Funk - by Rickey Vincent & Ricky Vincent (Paperback)

About the Book

Finally, the definitive guide for fans of funk--inside details and expert insights on the music of James Brown, Sly and the Family Stone, George Clinton's Parliament Funkadelic, Kool and the Gang, and more. Colorful, intelligent and in-your-face, Rickey Vincent's Funk celebrates the songs, the musicians, the philosophy and the meaning of The Funk. 16 pp b&w photos.

Book Synopsis

Funk: It's the only musical genre ever to have transformed the nation into a throbbing army of bell-bottomed, hoop-earringed, rainbow-Afro'd warriors on the dance floor. Its rhythms and lyrics turned bleak urban realties inside out with distinctive, danceable, downright irresistable music.

Funk hasn't received the critical attention that rock, jazz, and the blues have-until now. Colorful, intelligent, and in-you-face, Rickey Vincent's Funk celebrates the songs, the musicians, the philosophy, and the meaning of funk. The book spans from the early work of James Brown (the Godfather of Funk) through today, covering funky soul (Stevie Wonder, the Temptations), so-called "black rock" (Jimi Hendrix, Sly and the Family Stone, the Isely Brothers), jazz-funk (Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock), monster funk (Parliament, Funkadelic, Bootsy's Rubber Band), naked funk (Rick James, Gap Band), disco-funk (Chic, K.C. and the Sunshine Band), funky pop (Kook & the Gang, Chaka Khan), P-Funk Hip Hop (Digital Underground, De La Soul), funk-sampling rap (Ice Cube, Dr. Dre), funk rock (Red Hot Chili Peppers, Primus), and more.

Funk tells a vital, vibrant history-the history of a uniquely American music born out of tradition and community, filled with energy, attitude, anger, hope, and an irrepressible spirit.

From the Back Cover

Funk hasn't received the critical attention that rock, jazz, and the blues have - until now. Colorful, intelligent, and in-your-face, Rickey Vincent's Funk celebrates the songs, the musicians, the philosophy, and the meaning of funk. The book spans from the early work of James Brown (the Godfather of Funk) through today, covering funky soul (Stevie Wonder, the Temptations), so-called "black rock" (Jimi Hendrix, Sly and the Family Stone, the Isley Brothers), jazz-funk (Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock), monster funk (Parliament, Funkadelic, Bootsy's Rubber Band), naked funk (Rick James, Gap Band), disco-funk (Chic, K.C. and the Sunshine Band), funky pop (Kool & the Gang, Chaka Khan), P-Funk Hip Hop (Digital Underground, De La Soul), funk-sampling rap (Ice Cube, Dr. Dre), funk rock (Red Hot Chili Peppers, Primus), and more. Funk tells a vital, vibrant history - the history of a uniquely American music born out of tradition and community, filled with energy, attitude, anger, hope and an irrepressible spirit.

Review Quotes

"This book gives it up! A scholarly, entertaining treatise on an exceedingly worthwhile subject." --Paul Shaffer

About the Author

Rickey Vincent has written about music for Vibe, Mondo 2000, and elsewhere. An instructor at San Francisco State University, he is known among Bay Area funkateers as the Uhuru Maggot, thanks to his all-funk radio show on KPFA. He lives in Berkeley, California, with his wife and son.