- Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson (born August 29, 1958), commonly known as MJ as well as the "King of Pop", is an American musician, entertainer, and global icon whose successful career and controversial personal life have been a part of pop culture for almost 40 years. Michael Jackson is widely regarded as one of the greatest entertainers and most popular recording artists in history, displaying complicated physical techniques, … - George Clinton
George Clinton (born July 22, 1940) is an American musician and the principal architect of P-Funk. He was the mastermind of the bands Parliament and Funkadelic during the 1970s and early 1980s, and was a solo funk artist as of 1981. He has been hailed as "The Prime Minister of Funk" as the leader of Parliament, as well as "The King of Interplanetary Funksmanship". - James Brown
James Joseph Brown (May 3 1933 – December 25 2006), commonly referred to as "The Godfather of Soul" and "The Hardest Working Man in Show Business," was an American entertainer recognized as one of the most influential figures in 20th century popular music. He was renowned for his shouting vocals, feverish dancing and unique rhythmic style. As a prolific singer, songwriter, bandleader, and record producer, … - Rick James
Rick James (born James Ambrose Johnson, Jr) (February 1 1948 - August 6 2004) was one of the most popular artists on the Motown label during the late 1970s and early 1980s. James was famous for his wild brand of funk music and his trademark braids, sporting them well before the style was popularized. As time went on, James was given the unofficial title "The King of Punk-Funk". - Herbie Hancock
Herbert Jeffrey Hancock (born April 12 1940 in Chicago, Illinois) is an Academy Award and multiple Grammy Award-winning jazz pianist and composer. Hancock is one of jazz music's most important and influential pianists and composers. He embraced elements of rock, funk, and soul while adopting freer stylistic elements from jazz. As part of Miles Davis's "second great quintet", Hancock helped redefine the role of a jazz rhythm section, … - Marvin Gaye
Marvin Gaye (born Marvin Pentz Gay, Jr. was an American soul and R&B singer-songwriter, instrumentalist, record producer and performer who gained international fame as an artist on the Motown label in the 1960s and 1970s. Beginning his career at Motown in 1961, Gaye quickly became Motown's top solo male artist and scored numerous hits during the 1960s, among them "Stubborn Kind of Fellow", "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)", … - Billy Preston
William Everett Preston was an American soul musician from Houston, Texas, raised mostly in Los Angeles, California. In addition to his successful, Grammy-winning career as a solo artist, Preston collaborated with some of the greatest names in the music industry, including the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Little Richard, Ray Charles, George Harrison, Elton John, Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan, Sam Cooke, Sammy Davis Jr., Sly Stone, Aretha Franklin, the Jackson 5, Quincy Jones, … - Sly Stone
Sly Stone (born Sylvester Stewart, 15 March 1943, in Denton, Texas) is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer, most famous for his role as frontman for Sly & the Family Stone, a band which played a critical role in the development of soul, funk and psychedelia in the 1960s and 1970s. Sly & the Family Stone was started in Vallejo, California and eventually had artists from around the San Francisco Bay Area. - Maceo Parker
Maceo Parker (born February 14, 1943) is a noted American funk and soul jazz saxophonist, best known for his work with James Brown in the 1960s. Parker was a prominent soloist on many of Brown's hit recordings, and a key part of his band, playing alto, tenor and baritone saxophones. Parker's rhythmic and rapid playing style draws on the earlier innovations of be-bopper Charlie Parker (no relation), and Cannonball Adderley, mixed with Brown's own innovations in funk music. - Bootsy Collins
William "Bootsy" Collins (born October 26, 1951 in Cincinnati, Ohio) is a funk bassist, singer, and songwriter. - Jon Peter Lewis
Jon Peter Lewis (born November 7, 1979 in Lincoln, Nebraska) is an American singer and songwriter, and was one of the finalists on the third season of the reality/talent-search television series "American Idol". He would frequently be referred to by the judges and Ryan Seacrest as simply JPL. - Isaac Hayes
Isaac Lee Hayes (born August 20, 1942, in Covington, Tennessee) is an American soul and funk singer, songwriter, musician, record producer, arranger, and actor. Hayes is best known as one of the creative forces behind Stax Records, for which he served as both an in-house songwriter/producer and a recording artist. In addition to his work in popular music, Hayes has also written scores for several motion pictures as well. - Bernard Edwards
Bernard Edwards was born in Greenville, North Carolina, was a bass player and record producer, both as a member of Chic and on his own. He died of pneumonia while touring in Japan. - Walter Morrison
Walter "Junie" Morrison or simply Junie Morrison is a musician and producer born in Dayton, Ohio. Morrison was a producer, writer, keyboardist and vocalist for the funk band the Ohio Players in the early 70s, where he wrote and produced their first major hit, "Funky Worm" (1971). He left the band in 1974 to release three solo albums on Westbound Records ("When We Do", "Freeze", and "Suzie Supergroupie"). - Amp Fiddler
Joseph "Amp" Fiddler is a keyboard player, singer, songwriter and producer from Detroit, Michigan in the USA. His musical styles include funk, soul, dance and electronica music. He is probably best known for his contributions to the band Enchantment, and as part of George Clinton’s Parliament and Funkadelic groups during the 1970s and 80s. His first solo album "Waltz of a Ghetto Fly" was released in March 2004. - David Porter
David Porter is an American soul musician best known as the songwriting partner of Isaac Hayes during the 1960s. As house composers for Stax Records, Hayes and Porter penned most of Sam & Dave's hits, including "Soul Man" “I Thank You,” “When Something Is Wrong with My Baby”, and "Hold On I'm Comin'". They also wrote material for Carla Thomas (“B-A-B-Y”), Johnnie Taylor (“I Got to Love Somebody’s Baby,” “I Had a Dream”), and The Soul Children. - Rudolph Isley
Rudolph Isley (born Rudolph Bernard Isley, 1 April 1939, Cincinnati, Ohio) is one of the founding members of the legendary family group, The Isley Brothers. Rudolph, known as Rudy, to family members, heavily contributed to the Isleys' sound co-writing the self-penned anthems, "Shout!", "It's Your Thing" and also wrote a rough draft of the brothers' 1975 classic ballad, "For the Love of You, Pt. 1 & 2". - Jason Dodson
Jason Michael Dodson, Sr. (October 2, 1976-), is a professional consultant, musician, Freemason, theologian, and conceptual artist/writer, born in Columbus, Ohio. Dodson founded his own non-profit organization in 2001 called The Parable Institute, and founded the online funk musician's community The New Funk Order in 2003. He is best known for this along with his musical works, writings, and sociopolitical advisory work. - Bernie Worrell
Bernie Worrell (born April 19, 1944) is an American keyboardist and composer best known for his work with Parliament-Funkadelic. - Nikka Costa
Nikka Costa (born Domenica Costa, June 4, 1972 in Tokyo, Japan), is an American singer whose music combines elements of funk, soul, and blues, among other genres. Though she is relatively unknown in the United States, she has achieved impressive commercial success overseas, most notably in Australia, Italy and Germany. She is the daughter of Don Costa, a legendary arranger and producer of pop music, with whom she recorded several albums as a child, … - Joe Tex
Joe Tex (born Joseph Arrington Jr., Baytown, Texas, 8 August, 1933 - died 13 August 1982, Navasota, Texas) was an American soul singer most popular during the 1960s and 1970s. His style of speaking over music, which he called "rap," made him a predecessor of the modern style of music. - Vet Stone
Vet Stone (born Vaetta Stewart in 1950 in Vallejo, California) is an African-American soul singer, the lead singer in Sly & the Family Stone's background group Little Sister (the group name derives from the fact that she is the "little sister" of frontman Sly Stone. Little Sister had a #8 R&B hit of its own in 1970 entitled "You're the One". - Nile Rodgers
Nile Gregory Rodgers (born September 19 1952 in New York City) is a prolific and influential musician, composer, arranger, guitarist and music producer, and co-founding member of the seminal multi-platinum hit R&B band "Chic", with influential bassist, the late Bernard Edwards. - Ernie Isley
Ernie Isley (b. March 7 1952, Cincinnati, Ohio) is a member of the influential family music band, The Isley Brothers. First serving as a drummer, he moved up to bassist and guitarist and eventually after becoming a full-fledged member of the Isleys in 1973, helped the group bridge the gap between black soul and white rock and was one of the major funk musicians of his time. Ernie first was reared in Cincinnati, where his older brothers formed The Isley Brothers, … - Cee-Lo
Cee-Lo Green is the stage name of Thomas DeCarlo Callaway (born May 30, 1974), an American hip hop, funk, soul, and R&B musician. He is a singer, rapper, songwriter, and record producer, best known as a member of Goodie Mob and more recently Gnarls Barkley, and has also recorded two critically acclaimed solo LPs. Among Cee-Lo's solo hits are the singles "Closet Freak" (2002) and "I'll Be Around" (2003), produced by and featuring Timbaland. - Dawn Silva
Dawn Silva is an American funk vocalist. Silva was born in Sacramento, California. She started her career as a background vocalist for Sly and The Family Stone. She joined P-Funk in 1977. She was the only original Brides of Funkenstein member to continue through Brides' career. In 1978 with Lynn Mabry, (Funk or Walk). Bride's first single release on Atlantic Records "Disco To Go" sold over five hundred thousand units, and was certified Gold. - André 3000
André 3000 (born André Lauren Benjamin on May 27, 1975 in Atlanta, Georgia) is an American rapper, hip hop producer and actor. He is half of the successful hip hop duo OutKast. He is also the creator of Cartoon Network's "Class of 3000". - Ronald Isley
Ronald Isley (b. May 21 1941, Cincinnati, Ohio) is an American pop, rock, soul, and R&B singer and is known as the lead singer and founding member of the legendary family music group The Isley Brothers. He currently is enjoying a career resurgence that started in the mid-90s as an alter ego, Mr. Biggs, created by him and R. Kelly. - Weldon Irvine
Weldon Jonathan Irvine, Jr. (October 27, 1943-April 9, 2002), also known as Weldon Irvine or Master Wel, was an African American composer, playwright, poet, and pianist. - Brownmark
Brown Mark (also spelled Brownmark; born Mark Brown, 1962) is a Minneapolis-born American musician and producer. Brownmark's early fame came when he was the bassist of The Revolution, music artist Prince's original touring (and later also his recording) band. Noted for his unique, funk-based style of musicianship, he became a music producer and recording artist himself after parting company with Prince in 1986, … - Freddie Stone
Freddie Stone (born Frederick Stewart in Vallejo, California on June 5, 1946) is an African-American musician, best known for his role as co-founder, guitarist, and vocalist in the band Sly & The Family Stone, the front man for which was his brother Sly Stone. His sisters Rosie Stone and Vet Stone were also members of the band. After leaving the band in the mid 1970s, … - Leon Haywood
Leon Haywood (born 11 February 1942, in Houston, Texas) is an American funk and soul singer, best known for his song "I Want a Do Something Freaky To You". The song was sampled on two of Dr. Dre's singles, "Nuthin' But a "G" Thang" and "The Wash". The song was also sampled on the Redman track "Rockafella", on Redman's Dare Iz A Dark Side album. Haywood, despite a second Top 40 hit with "Don't Push It, Don't Force It" in 1980, remains considered a one-hit wonder in the UK. - Chris Jasper
Chris Jasper (b. December 30 1951, New Jersey) was a member of both the legendary Isley Brothers and Isley-Jasper-Isley. He has also been a successful solo artist, with a number of his own albums. His keyboard and Moog synthesizer work was a primary ingredient of the Isley Brothers sound of the 70's and 80's. - Louis Johnson
The Brothers Johnson's bassist, Louis Johnson (born 13 April 1955, in Los Angeles) is regarded as one of the best bassists of the 20th century. His signature sound is from the musicman bass which Leo Fender especially made for him to first use and promote. His work appears on The Brothers Johnson albums and many well-known records by prominent artists. Johnson played on Michael Jackson's albums "Off the Wall" and "Thriller" and George Benson's album "Give Me the Night". - Chad Urmston
Chad Urmston was born in Sherborn, Massachusetts. Urmston was a member of the band Dispatch until their breakup in 2004. He currently is the frontman for the Boston, Massachusetts-area band State Radio, as well as a constant activist for improved living conditions in Zimbabwe. - Doug Wimbish
Doug Wimbish (born September 22, 1956) is a bass player, primarily known for his studio work for the rap/hip hop label Sugarhill Records and his membership of the band Living Colour. He has played for a vast range of artists, among which Jeff Beck, Mick Jagger, Madonna, George Clinton, Depeche Mode, and Mos Def. Wimbish is considered to be a pioneer in hip hop bass playing and in the use of effects with bass playing. - Philip Bailey
Philip Bailey (born May 8 1951, Denver, Colorado) is an American R&B, soul, gospel and funk singer, best known as one of the longtime members of Earth, Wind & Fire. Together with Verdine White and Ralph Johnson he forms the heart of the current EWF line-up on stage. Before joining Earth, Wind & Fire in 1971, Bailey sung with different ensembles in the Denver and Chicago area. Bailey found fame by sharing the lead vocals on EWF songs with EWF-founder Maurice White. - Reggie Houston
Saxophone player Reggie Houston was born in New Orleans, Louisiana on July 2 1947, to Ralph Houston, a pianist and acoustic bassist, and Margarete Houston, who was both an educator and social activist. At the age of 10 Reggie began studying the saxophone. His first professional gig came at the age of 12 when he joined the Batiste family band, The Gladiators, widely considered to be one of the pioneering bands of funk. - Charles Miller
Charles Miller was born in Olathe, Kansas on June 2, 1939, moved with his family to Los Angeles two years later, and eventually settled in Long Beach, California. Charles was always interested in music; he played woodwinds, piano and guitar school bands and school orchestras. In 1967 Charles interest in music was supplanted until, when at Long Beach City College he sustained a football injury. - Marvin Isley
Marvin Isley (b. August 18 1953, Cincinnati, Ohio) was one of the members of the legendary family music group, The Isley Brothers and a seminal bass guitarist. Marvin grew up in Englewood, New Jersey and graduated from Dwight Morrow High School in 1972. In the late-1960s, he formed a trio with older brother Ernie and family friend Chris Jasper. By the end of the decade, the group joined the older half of the Isleys as its instrumentalists.
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