We recently published the ranking of the best funk albums of all time on our website. The online magazine Ultimate Classic Rock now presents a list of the 40 best funk songs of all time, presenting it thus: “The foundations of funk were laid in the mid-1960s, when James Brown began to emphasize the first beat of each measure in his R&B songs, tested on stage and capable of sending audiences into a frenzy. Before the end of the decade, other hallmarks of the genre – the emphasis on the first beat, the syncopated rhythm, the overall sound signature – began to define what would become its most recognizable character. In the list below of the Top 40 Funk Songs, voted by the editorial staff of UCR, funk takes different forms: from the first deviations of R&B to the forays into synthesizers and electronic embellishments of the eighties, up to the richness of textures and colors offered by reference artists such as Stevie Wonder, Sly and the Family Stone and George Clinton's P-Funk formations groove deepest and most powerful ever conceived.”
Below is the ranking of the 40 best funk songs of all time according to Ultimate Classic Rock (here is the complete report).
40. Edwin Starr, “War”
39. Aretha Franklin, “Rock Steady”
38. Sheila E., “The Glamorous Life”
37. Dr. John, “Right Place Wrong Time”
36. Kool & the Gang, “Jungle Boogie”
35. George Benson, “Give Me the Night”
34. James Brown, “The Payback”
33. King Floyd, “Groove Me”
32. Cameo, “Word Up!”
31. The Gap Band, “You Dropped a Bomb on Me”
30. David Bowie, “Hunger”
29. Kool & the Gang, “Spirit of the Boogie”
28. Stevie Wonder, “You Haven't Done Nothin'”
27. KC and the Sunshine Band, “That's the Way (I Like It)”
26. The O'Jays, “For the Love of Money”
25. Curtis Mayfield, “Pusherman”
24. KC and the Sunshine Band, “Get Down Tonight”
23. Dazz Band, “Let It Whip”
22. Rufus, “Tell Me Something Good”
21. The Isley Brothers, “That Lady”
20. Prince, “Sign 'O' the Times”
19. Curtis Mayfield, “Freddie's Dead”
18. The Meters, “Cissy Strut”
17. Stevie Wonder, “Living for the City”
16. Rick James, “Super Freak”
15. George Clinton, “Atomic Dog”
14. James Brown, “Cold Sweat”
13. Marvin Gaye, “Got to Give It Up, Part 1”
12. James Brown, “Papa's Got a Brand New Bag”
11. James Brown, “Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine”
10. Earth, Wind & Fire, “September”
9. Commodores, “Brick House”
8. Parliament, “Give Up the Funk (Tear the Roof Off the Sucker)”
7. Curtis Mayfield, “Superfly”
6. Labelle, “Lady Marmalade”
5. Sly & the Family Stone, “Family Affair”
4. Isaac Hayes, “Theme From Shaft”
3. Funkadelic, “One Nation Under a Groove”
2. Sly & the Family Stone, “Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Again)”
1. Stevie Wonder, “Superstition”
Daniel D`Amico for SANREMO.FM
