Ten fresh and fantabulous funk songs from the 1970s

Maybe all we really need to know about the evolution of funk music in the 1970s comes in the form of an outfit from Dayton, Ohio. I am not including any of their songs on the following list but for a brief moment in the mid-1970s, the Ohio Players were huge. They had been around for a long time by then, backing early soul pioneers The Falcons in the ‘60s before beginning to release their own music by the end of that decade. Observations in Time (1968) was first-rate R&B. But it didn’t give them the commercial breakthrough they were hoping for.

Traditional R&B bands, along with bands that drifted more toward soul in the ‘60s, saw what James Brown and Sly & the Family Stone were doing and some of them dove headfirst into funk. None did it bigger or bolder than the Ohio Players. The sophisticated, refined soul of the ‘60s turned into raunchy, pumped-up groovefests from the 70s – hit singles that came from albums more known for their sexually suggestive album covers than their music.

But the music was good. The seminal hits – “Fire,” “Skin Tight,” “Love Rollercoaster” - pulsed vibe and dripped sex. The bass pumped, the guitar sent electric jolts through the mix, and the horns bathed it all in a funky glow. “Fire” and “Love Rollercoaster” hit number one on the Billboard charts during that magical run smack dab in the middle of the 1970s.

Ten of the best funk songs from the 1970s

But the signs of change were evident. “Fire” was more of a pure funk song. “Love Rollercoaster” was just dipping its toe into the tidal wave that was coming. “Love Rollercoaster” is as good a transition from funk to disco as you are apt to find. The Ohio Players would try to ride that disco wave over their next few albums but lost a step. Whereas the granny in “Funky Worm” (1972) was funky-cool, songs like “O-H-I-O” (1977) and “Funk-O-Nots” (1978) were just kind of funky-silly.

I don’t know if disco killed the Ohio Players. I just know they never had another big hit once disco seized the decade.

Contrary to common opinion, disco wasn’t all bad. It wasn’t the anti-Christ or a virus intent on ruining good music for everyone. There was good disco music, and I’ll pay the briefest amount of lip service to that declaration at the end of this little piece. But for now, let’s focus on disco’s vastly preferable antecedent, funk.

Funk didn’t suddenly appear in the late ‘60s. Elements of funk had been a key part of R&B music all along. It just seems that in the ‘60s, artists like James Brown, Sly, and George Clinton announced that funk music was worthy of its own genre. By the early ‘70s, it had conquered pop music. With apologies to the Ohio Players, here are ten funk songs from that era that showcase just how awesome funk could be.