funk, rhythm-driven musical genre popular in the 1970s and early 1980s that linked soul to later African-American musical styles. Like many words emanating from the African-American oral tradition, funk defies literal definition, for its usage varies with circumstance. As a slang term, funky is used to describe one’s odour, unpredictable style, or attitude. Musically, funk refers to a style of aggressive urban dancemusic driven by hard syncopated bass lines and drumbeats and accented by any number of instruments involved in rhythmic counterplay, all working toward a “groove.”
The development of the terms funk and funky evolved through the vernacular of jazz improvisation in the 1950s as a reference to a performance style that was a passionate reflection of the Black experience. The words signified an association with harsh realities—unpleasant odours, tales of tragedy and violence, erratic relationships, crushed aspirations, racial strife—and flights of imagination that expressed unsettling yet undeniable truths about life.
James Brown’s band established the “funk beat” and modern street funk in the late 1960s. The funk beat was a heavily syncopated, aggressive rhythm that put a strong pulse on the first note of the musical measure (“on the one”), whereas traditional rhythm and blues emphasized the backbeat (the second and fourth beats of the measure). Brown and others, such as Sly and the Family Stone, began to use funk rhythms as their musical foundation while their lyrics took on themes of urgent social commentary.
In the early 1970s funk became the musical standard for bands such as the Ohio Players and Kool and the Gang and soul singers such as the Temptations and Stevie Wonder, its driving beat accompanied by lush, melodic arrangements and potent, thoughtful lyrics. Parliament-Funkadelic and other bands sang the praises of funk as a means of self-development and personal liberation, while established jazz artists such as Miles Davis and Herbie Hancock adapted and explored the funk groove. The disco music of the late 1970s evolved from the rhythmic and social foundation of funk.
In the 1980s the sexually expressive aspects of funk were popularized through the works of Rick James and Prince, while the funk beat became the primary rhythm in Black popular music. The influence of funk spread to other styles in the 1980s—mixing with the gritty realism of hard rock and punk and the experimentation of much of the electronic music of the time. With the rise of rap music in the 1980s and its “sampling” of 1970s funk songs, funk grew in stature and significance in hip-hopculture. It became associated with ancient mysteries in the Black tradition, providing hip-hop with a historical link to artists and cultural movements of the past. As part of hip-hop’s influence on popular culture, funk provided the rhythmic basis for most American dance music of the 1990s.
James Brown, known for his ability to “scream” on key and to blend multiple vocal styles together, was one of the most influential vocalists of the 20th century. Brown also broke new ground with his landmark “live and in concert” album Live at the Apollo (1963), which stayed on the charts for 66 weeks.
When was James Brown born?
James Brown was born on May 3, 1933 in Barnwell, South Carolina.
What were some of the nicknames of James Brown?
James Brown had an extensive array of nicknames, including “Soul Brother Number One, ”The Godfather of Soul,” and “The Hardest Working Man in Show Business.”
What awards and honors did James Brown receive?
James Brown was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986, received a Grammy Award for lifetime achievement in 1992, and was a 2003 recipient of a Kennedy Center Honor.
When did James Brown die?
James Brown died on December 25, 2006 in Atlanta, Georgia.
James Brown (born May 3, 1933, Barnwell, South Carolina, U.S.—died December 25, 2006, Atlanta, Georgia) was an American singer, songwriter, arranger, and dancer, who was one of the most important and influential entertainers in 20th-century popular music and whose remarkable achievements earned him the sobriquet “the Hardest-Working Man in Show Business.”
Brown was raised mainly in Augusta, Georgia, by his great-aunt, who took him in at about the age of five when his parents divorced. Growing up in the segregated South during the Great Depression of the 1930s, Brown was so impoverished that he was sent home from grade school for “insufficient clothes,” an experience that he never forgot and that perhaps explains his penchant as an adult for wearing ermine coats, velour jumpsuits, elaborate capes, and conspicuous gold jewelry. Neighbours taught him how to play drums, piano, and guitar, and he learned about gospelmusic in churches and at tent revivals, where preachers would scream, yell, stomp their feet, and fall to their knees during sermons to provoke responses from the congregation. Brown sang for his classmates and competed in local talent shows but initially thought more about a career in baseball or boxing than in music.
At age 15 Brown and some companions were arrested while breaking into cars. He was sentenced to 8 to 16 years of incarceration but was released after 3 years for good behavior. While at the Alto Reform School, he formed a gospel group. Subsequently secularized and renamed the Flames (later the Famous Flames), it soon attracted the attention of rhythm-and-blues and rock-and-roll shouter Little Richard, whose manager helped promote the group. Intrigued by their demo record, Ralph Bass, the artists-and-repertoire man for the King label, brought the group to Cincinnati, Ohio, to record for King Record’s subsidiary Federal. The label’s owner, Syd Nathan, hated Brown’s first recording, “Please, Please, Please” (1956), but the record eventually sold three million copies and launched Brown’s extraordinary career. Along with placing nearly 100 singles and almost 50 albums on the best-seller charts, Brown broke new ground with two of the first successful “live and in concert” albums—his landmark Live at the Apollo (1963), which stayed on the charts for 66 weeks, and his 1964 follow-up, Pure Dynamite! Live at the Royal, which charted for 22 weeks.
During the 1960s Brown was known as “Soul Brother Number One.” His hit recordings of that decade have often been associated with the emergence of the Black Arts and black nationalist movements, especially the songs “Say It Loud—I’m Black and I’m Proud” (1968), “Don’t Be a Drop-Out” (1966), and “I Don’t Want Nobody to Give Me Nothin’ (Open Up the Door, I’ll Get It Myself)” (1969). Politicians recruited him to help calm cities struck by civil insurrection and avidly courted his endorsement. In the 1970s Brown became “the Godfather of Soul,” and his hit songs stimulated several dance crazes and were featured on the sound tracks of a number of “blaxploitation” films (sensational, low-budget, action-oriented motion pictures with African American protagonists).
When hip-hop emerged as a viable commercial music in the 1980s, Brown’s songs again assumed center stage as hip-hop disc jockeys frequently incorporated samples (audio snippets) from his records. He also appeared in several motion pictures, including The Blues Brothers (1980) and Rocky IV (1985), and attained global status as a celebrity, especially in Africa, where his tours attracted enormous crowds and generated a broad range of new musical fusions. Yet Brown’s life continued to be marked by difficulties, including the tragic death of his third wife, charges of drug use, and a period of imprisonment for a 1988 high-speed highway chase in which he tried to escape pursuing police officers.
Brown’s uncanny ability to “scream” on key, to sing soulful slow ballads as well as electrifying up-tempo tunes, to plumb the rhythmic possibilities of the human voice and instrumental accompaniment, and to blend blues, gospel, jazz, and country vocal styles together made him one of the most influential vocalists of the 20th century. His extraordinary dance routines featuring deft deployment of microphones and articles of clothing as props, acrobatic leaps, full-impact knee landings, complex rhythmic patterns, dazzling footwork, dramatic entrances, and melodramatic exits redefined public performance within popular music and inspired generations of imitators (not least Michael Jackson). His careful attention to every aspect of his shows, from arranging songs to supervising sidemen, from negotiating performance fees to selecting costumes, guaranteed his audiences a uniformly high level of professionalism every night and established a precedent in artistic autonomy.
In the course of an extremely successful commercial career, Brown’s name was associated with an extraordinary number and range of memorable songs, distinctive dance steps, formative fashion trends, and even significant social issues. A skilled dancer and singer with an extraordinary sense of timing, Brown played a major role in bringing rhythm to the foreground of popular music. In addition to providing melody and embellishment, the horn players in his bands functioned as a rhythm section (they had to think like drummers), and musicians associated with him (Jimmy Nolan, Bootsy Collins, Fred Wesley, and Maceo Parker) have played an important role in creating the core vocabulary and grammar of funk music.
Are you a student?
Get a special academic rate on Britannica Premium.
Brown was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986, received a Grammy Award for lifetime achievement in 1992, and was a 2003 recipient of a Kennedy Center Honor.
Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.
verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies.
Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.
verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies.
Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.