February 2011 \ Features \ 5 Funk Guitarists You Should Know

5 Funk Guitarists You Should Know

Oscar Jordan

Meet the players who’ve done more than any other to set heads a-bobbing, hips a-swaying, and dance floors afire around the globe.
Premier Guitar February 2011
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Funk is much more than a style of music that evolved from R&B in the 1960s—it’s a way of life. Or, as the late great James Brown said in “(Get up I Feel Like Being A) Sex Machine, Pt. 1,” “You got ta have the feelin’.” It’s the sound of a tight ensemble powered by a relentless groove. It’s sweat, soul, and everybody playing in the pocket. It’s subservience to the first beat of every bar. Groove is the monarch of the genre.

But funk is also about hip, interlocking guitar parts that make the song pop. In funk, the song always comes first, and the best funk guitar parts are mini compositions within the song. Creating these mini compositions requires mastering a variety of techniques, each of which is inevitably and indelibly seasoned by each player’s ethnic, regional, and musical backgrounds. That’s why veteran 6-string funksters like Leo Nocentelli (The Meters), David Williams (Michael Jackson, Madonna), Johnny “Guitar” Watson, Paul Jackson Jr. (The Temptations), Phelps “Catfish” Collins (Parliament, Funkadelic), George Johnson (The Brothers Johnson), and Gary Shider (Parliament, Funkadelic) all have uniquely funky styles that don’t just rely on stereotypical waka-waka wah hackery.

But the roots of funk reach back even further than the aforementioned masters to five greats—Jimmy Nolen, Freddie Stone, Tony Maiden, Nile Rodgers, and Al McKay. Each guitarist played the funkiest stuff on the planet with individuality, soul, and joie de vivre. They found their distinctive voices within the guitar techniques available to us all, and made great songs groove harder by adding feel, knowledge, and imagination.

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Comments

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Bill
on 10/09/2012 		"Everyone knows James Brown essentially created funk" I love James Brown, but he is the light pop version of what was predominantly a jazz movement. Most of the horn section lines in JB's work were arranged by Jazzers and pulled straight from modal jazz works like Kind of Blue. And at the same time that JB was doing his thing, artists like Herbie Hancock and guitar legend Grant Green were really doing the heavy lifting in defining the rhythms and harmonies of this new genre. Check out Grant Green's The Windjammer if you doubt me!
Bigg O
on 09/18/2012 		An "a'ight" list at best, but that's par for the norm. You have guys who don't know the HISTORY funk trying to write about it, and they're FUDGING it. Someone else already called the author out about Tony Maiden and "You Got the Love." It's a Ray Parker, Jr. lick, and HE is a funk guitarist people should know. I've been listening to this music all my life, and what's interesting is that this writer basically named most of the guys that Guitar Player has decided to talk up over the years. It's not that they don't deserve it; Jimmy Nolen, Al McKay, and Nile Rodgers definitely do. However, to a TRUE funk guitarist like myself, there are some people who loom just as large: again, Ray Parker, Jr.; Wah-Wah Watson; Catfish Collins (in my opinion the funkiest RHYTHM player of all the P-Funk guitarists); Marlo Henderson; etc.
D Goodlett
on 05/08/2012 		Great list but you gotta add Ray Parker Jr. He recorded "You Got the Love", plus all the dope Raydio grooves, Headhunters and even some Stevie stuff. You also have to include Sugafoot from the Ohio Players, Prince, Paul Jackson Jr., and Eddie Hazel and Gary Shider from P-Funk, as well as Ernie Isley and Marlon the Magician from Pleasure. I will Stop with Catfish Phelps from Bootsy/P-Funk--super underrated.
jt
on 04/25/2012 		eddie hazel? somebody? anybody? nobody? I can see not mentioning Steve Cropper, but eddie hazel? maggot brain? get serious! who makes these lists? And what about Mike Scott? the funkiest guitarist on the modern scene? geez!
Erick
on 02/23/2011 		Fantastic article. It's so good to see Nile Rodgers and his mentor Al McKay in the list. I do feel that it should be mentioned that prior to EWF, Al McKay was best known as the guy who played the guitar on Isaac Hayes's Shaft theme. There is an interview somewhere of Al McKay telling the story, how he had become famous because of that song and how Maurice White had insisted several times before he joined.
Johnny
on 02/11/2011 		Fantastic article! I have a local public radio show called "Funk Soul Brothers And Sisters" and I've been playing everything from super rare 45's to the classics and these guitar players are some of the unsung heroes. It's probably safe to say a lot of the musicians don't get the props they deserve.On most of the funk/soul recordings from the mid sixties to mid seventies you hear real live musicians playing together super tight as a unit and it still sounds fresh and vibrant today.If you're a fan of this music check out my show at funksoulbrothersandsisters.com. Rock on!
Purple O'Brian
on 02/06/2011 		Thanks for a wondeful article. It jogged some memories and enlightened. Having grown up listening to 'revue' bands in St. Louis, I've always thought this catagory was filled with under rated and under appreciated masters....and kudos to comment poster 'Bernardo Gui'...good comments, and picking the name of a Vatican Inquisitor a nice touch.
sss128
on 01/25/2011 		Check out Teenie Hodges who played on all the Al Green hits. He would augment the vocal phrases with tasteful, well thought out lines. Check out the breakdown on Love and Happiness. Lots of great rhythm playing on songs like Let's Stay Together.
Jim
on 01/23/2011 		Maiden plays guitar "You've Got The Love" on Stompin' at The Savoy."
adrian
on 01/22/2011 		The song you"ve got the love Ray Parker Jr is the guitar player



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