Funk rock

Funk rock is a fusion genre that mixes elements of funk and rock. James Brown and others declared that Little Richard and his mid-1950s road band, the Upsetters, were the first to put the funk in the rock and roll beat, with a biographer stating that their music "spark[ed] the musical transition from fifties rock and roll to sixties funk".

Funk rock's earliest incarnation on record was heard in the late 1960s through the mid-1970s by acts such as Sly and the Family Stone, Parliament-Funkadelic, The Isley Brothers, Redbone, Rick Derringer, David Bowie, the Average White Band, Gary Wright, Bar-Kays and Mother's Finest. During the 1980s and 1990s funk rock music experienced a surge in popularity, with bands such as Prince, Pigbag, INXS, Talking Heads, Devo, the Fine Young Cannibals and Cameo dabbling in the sound. Groups including Red Hot Chili Peppers, Rage Against the Machine, Incubus, Mr. Bungle, Primus and Faith No More also notably combined funk rock with metal, punk, hip hop and experimental music, leading to the emergence of the genre known as funk metal or "punk-funk".

Sly and the Family Stone gained funk rock hits such as "Sing a Simple Song" and "Thank You". The Jimi Hendrix Experience album Electric Ladyland also included a couple of funk rock songs, such as "Gypsy Eyes" and "Still Raining, Still Dreaming".

George Clinton has been considered the godfather of this genre since 1970. Clinton created the name "P-Funk" include Funkadelic and Parliament for the innovative new concepts of funk that he culled from former members of James Brown's band (such as Maceo Parker, Bootsy Collins and Fred Wesley) and new young players such as Eddie Hazel. His groups, Funkadelic and Parliament, practically defined funk since the release of the influential funk rock Funkadelic classic Maggot Brain (1971). Later funk rock albums by the group include Cosmic Slop, Standing on the Verge of Getting It On, Hardcore Jollies and Let's Take It to the Stage. Later albums such as One Nation Under a Groove and Electric Spanking of War Babies had a bit more radio-friendly sound but still preserved much of group's funk rock approach.

Grand Funk Railroad pioneered the bass driven hard rock funk style in 1970 so well portrayed in their cover of the Animals song Inside-Looking Out and later picked up by Rage Against the Machine. Composer and guitarist Frank Zappa demonstrated the merge of styles in albums like Overnite Sensation, in themes such as "I'm the Slime", covered in concert decades later by Funkadelic.

Other pioneers evolved in the 1970s are American artists Rick Derringer, Redbone, the Bar-Kays, and Mother's Finest. "We called ourselves funk rock", recalled Mother's Finest singer Glenn "Doc" Murdock. "I think we invented that. We even had a house where we all lived and we named it 'Funk Rock, Georgia'. We felt that we were headlining that whole genre. We played with Lynyrd Skynyrd and AC/DC. Those bands had a lot of funk in their music. The real problem for us was when we played in black clubs. They told us we were too loud."

Funk rock acts were not favored by R&B recording companies. For example, Nile Rogers, guitarists of Chic, wanted to be a rock band like Roxy Music, but they eventually became a disco act after being turned down by recording companies. Despite its considerable influence on later popular music, funk rock was not a very visible phenomenon during the 1970s. Only a few funk rock acts could be seen on record charts, notably David Bowie ("Fame", 1975), Aerosmith ("Last Child", 1976), The Rolling Stones ("Hot Stuff", 1975), Gary Wright ("Love Is Alive", 1976) and Steve Winwood ("I'm A Man").

When Glenn Hughes left Trapeze and joined Deep Purple along with David Coverdale, Deep Purple's next two albums contained elements of funk and soul. When Ritchie Blackmore left Deep Purple in 1975, the band's next album Come Taste the Band with Tommy Bolin was even more funky than its predecessor Stormbringer. However, Deep Purple broke up in 1976 and Tommy Bolin died from a drug overdose.