Soul and Funk for Rock Fans

The following is a revised list of soul and funk artists that I compiled a couple of years ago for another forum, which the open-minded progressive rock fan might like:

Bb

• Bee Gees (Faith No More covered I Started the Joke)
• Maggie Bell and Stone the Crowes (those who say erroneously there aren’t many women rock singers, because they don’t have the power in their voice, can eat their words)
• Booker T and the MGs (Jeff Beck was a fan)
• James Brown (influenced Ian Gillan)

Cc

• Cameo
• The Chi-lites
• Commodores
• Crusaders (jazz rock)

Dd

• Detroit Spinners
• Doobie Brothers (rock and soul fusion)

Ee

• Earth, Wind and Fire

Ff

• Chris Farlowe (formed a group with Albert Lee and Carl Palmer in 1967 and later joined Atomic Rooster)
• Fifth Dimension (progressive soul)
• Roberta Flack
• The Four Tops
• Funkadelic and Parliament (worked with Warren Zevon)

Gg

• Marvin Gaye (What’s Going On album is political, orchestrated and conceptual)
• Graham Central Station
• Al Green

Hh

• Hall and Oates (worked with Todd Rundgren)
• Isaac Hayes (Theme from Shaft) 
• Jimi Hendrix (Band of Gypsies were slightly funkier than the Experience)
• Glenn Hughes (almost single-handedly introduced funk and soul to heavy rock)
• Humble Pie (covered I Can’t Stand the Rain made famous by Ann Peebles)
• The Isley Brothers (wrote Twist and Shout and metamorphosed into the Jimi Hendrix-style The Ladder)

Jj

• Michael Jackson

Kk

• Chaka Khan and Rufus
• Gladys Knight and the Pips

Ll

• Labelle

Mm

• Curtis Mayfield
• Meters

Oo

• Osibisa (early material sounds like Santana)

Pp

• The Philadelphia International All Stars
• Billy Preston (famously worked with the Beatles in Germany and on Let It Be)

Rr

• Lou Rawls
• Otis Redding (you can hear him in Frankie Miller)
• Todd Rundgren (mainly progressive but difficult to pigeon-hole)

Ss

• David Sanctious and Tone (keyboard player whose album was produced by Eddie Offord)

Tt

• The Temptations (psychedelic soul)
• McCoy Tyner (jazz rock)

Ww

• Stevie Winwood and Traffic (on the progressive Arc of a Diver, Stevie has a soulful voice)
• Bill Withers
• Stevie Wonder (among other things, an influential and experimental keyboard player)
• Bobby Womack

Originally posted on Monday 20th June 2011