Top 10 Best Funk Bands
Funk isn't just a genre. It's a gravitational force with a bassline.
You've got classic funk, the kind that makes you strut like you're wearing bell-bottoms and glitter without ever touching a dance floor. But then it mutates. It throws on a leather jacket and becomes Funk Rock. Then it eats a distortion pedal and morphs into Funk Metal. Then it crashes into a punk show and starts stage diving as Punk Funk. And let's not even get started on Funkcore, which sounds like it bench presses slap bass riffs for fun.
Funk isn't a box. It's a party that refuses to end, and everyone brings their weirdest instrument.
This list pulls together the bands that have turned funk into a way of life. Some brought it into stadiums. Others snuck it into mosh pits. There are legends, revolutionaries, genre hybrids, and rhythm junkies all tangled together here.
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Red Hot Chili Peppers
The Red Hot Chili Peppers are an American funk-rock and alternative rock band founded in 1983 in Los Angeles. The current core lineup includes Anthony Kiedis, Michael "Flea" Balzary, Chad Smith, and Joshua Klinghoffer, although John Frusciante remains the most acclaimed guitarist associated with the... read more
With or without Frusciante, the Chilis consistently deliver fresh, original music that just blows me away. I have been a longtime RHCP fan, and every album has a different feel and vibe.
From Uplift Mofo Party Plan's hard-partying, rebellious feel to the mellow and soulful vibe of By the Way, from the grinding funk-rock of Blood Sugar Sex Magik to the hardcore metal feel of One Hot Minute, this band is undoubtedly one of the greatest to emerge in the last 30 years. They have some of the best musicians on the planet, like John Frusciante, Hillel Slovak, and Flea.
I can guarantee that you will fall in love with them from the first listen and won't be able to stop yourself from tapping along to the funk grooves. Oh, and the basslines are indescribably fantastic in every possible aspect. RHCP forever. They are also very nice and intelligent people.
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Parliament-Funkadelic
Parliament-Funkadelic or Sly & the Family Stone should be in the top spot. The Chili Peppers are good, but they don't come close to the impact and influence that P-Funk has had on music.
P-Funk influenced most of the bands on this list, including more recent ones like RHCP and Rage Against the Machine. P-Funk were true innovators and groundbreakers with talent to burn. The Chili Peppers don't come close in talent, impact, or influence.
People need to be a little more objective when voting on these lists. It's cool to have your favorites and all, but putting the Chili Peppers as the top funk band of all time is just ludicrous. I wouldn't even put them in the top 30.
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Earth, Wind & Fire
Earth, Wind & Fire is an American band known for their blend of musical styles, including R&B, soul, funk, jazz, disco, pop, rock, Latin, and Afropop. They have received critical acclaim and commercial success throughout their career. The band is widely considered one of the most innovative and influential... read more
Agreed. Earth, Wind & Fire are such a good funk group. Ever since the mid-70s, the group produced some of the sharpest grooves ever to hit our ears. I'd like to think that they're my favorite disco/pop group of all time.
Their ballads are pretty good, as well. "After The Love Has Gone" just brings a tear to my eye. I actually played this song on my CD player after the band's founder died as a tribute to him, just like I played "Something About Us" after Daft Punk split up. This band is just so incredibly good!
EWF is the history of black music and the funk movement itself! Absolutely sure it is the greatest soul and funk act to ever emerge in musical stardom. They are legends.
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Sly and the Family Stone
Sly and the Family Stone was an American band formed in San Francisco. Active from 1967 to 1983, the group was instrumental in the development of funk, soul, rock, and psychedelic music. The band is known for hits like Everyday People and Dance to the Music.
Really great examples of classic funk. Truly the kings and queens of this genre. You know how Elvis and Michael Jackson are the kings of their genre, while Sly is the king of funk!
This group may singlehandedly (George Clinton and James Brown aside) be the most influential funk group of all time. There's a Riot Goin' On is the thickest, darkest funk you'll ever hear. Pioneers of the genre.
Sly's bass player Larry Graham invented the technique of bass playing that is the cornerstone of funk. If you think Sly and the Family Stone is not a funk band, then you have never heard "Thank You for Letting Me Be Myself Again."
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Ohio Players
Only one group came close to these guys, and that was Slave, also from Ohio.
They were the first band to incorporate funk, jazz, and R&B in the same song that I remember.
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The Brothers Johnson
Discovered by Quincy Jones, George "Lightning Licks" Johnson and his brother, the late Louis "Thunder Thumbs" Johnson, put together an incredible body of work. "Get the Funk Outta Ma Face," "I'll Be Good to You," "Stomp," "Ain't We Funkin' Now," and my personal favorite, the magical "Strawberry Letter 23"!
George's smooth vocals and strong guitar licks combined with Louis' out-of-this-world thumb-popping bass made for some of the best funk songs ever!
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Cameo
YOU CAN'T BE SERIOUS! NUMBER 36? Cameo's body of work far surpasses the majority of those chosen above them! We're talking FUNK here, not rock! Cameo, along with the Brothers Johnson, easily make the top ten! This list is totally bogus.
Hardcore funk and amazing slow jams. They are the best funk band ever!
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Kool & the Gang
Most sampled music group in history. More to say? Most successful R&B band of all time. No other black music group sold so many records in the '80s like them. Questions?
Best band over all genres ever! Most sampled music group in history. More to say?
Timeless. One of the best live bands ever. Best band across all genres!
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Zapp
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Rage Against the Machine
Rage Against the Machine is an American rap metal band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1991. The lineup consists of vocalist Zack de la Rocha, bassist Tim Commerford, guitarist Tom Morello, and drummer Brad Wilk.
Their politically charged music, which blended rock, hip-hop, and funk, debuted... read more
These guys rock and are really funky. If you think they are not, you've got to learn more about music. RATM mixes a lot of genres: rap, heavy metal, hip hop, and funk!
Listen to Take the Power Back, Calm Like a Bomb, Bombtrack, Know Your Enemy, and obviously Killing in the Name. Really funky tracks. They even covered a song called Renegades of Funk.
RATM is incredible. They are the most aggressive band that ever walked the face of the earth, and they managed to combine music and politics in a fantastic way. Love them.
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Instant Funk
The strength of their first album alone places them in at least the top 15.
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The Isley Brothers
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Primus
Primus is an American funk metal band based in San Francisco, California, currently composed of bassist Les Claypool, guitarist Larry LaLonde, and drummer Tim Alexander. Les Claypool is widely recognized for his distinctive slap-bass technique, showcased in tracks such as "My Name Is Mud," "The Toys... read more
I see Primus as one of humanity's last attempts at decent music. And a damn good one, too. Perhaps music is fading into whatever noises you can get out of a computer now, but when I see bands like Primus, I have to rethink that statement.
Primus created a new genre of music. It's the best genre in the world, and it goes by the name Primus.
Les Claypool is one of the most respected bassists. That speaks volumes about this band.
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Slave
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The Gap Band
The Gap Band is in the genre of Rick James, Cameo, and the Bar-Kays. They belong on the Mount Rushmore of Funk!
Best band ever, and Charlie Wilson is the greatest!
Love old school funk, and the Gap Band is my favorite!
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Mr. Bungle
Mr. Bungle was an American experimental rock band from Northern California. Known for their highly eclectic style, the band often cycled through several musical genres within a single song. These included heavy metal, avant-garde jazz, ska, disco, and funk.
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Tower of Power
ToP created the pure, urban-funk sound. Knockout horn section...maybe the best ever. Yes, I liked the Commodores and Earth, Wind & Fire, but they turned the pure funk sound into pop/funk fusion.
Lastly, the best funk of all time was the father of funk himself, James Brown.
I've seen ToP live, and they're as tight live as they are on all their albums. They have extremely funky bass, horns, percussion, and terrific vocals. They are the definition of funk in its rawest form. Listening to Taxed to the Max and it's sweet!
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Bootsy's Rubber Band
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Dazz Band
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War
A portfolio filled with hits in both funk and pop!
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The Meters
The Meters are the kings of New Orleans funk and a huge influence on RHCP.
No Meters, no almost anyone else on this list.
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Commodores
I have most of #3, #4, #5, #7, #8, and #10's albums, but I'm heaviest into the Commodores as of this second. #3, #5, #7, and #10 have had many long periods of being my favorites, like the Commodores, and that will never change. I'm a die-hard fan of the artists I just listed. I don't like the Commodores more or less than the others I listed, but I had to vote for the Commodores for now!
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Average White Band
Pick Up the Pieces is a true masterpiece. Live versions are just awesome.
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Jamiroquai
Jamiroquai is amazing! Their debut was more acid jazz, but over the albums it became funky!
They are playing acid jazz but they have a funky spirit and their basslines are kickass.
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Con Funk Shun
My favorite band in my youth. They had it all: the straight-up bangers, the mid-tempo grooves, the deep cuts, and some of the most sultry ballads of the era.
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Living Colour
Living Colour is an American rock band from New York City, formed in 1984 by guitarist Vernon Reid, vocalist Corey Glover, drummer Will Calhoun, and bassist Muzz Skillings, who was replaced by Doug Wimbish in 1992 .
Their music fuses hard rock, funk metal, alternative metal, punk, jazz, and hip... read more
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Rick James and the Stone City Band
Rick James #34. This is not a valid list. Rick was the King of Punk Funk and unmatched. Should be #1.
He created a whole type of music called Punk Funk!