Funk Music

George Duke built his musical career on innovative styles and sounds. His reputation for creative and influential performances cross over jazz, pop and rock music and have since his early recordings in the 1960s. The dozen albums he recorded with Frank Zappa included George’s use of synthesizers in...
Ralph MacDonald grew up in Harlem, where he was exposed to many musical traditions. As a drummer, he focused on his African roots and as a songwriter he relied on his soulful understanding of the blues. Ralph wrote "Where Is the Love", the Grammy winning song made popular by Roberta Flack and Donny...
Mike Clark helped established the funk-based drumming sound that emerged out of Oakland and the San Francisco Bay Area in the 1960s and 70s. In fact, his “The Funk Stops Here” was used for a radio ad before he recorded it with Herbie Hancock, as an original member of the Head Hunters. Mike’s...
Frank Waddy has been playing drums since he was a small child. During his long and creative musical career, he has played with artists such as James Brown and George Clinton. Frank has established himself as a solid and consistent player with an eye on innovative beats and styles. As a songwriter...
George Clinton is the funk mastermind behind some of the now landmark recordings of Parliament and Funkadelic beginning in the 1970s, including the largely successful hit “Flashlight.” George Clinton was also an early pioneer in the use of electronic keyboards and the process in which electronic...
Emilio Castillo plays second tenor sax, as well as providing background and lead vocals for the band he help establish in 1968 called Tower of Power! The year before Emilio formed a band called the Motowns, which became Tower of Power after meeting Stephen “Doc” Kupka. They began writing original...
Stephen “Doc” Kupka met Emilio Castillo in July, 1968, and discovered they both had a dream to form a rock and roll band with a strong horn element. By the end of the year the band began touring and was discovered by Bill Graham two years later when the Tower of Power recorded their first album,...

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