15T2 G1FP1 Week 07 - 1970s- Funk, Disco and Early Hip Hop

8/17/2019 15T2 G1FP1 Week 07 - 1970s- Funk, Disco and Early Hip Hop

1/28

G FP

Foundations of Popular Contemporary Music

Trimester 2, 2015

LECTURE 7

1970s: Funk, Disco and Early Hip Hop


2/28

Black music

• A problematic term: supposed to mean 'funky' or

'soul', but in fact too many variables

• Socially, a clearer cut, if more uncomfortable

definition

• Really refers to two facets: black performers and

black audiences

• Easy to fall into stereotypes and racism

• But all pop music derives from black innovators


3/28

Black music in the 70s

• The 1970s was one of the strongest decades

for black music

• Album oriented soul maintained its popularity

• Funk evolved into two strands:

- Pop/soul/jazz fusion (Sly and the Family Stone)

- Psychedelic Funk (George Clinton and P-Funk)

• Rise and decline of disco


4/28

Funk

• Funk was born when musicians

blended Soul, Soul-Jazz and R&B into

adanceable

music – De-emphasises melody and harmony – Emphasises groove between bass and guitar

– Often an extended vamp

• As opposed to Soul and R&B which emphasized

harmonic progression and melody


5/28


6/28

Funk

• Typically consists of a complex

groove between rhythm instruments

–Guitar, hammond organ, bass and

drums playing interlocking rhythms

• Funk bands sometimes have horns

–Trumpets, saxophones and trombones –Play rhythmic “hits”


7/28

FunkOrigins of Funk

• With the changes in his band’s

lineup, James Brown moved

from

– Horn-based soul to – Rhythm section funk

Soul

•Emphasis on chordalprogression•Horns supportharmonic lines•Rhythm sectionsubservient

Funk

•Emphasis on groove•Rhythm section

dominant•Horns supportharmonic lines


8/28

Later Motown• Marvin Gaye

• Stevie Wonder

• The Jackson 5

• In 1975 Berry moves Motown to L.A.


9/28

• Acts inspired by Psychedelia start toappear

• George Clinton and what becomes P-Funk

• Sly and the Family Stone

• Provocative, but unifying (white andblack members)

• Theatrical (Clinton would have themedconcerts)

• An explosion of similar bands

Funk


10/28

FunkEarly funk

Other bands started playing funk

• Dyke and the Blazers (Arizona)

• The Meters (New Orleans)

• The Isley Brothers (Ohio)


11/28

FunkGeorge Clinton

• In the 1970s a newgroup of musicians

developed the "funk

rock" approachinnovated by George

Clinton

– Parliament (1968 – 1980)

– Funkadelic (1970-1981)


12/28

FunkGeorge Clinton

“George Clinton was

to funk what

glam was to rock” - Reebee Garofalo

“My mission is to rescue dance

music from the blahs” - George Clinton

Knee Deep (Part 1)

Fundadelic (1979)


13/28

FunkGeorge Clinton

• Clinton and his groups produced a new

kind of funk sound heavily influenced by

jazz and psychedelic rock.

– The two groups had members in common and

often are referred to collectively as

"Parliament-Funkadelic”

– Gave rise to the term“P-Funk ,

” which

referred to the music by George Clinton's

bands, and defined a new subgenre


14/28

New York in the 1970s

• Recession

• The growth of the ghettos

• The decay of nuclear family life: where have all the

male figures gone? Where are the mothers?• The ethnic mix

• The career choices faced by young men...

•Dealing drugs

• Sports

• Low paid unskilled work


15/28

The rise of disco• Gay and black crowds start gathering in nightclubs

• Light shows inspired by funk shows and psychedelic shows

• Dance music

• Clubs start playing records: call themselves French

'discotheque'

• Soon formalises: softer funk, featuring strings, wah guitar and

solid 'four on the floor beat'

• First major act: Gloria Gaynor

• Donna Summer (produced by Giorgio Moroder)

•The Village People (produced by Jacques Morales)

• The Bee Gees (produced by Arif Mardin, and themselves)

• Disco becomes smothering... Highly unpopular within 3 years...

Redevelops into EDM... More on that later


16/28

Hip Hop: A brief history

• Hip Hop is made up of four components:

Rap, Dance, DJing and Graffiti

•Hip hop appeared in New York in the1970s, coming out of disco, soul and

others

• Like Metal, (indeed like most pop musics)hip hop comes from the lower classes


17/28

The music

• Taking records and making long dance

tracks from it

• Out of discos• The importance of street parties

• The techniques of DJing: mixing;

scratching; mashing up


18/28

The DJs

• The aim of the DJ is to keep the party

going

• The issue of royalties; the issues of

composition and creativity....


19/28

Break Dancing

• The most 'accessible' part of hip hop to outsiders.

• Hip Hop dancing is now a valued 'art' choreography

with many choreographers incorporating hip-hop

styles into their work.

• Started in Street parties. During the 'break', dancers

would dance.

• Highly athletic, highly skilled.

• Dance 'gangs' and their effect on NY crime.

B k D i ' ff t


20/28

Break Dancing's effect

on popular dance

• Movies, dance shows

• 'So You Think You Can Dance'

• Other 'art shows'

• 'Popping', 'Breaking', 'Robot'...


21/28

What is Rap?

• Rap is the words of hip-hop.

• Often spoken in a 16 line structure, rappers improvise

or compose lyrics to the beat

• Rap can cover any topic, but tends to either be

hedonistic, egotistical, angry, funny, or political. Or all

of these at once.

• Often intended to confuse, exclude and offend

'outsiders'.


22/28

When did Rap start?

• The 1970s, but came of age in the 1980s

• Certain older folk and blues songs have rap elements

(see Bo Diddley 'I'm a Man'; Bob Dylan 'Subterranean

Homesick Blues')

• Early acts tended to be much less 'street' (though

they came from the street')

• Early rap singles: 'Rapper's Delight', Sugarhill Gang;

'Rapture' Blondie


23/28

The early days continued

• Afrika Bambaata brought a new andconfronting approach to hip-hop

• Politics: tries to get young men to be proud of

black culture, and African Culture, and get out

of gang life.

•Many rap artists used old soul and funkrecords; Bambaata used the clinical sounds of

Kraftwerk (more later)


24/28

The Backlash

• The rise of the Neo-Conservatives

• The subduing of the counter culture: youth

culture; feminism; civil rights; black rights;

gay rights etc.

• The rise of corporate commercialism.


25/28

Australian music in the 70s

• The 1970s saw the advent of Double J

radio (later changed to JJJ) and

Countdown which both fundamentally

changed the political economy of Australian popular music.


26/28

1970s Australian bands

• The rise of the pub circuit bought a new

generation of tough, uncompromising, adult-

oriented rock bands such as: – Cold Chisel

– AC/DC

– Skyhooks

– Jon English

– Jo Jo Zep & The Falcons

–The Angels

– Australian Crawl

– Dragon

– Rose Tattoo

– Ross Wilson's Mondo Rock


27/28

1970s Australian Punk and Disco

• Punk/New Wave:

– The Saints

– Radio Birdman

• Disco:

– John Paul Young

– Renee Gayer

– Marcia Hines


28/28

Conclusion

• Constant and strong lineage of urban

black music from blues, gospel and

soul to funk and hip hop

• Still deeply influential

• Maybe now dominates

Documents

15T2 G1FP1 Week 07 - 1970s- Funk, Disco and Early Hip Hop