Please Point in the Direction of Funk

Funk can travel inward, out, up, down, left, or right. The direction that Funk music travels in has  been displayed by a number of different films, documentaries, and TV specials.  The problem is, documentaries are often limited in scope. There is no shortage of literary information about Funk music. The main players in Funk’s development are legendary, and have granted interviews to various media outlets from all over the world. In the book, George Clinton & The Cosmic Odyssey of the P-Funk Empire, by Kris Needs, the author explained how, “The terms ‘rhythm & blues’ was originally coined by Billboard in 1949 as a means of describing ‘race’ music in a less offensive way to blacks and make it palatable to white audiences. R&B quickly began to evolve into something approaching the sound and meaning of its name, in much the same way as would subsequently happen with rock ‘n’ roll, doo-wop, or punk.” U.S. music history is fascinating and something new will always be learned.

From a different angle, Funk! It’s What’s for Dinner: A Funky Music Guide & Reference Source, by Thunderbolt Hayes and Wendy Jacobson is a book that explains the note patterns behind the origins of Funk music.  Most documentaries that explain the origins of Funk don’t have enough time to beyond saying how James Brown changed soul music and learned it by playing gospel music in the local church choir. Henry Roeland Byrd/a/k/a Professor Longhair reaches back to  the origins of Funk by detailing what most documentaries miss. Professor Longhair’s music is well documented in Piano Players Rarely Ever Play Together, which was filmed in 1980. Hayes and Jacobson say how,  “One of Longhair’s great contributions was his particular approach of adopting two-celled, clave-based patterns into New Orleans rhythm and blues (R&B). Longhairs rhythmic approach became a basic template of funk.”  Which direction did the template come from, if it is true that James Brown applied some of Longhair’s elements and made them his own? 

From here, the history of Funk represents a completely different direction.