School is in session... old skool that is. The legendary DJ Lollipop invites you to reminisce in the distinct sound of the Post-Disco era.
If these joints are new to you, here are the original club jams that ushered in a new era - the DNA of hip-hop. If you know these artists, press play on Lollipop's Post-Disco Funk Explosion and fall in love with these favorite classic rare funk gems all over again.
Post-Disco is the significant period in popular music history that followed the "death" of commercial disco during late 1970s. The anti-disco sentiment that proliferated at the time was partially due to the over-saturation and the big-business mainstreaming of disco. As a result of the "Disco Sucks" movement and the July 12th 1979 “Disco Demolition Night”, disco records & artists were rejected from airplay and their promotions dropped literally overnight. The face of pop radio changed following this backlash which social critics have described as “a bigoted, macho, attack on non-white and non-heterosexual cultures”. Top 40 radio stations avoided playing music by black artists in an effort to prevent their stations from being labeled with the dreaded "disco" tag.
It was the dawn of a new decade and a sonically edited, more stripped-down sound was emerging as a reaction against what was seen as the over-indulgence of disco. Thanks in part to advances in technology, the over produced, melodically complicated "disco sound" was passé, and a simplified sound driven by synthesizers accompanied by rhythm guitar moved dance music toward ever splintering genres. This drift from the original disco sound has been labeled “Post-Disco”. In this music scene are the roots of dance music sub-genres that evolved into Italo-Disco, Boogie, Hi-NRG, Electro, New Wave and early Alternative.
Funk music is sometimes overlooked and usually lumped with disco music. However, Funk has its own style, culture and was here before disco's birth. It was born in the mid-'60s by the legendary James Brown. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground. It usually is heavily syncopated with polyrhythmic rhythms, horn and percussive sections featuring rhythm guitar. Brown had the most outspoken voice in soul music and a groove that would prove to be the future of Funk music.
Many of James Brown’s band members such as Bootsy Collins would go on to funk with many other bands like Parliament and Funkadelic which were both created and lead by George Clinton. Parliament had emphasis on horns while Funkadelic had emphasis on psychedelic guitars. Both had a deep, rhythm filled groove that had elements of several genres of music all rolled into one. Clinton had successfully fused together these types of music to create what he called “P-Funk”. The success of Parliament’s "Flashlight" would greatly influence not only funk music, but also New Wave and Hip-Hop.
Lollipop’s Post-Disco Funk Explosion celebrates this exact time in musical history when horn sections were replaced by synthesizers and the horns that remained were given simplified arrangements. The classic keyboards of funk, like the Hammond B3 organ and Fender Rhodes piano began to be replaced by new analog synthesizers like the MiniMoog and Yamaha DX7.
In the Post–Disco era between 1979 and 1981, bands that began during the P-Funk era incorporated technological developments to continue to craft funk hits. The magical formula of classic funk guitar and rhythmic horn hits combined with thumping synthesized bass lines became a club phenomenon. Groups such as Cameo, Zapp, Lakeside, The Gap Band, the Bar-Kays, all found their biggest hits during this period, but as styles evolved, funk had lost its commercial impact by the latter half of the 1980’s. This time period witnessed many jazz funk artists like Tom Browne, Lenny White, Don Blackman (Twennynine) and Harvey Mason dip their toes into the post-disco funk pool to create their most successful hits.
Join Lollipop and the legions of counterculture groove disciples in enjoying this sonic slice of historic funk cake. To quote George Clinton – “Free your mind and your ass will follow.”
LOLLIPOP’S POST-DISCO FUNK EXPLOSION
DJ Lollipop Intro
Zapp - More Bounce to the Ounce
Cameo - Keep It Hot
Yarbrough & Peoples - Don't Stop the Music
The Bar-Kays - Move Your Boogie Body
Vaughn Mason & Crew - Bounce Rock Skate Roll
Tom Browne - Funkin' For Jamaica
One Way ft Al Hudson - Pop It
Ray Parker Jr. & Raydio - It's Your Night
Raydio ft Ray Parker Jr. - For Those Who Like To Groove
Lakeside - Fantastic Voyage
Gap Band - Burn Rubber on Me
Twennynine ft Lenny White - Peanut Butter
Prince - Controversy
Frankie Smith - Double Dutch Bus
Rick James - Give It to Me Baby
Harvey Mason - Groovin' You
The Jacksons - Can You Feel It
Latoya Jackson - If You Feel the Funk
Funkadelic - One Nation Under a Groove
Parliament - Flashlight
