In no city is that more evident than New Orleans. New Orleans funk is distinguished by its “second-line” back beat rhythms, hip-swinging saunter and swampiness, rooted in a rich history of determined slaves who sought solace and celebration through their music. New Orleans funk is distinguished by its “second-line” back beat rhythms, hip-swinging saunter and swampiness, rooted in a rich history of determined slaves who sought solace and celebration through their music. New Orleans Funk today is traced to the Mardi Gras Indians and bands the Wild Magnolias and The Wild Tchoupitoulas. After the Wild Magnolias mixed their traditional music with more linear, rawer funk grooves in their historic collaborations with Willie Tee, the Wild Tchoupitoulas’ followed but did not copy, working with members of the Meters and Neville family to bring a more lilting, Caribbean feel to much of their music. Today, members of the Neville Brothers, The Meters, Galactic, Soulive, Karl Denson, Papa Mali and many other artists and collaborations too numerous to name contribute to this jazzy, rhythmic, melodic, swamp steaming genre of music that is sure to keep you Groovin All Night! © 2006 Austin Music Film Media Productions