MUAR 392 Lecture Notes - Lecture 16: Parliament-Funkadelic, Stevie Wonder, African American Vernacular English
16 Aug 2016
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MUAR 392
Lecture 16 — Feb 22
70s Funk and Soul
Funk: a genre of popular music developed in the late 1960s with an explicit political component,
linked to black power movement
-Term used in black communities in New Orleans as early as 1910 for more rhythmic,
gutbucket music
-Played at the Funkey Butt Hall
-Emerges from Southern Soul (James Brown) in the 1960s
James Brown — “Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag” (1965)
Different interaction of instruments:
-Scratch guitar emphasis
-“Discovered strength was not in the horns, but rather the rhythm”
“Cold Sweat” (1967)
-Based on a 2-bar blues interlocking groove vamp
-Traditional form replaced with sections of irregular length defined by shift in groove
-Deemphasizes traditional melody in vocals — lyrics increasingly impressionistic, celebrating
black vernacular speech and emphasis on racial pride
Following James Brown Funk:
-Sly and the Family Stone
-Stevie Wonder
-War; Earth; Wind and Fire
Sly and the Family Stone
-Organized in 1966 — circulate in the San Francisco psychedelic music scene
-Rhythm and texture from James Brown, fused with Psychedelic Rock
“Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Again” (1970)
Stevie Wonder — most popular black musician of early/ mid 70s
-Multi-instrumentalist (synth, harmonica), songwriter, singer
-Drew from musical traditions such as funk
Parliament/ Funkadelic
-Started as The Parliaments then became Parliament, but went in a bad contract situation and
changed their name
-Existed as two bands throughout the 70s — could be Parliament, Funkadelic…
-George Clinton had more flexibility within the group — could tailor different sounds to different
names
-Moved funk from James Brown’s straight laced performance style to what was called
“minimalist gutbucket”
-Took funk into a new realm with the use of costumes, concept albums, adopting
techniques from glam-rock musicians from the 1970s
Intergalactic P-Funk Mythology
-Starchild — a divine alien being who came to earth from a spaceship to bring the holy funk to
humanity via the power of the Bop Gun
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Funk: a genre of popular music developed in the late 1960s with an explicit political component, linked to black power movement. Term used in black communities in new orleans as early as 1910 for more rhythmic, gutbucket music. Emerges from southern soul (james brown) in the 1960s. James brown papa"s got a brand new bag (1965) Discovered strength was not in the horns, but rather the rhythm . Based on a 2-bar blues interlocking groove vamp. Traditional form replaced with sections of irregular length de ned by shift in groove. Deemphasizes traditional melody in vocals lyrics increasingly impressionistic, celebrating black vernacular speech and emphasis on racial pride. Organized in 1966 circulate in the san francisco psychedelic music scene. Rhythm and texture from james brown, fused with psychedelic rock. Thank you (falettinme be mice elf again (1970) Stevie wonder most popular black musician of early/ mid 70s. Drew from musical traditions such as funk.
