70's Funk & Soul

Theme From S.W.A.T. -Rhythm Heritage
HikkyBurr(Bill Cosby Show Theme) -Quincy Jones
The Streetbeater(Sanford & Son theme) -Quincy Jones

Music in just about every genre was all downhill after the 60's, anyway.

Originally posted by saco:
While both Sam Cooke and Otis are kings of Soul - and while we're on that subject get some Solomon Burke - neither lived let alone produced music in the 70's.

my mom was really into 70s soul when i was growing up…the stylistics and the chi-lites always remind me of childhood. it's a great genre of music though and i'd probably start a collection with the Didn't it Blow Your Mind! 70s soul series…unlike the set you posted, these discs are sold in individual volumes. i think the tracks selections are better than the set you mentioned tho.

I got a great 4 disc set last month called "Funk Box "….great selections, and great packaging…like 55 songs from 50 different artists…lots of variety

Nobody has listed Ray Charles. Does he not count?

I have, and love, DJ Spinna's Strange Games & Things 3 CD box set (1 mixed, 2 with the original tracks). It's a great mix of a lot of classic stuff. I picked mine up at Soundgarden in Fells Point years ago, but you can get it on Amazon for sure.

It's amazing how many things you can pick out that are sampled in the music those darn kids these days are listening to (heh)!

some good suggestions on this thread. i'll keep it to the '70s. i second:

funkadelic/parliament (everything in the '70s is gold)
james brown (check out "the payback")
isaac hayes ("hot buttered soul")
jimmy castor bunch
sly & the family stone
solomon burke
al green
herbie hancock/the headhunters
stevie wonder
curtis mayfield/the impressions
the meters
bil withers
shuggie otis (essential!)

my additions to the list:

joe tex (atlantic soul)
graham central station (larry graham of sly's band; this stuff is essential)
brothers johnson
baby huey (was one of isaac hayes' back-up singers, put out one AMAZING record in 1970 called "the baby huey story")
betty davis (ridiculously over-the-top sexy/sultry vocals from mid-'70s diva)
terry callier
the o'jays (really, any gamble & huff production)
osibisa (african soul/funk/tribal drug rock)

if i can think of more, i'll post 'em.

Looks like some great suggestions so far but I will add a few more

Booker T and the MG's
Slave
Rufus
Isley Brothers
Tower of Power
Rick James
Average White Band
Con Funk Shun
War
Bobby Womack
Chambers Brothers
Harold Melvin and the Bluenotes
Lakeside
Carla Thomas
Bar-Kays
Bootsy Collins

Diggin for funk & soul breaks is probably the most addicting and time consuming record-related hobby I've ever had. There are three websites I would recommend looking through:

Soulman's World of Beats Soulman is one of the most world renown beat collectors. His series of beat tapes are among the best I've heard, because no one's really fuckin with this man's crates except for maybe DJ Shadow, Jazzy Jay, Bambaataa or Evil Dee.

TurntableLab A great mail-order site. You can also hear clips & read reviews of the latest funk/soul reissues.


Funk45.com Clips galore!

SalsParadise, good call on jimmy castor bunch. The 45 version of "just begun" is just devastating! "In the Jungle Groove" is the best introduction to James Brown I can think of.

Oh and Booker T & the MG's - Melting Pot is probably my favorite song ever.

Well I had ulterior motives in starting this thread, see my list of what was spun at the private event. While I owned most of what was spun, it never hurts to get suggestion on what else is out there.

I have the UK compliation Sampled Vol. 2 which is a collection of the orginial Funk, Disco, Soul, etc songs sampled by current artists. Everytime I listen it I hear something new to dig on i.e The Fatback Band…. Got it orginially to get my hands on Blake Baxters "Brother Gonna Work It Out", which I didn't get a chance to spin last night. Maybe at the Phoenix show. Wish these comps were released in the states because they are nice to own but tres expensive.

Ended up getting the Essential Sly & The Family Stone collection yesterday, which was funking the commute. Also got "Pure Funk" which filled a couple holes, but had too much overlap with what I already owned.

I looked at the track listing for "The Funk Box" and while it looked like a good starting point, it suffers from the problem all mainstream/top forty compliation all have. For any given genre or era there appears be a limited pool of songs which end up on such things. Buy two or three of the sets and one starts getting serious overlap. For "The Funk Box" I'm better off sticking with group specific collections, as I already have several song in the collection. Rhino and other are guilty of the constant repacking of the same tracks. And it only gets worse everytime labels merge…

Get out of the mainstream and the flood gates open up wide… Very little overlap is found on the Northern Soul comps. I'm guessin' the same could be said for lesser known funk as well. The only problem is having to wade sometimes through 40+ tracks to find the gem that moves you.

Mickey & Soul Generation is a totally groove-tacular and overlooked funk group from Texas. They have a sweet 2-disc discography thing; pretty rad.

Definitely get yourself some of those funky JB's.