Back in the 80’s day, there was a song called Five Minutes of Funk by Whodini. It wasn’t very funky, but it was five minutes of a great rap/ hip hop tune.
I caught myself singing the lyrics to 5 Minutes of Funk the other day, which led to the idea of 5 Videos of Funk. For those of you not familiar with Funk as a music genre let’s get a breakdown from Wikipedia:

“Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid-late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, soul jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground. Funk songs are often based on an extended vamp on a single chord, distinguishing it from R&B and soul songs centered around chord progressions….
…many of the most famous bands in the genre also played disco and soul extensively. Funk music was a major influence on the development of disco music and afrobeat, and funk samples have been used extensively in genres including hip hop, house music and drum and bass. It is also the main influence of go-go, a subgenre associated with funk.”—Wikipedia

As Whodini would say, “…separate the good stuff from the junk…” Here are 5 of my favorite funky videos:

I play this video whenever someone gets on my nerves. It helps me remember how to behave on this planet. The YAY at the end of this video & The Dating Game style groovy music is fun too!

I love this video, not only because the Ohio Players really know how to get funky, but because Wolfman Jack introduces them.

If we’re gonna get funky, we’ve got to Get Down with the Soul Train dancers.

It’s not only the guys that can get down and get funky. Here’s Chaka Khan with Rufus telling us something good.

Good God! Give us those funky horns! James Brown says… “Get Up Offa That Thing”

Remember these are 5 of MY favorite funk videos. What funky songs get you up offa that thing?

I was groovin’ and movin’ with the line dancers the first time I saw the show. I must have been about 5 years old. A blond haired, blue eyed kiddo who knew she liked Soul Train way better than American Bandstand.

My dad loved The Temptations, The O’Jays, and anything R&B. He showed me my first dance moves and I caught on right away. So if you’re ever feeling a little bit funky, take the Love Train to the Soul Train station. You’ll feel groovy in no time.

Do you have a favorite Soul Train memory?