Episode
The glorious story of Funk from James Brown to Off The Wall
- Podcast
- Word In Your Ear
- Published
- Jun 3, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 2574
- Processing state
not_requested- Canonical source
- https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear
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Summary
Old friend of the podcast Lloyd Bradley wrote Bass Culture, the defining account of reggae, and he’s now turned his attention to funk, from its deepest roots and via the jazz, arts, TV, radio and pop culture that flavoured it. The main 10-year focus of ‘Funk Has Its Own Reward’ is from James Brown’s ‘Say It Loud - I’m Black and I’m Proud’ to Michael Jackson’s ‘Off The Wall’ but free your mind and all this will follow! … … the importance of radio being “colourblind” … Cab Calloway’s Jive Dictionary and the impact of DJs Martha Jean ‘the Queen’ Steinberg and Daddy-O Daylie … how James Brown floor-tested his records and saved a fortune making them … funk’s deep roots in America’s marching bands … why jazz is funk’s closest relative and what it stole from white rock … how the Family Stone’s Larry Graham made bass the place … how solo singers gave way to the ‘funk gangs’ … how Richard Pryor gave mainstream America a window on a whole new world. … the influence of Soul Train and Sesame Street (19-year-old Nile Rodgers on guitar!) in bringing funk to the masses … George Clinton – “I can’t dance, can’t play, people tell me I can’t sing … but without me none of this would have happened!” … plus the Chambers Brothers, Herbie Hancock, Funkadelic, Bootsy, Quincy Jones, Parliament and the greatest funk record ever made. Order copies of ‘Funk Is Its Own Reward’ here: https://www.hachette.co.uk/titles/lloyd-bradley-2/funk-is-its-own-reward/9781472123411/ Help us to keep The Longest Continuous Conversation In Rock'n'Roll going: https://www.patreon.com/wordinyourear Help us to keep The Longest Continuous Conversation In Rock'n'Roll going: https://www.patreon.com/wordi…