James Brown - Get Up Offa That Thing

This is a live performance by James Brown the Godfather of soul performing his classic song "Get Up Offa That Thing". The performance is from The Late Show with David Letterman.
The song was originally released on 7" vinyl in 1976. The original single was a two-part single with a B-side titled "Release the Pressure". "Release the Pressure" is actually just a continuation of the same song, but with different lyrics. The song became a huge hit and one of Brown's biggest hits in his late 70's career. It also later became a very common number to appear in Brown's live sets.
The song was produced by James Brown and written by Deanna Brown, Diendra Brown, and Yamma Brown.
I really love this song and performance. I love how much energy Brown puts in to this performance at his age. And the way he still controls the band; a true band leader. And the saxophone solo, man that was amazing. Also love how the song has a lot of musical breaks and stops that are very fast, and how it usually starts off again with the guitar doing something with a wah wah pedal. This is how funk is supposed to sound. It's grand and I love it.

Enjoy ; )

Stevie Ray Vaughan & W.C. Clark - Insturmental Jam

This is a performance video by Stevie Ray Vaughan that I only recently discovered. It features Stevie Ray Vaughan and fellow Texan musician W.C. Clark on the bass. As the song is an instrumental jam there is no song title.
W.C. Clark is a Texan blues, funk and jazz musician. He plays both guitar and bass. He first learned the guitar at around age fourteen and then moved on to playing bass. In the 1970's he formed a band called "Triple Threat Revue" where he played with Lou Ann Barton and Stevie Ray Vaughan. He played in many bands in this period and also played with Stevie's brother Jimmie Vaughan in another band.
This instrumental jam is a true gem among SRV fans. It's really great to hear how well he fits in with the whole funk thing. Also his soloing and rhythm playing on this is spot on perfect. I know they probably rehearsed this prior to the performance, or more correctly, I'm assuming that, but who knows maybe it really is all improvised. All I know is that it is a really good performance and Stevie's abilities as a guitarist really shine through.

G. Love & Special Sauce - Cold Beverage

This is the music video to the 1994 single "Cold Beverage" by the band "G. Love & Special Sauce". The band is an alternative hip-hop group from Philadelphia. They are known for their laid back and sloppy blues style that dates back to old school R&B.
The single is from the band's first album which was a self-titled album.
It's a very good song with spoken word lyrics and that very laid back style. It sounds a lot like Red Hot Chili Peppers, but more laid back. Both groups are influenced by both funk, R&B and some hip-hop influence.
A very good song that oughta lift one's spirits.

Enjoy ; )

Guns N' Roses - Rocket Queen

This is a live performance by hard rock 80's group Guns N' Roses. They play their song "Rocket Queen" which was never released as a single, but still played live frequently.
The song is the closing track on the band's '87 album "Appetite for Destruction". The song is, according to Axl, inspired by a real life female friend who wanted her own band and call it "Rocket Queen". The ballady end of the song is a tribute to her and the things she did as a friend for Axl.
The main riff was composed by Slash and Duff and Duff has stated that it is influenced by funk group "Cameo".
As mentioned earlier, they'd very often play this live. The part of the song that Axl raps is actually from the band's unreleased song "It Tastes Good, Don't It".
I really like this performance, mainly because of how well the band plays together on it. It's more a groove than a rehearsed performance, or at least seems like a groove. They take a little time to get into it. Slash takes position and lets the groove go on as he gets into it and starts soloing.
Slash is really good in this performance. He plays in that particular style that he's known for, throws a little slide in at the beginning and does a talk box solo before Axl starts rapping.
A very good performance of a really good and groovy song.

Enjoy ; )

Isaac Hayes - Theme from Shaft

This is a live performance from 1973 of Isaac Hayes performing the Theme from Shaft. The song was originally recorded in 1971 as the theme for the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film "Shaft". The song was shortened from the version in the film and was released as a single. It reached no. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in America. The following year the song won an Oscar for the best original song. This also made Hayes the first Afro-American to win an Academy Award in a non-acting category.
The song has been featured in many TV-shows and films since and was also re-recorded for the 2000 remake of the film, it wasn't changed, just re-recorded.
It's a very traditional and good funk song. It has a lot of wah-wah on the guitar and I think it sounds amazing, and Hayes has a voice unlike anyone. It's so low-registered, and I love it. It's a great song, but also a historic song in recent Afro-American historic events. A great song.

Enjoy ; )

Parliament-Funkadelic - Give Up the Funk (Tear the Roof off the Sucker)

This is a music video from the classic funk group Parliament-Funkadelic (Funkadelic was a sister act of George Clinton's first project Parliament, it's a rather complicated band-history, but the two groups were basically a music collaboration collective, in short terms. The credited writers of this song are George Clinton, Bootsy Collins and Jerome Brailey.
The song is off Parliament's album titled "Mothership Connection". It is one of the most recognizable P-Funk songs and also their best selling single ever reaching gold in 1976 (the same year as the single's release).
The song has become quite familiar in pop-culture and has been sampled on numerous occasions by artists like Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre. An example of this can be found in Snoop Dogg's song "Undacova Funk" featuring Bootsy on the track. (Embeded below)

I think it's a really good song, and it has a nice jazz vibe, not just in the progression, but in the way the musicians are playing off each other. A very good funk song indeed.

Enjoy ; )

Tower of Power ft. Santana - What Is Hip?

This is a live performance from the legendary funk band Tower of Power playing their famous song "What Is Hip?". Carlos Santana is sitting in with the orchestra, and does a little solo, he does all right, but you can tell that he's a bit out of his element. Still doing a pretty good job in my opinion.
Santana's band and Tower of Power are intervened, and members of Tower of Power have played in Santana (the band), so this collaboration might not be as far fetched as one would think. Santana's current keyboardist David K. Mathews started out playing for Tower of Power, or at least rose to fame playing with them.
I think it's a good performance, and this is true funk. It's on a grand scale, with a full horn section and an energetic Brent Carter leading the jam, and keeping the audience in tune as well.
A good performance, of a good funk song.

Enjoy ; )

Bootsy Collins - Stretchin' Out

This is performance by funk bass player Bootsy Collins from the television show "Night Music", a late night show that showcased performers and featured live performances.
The song Stretchin' Out was released in 1976 by Bootsy's band "Bootsy's Rubber Band", a funk band that was formed after Bootsy stopped touring and recording with James Brown. The song's full title is "Stretchin' Out (In a Rubber Band)".
It's a great performance, and it seems a little unrehearsed in the good way. It's a jam, and every performer gets a slot to strut their stuff, the sax, the guitar and the bass of course. A great performance from a time where live music actually had a decent slot in television.
(I know it's not exactly rock or blues, but funk is somewhat a descendent from the blues genre. I mean all those funky chords on the guitar were first played in blues and jazz songs, funk just sped it up, added a whole lot more wah and made it more funky). And besides, you should be able to enjoy this, or you've got no good music taste what so ever!

Enjoy ; )

Stevie Ray Vaughan - Mary Had a Little Lamb

This is from one of Stevie's classic shows, it's from the 1983 show at El Mocambo (a DVD of the show exists). This version of Mary Had a Little Lamb was first performed by blues man Buddy Guy, and covered by Stevie on his "Texas Flood" album.
Mary Had a Little Lamb is an English nursery rhyme and dates back to around the 1830's. It's a great and funky performance.

Enjoy ; )