Top 50 1970s Funk/R&B Songs

By Scott Goldfine

Top 50 1970s Funk/R&B Songs: It should go without saying that every selection is the long album or extended version rather than single or edited versions of the song, including the top choice being the amazing 12-inch extended recording. Provided links connect to albums of origin, or alternatives when original sources are not available.

1. One Nation Under a Groove – Funkadelic (1978)

One Nation Under a Groove GET NOW (Amazon)
Top 50 1970s Funk/R&B Songs

2. Fire – Ohio Players (1974)
Fire GET NOW (Amazon)

3. Fopp – Ohio Players (1975)
Honey GET NOW (Amazon)

4. School Boy Crush – Average White Band (1975)
Cut the Cake GET NOW (Amazon)

5. Shining Star – Earth, Wind and Fire (1975)
That’s The Way Of The World GET NOW (Amazon)

6. Slide – Slave (1977)
Slave GET NOW (Amazon)

7. Dazz – Brick (1977)
Good High / Brick: Deluxe Edition GET NOW (Amazon)

8. Take Me to the Next Phase – Isley Brothers (1978)
Showdown GET NOW (Amazon)

9. Flashlight – Parliament (1977)
Funkentelechy vs. the Placebo Syndrome GET NOW (Amazon)

10. Stretchin’ Out – Bootsy’s Rubber Band (1976)
STRETCHIN OUT GET NOW (Amazon)

11. The Big Payback – James Brown (1972)
The Payback GET NOW (Amazon)

12. Gimme My Mule – Commodores (1976)
Movin’ On GET NOW (Amazon)

13. The Grooveline – Heatwave (1978)
Central Heating GET NOW (Amazon)

14. (Not Just) Knee Deep – Funkadelic (1979)
Uncle Jam Wants You GET NOW (Amazon)

15. Love Ballad – L.T.D. (1976)
Love to the World GET NOW (Amazon)

16. Jam Fan (Hot) – Bootsy’s Rubber Band (1979)
This Boot Is Made for Fonk-N GET NOW (Amazon)

17. Outa-Space – Billy Preston (1973)
I Wrote a Simple Song GET NOW (Amazon)

18. Do It (Till You’re Satisfied) – B.T. Express (1974)
Do It (‘Til You’re Satisfied) GET NOW (Amazon)

19. Reasons (live) – Earth, Wind and Fire (1976)
Gratitude GET NOW (Amazon)

20. Bustin’ Out – Rick James (1979)
Bustin Out of L Seven GET NOW (Amazon)

21. Person to Person – Average White Band (1974)
AWB GET NOW (Amazon)

22. Reach for It – George Duke (1977)
Reach for It GET NOW (Amazon)

23. Mothership Connection (Star Child) – Parliament (1975)
Mothership Connection GET NOW (Amazon)

24. Wanna Make Love (Come Flick My Bic) – Sun (1976)
Wanna Make Love / Sun-Power GET NOW (Amazon)

25. Valentine Love – Michael Henderson (1976)
Solid – Expanded Edition GET NOW (Amazon)

26. Shake Your Rump to the Funk – Bar-Kays (1976)
Too Hot to Stop GET NOW (Amazon)

27. Theme From the Black Hole – Parliament (1979)
Gloryhallastoopid GET NOW (Amazon)

28. Superstition – Stevie Wonder (1972)
Talking Book GET NOW (Amazon)

29. L-o-v-e U – Brass Construction (1977)
Brass Construction III & IV GET NOW (Amazon)

30. Fancy Dancer – Commodores (1977)
Hot On The Tracks GET NOW (Amazon)

31. The Jam – Graham Central Station (1975)
AIN’T NO BOUT-A-DOUBT IT GET NOW (Amazon)

32. Shaky Ground – Temptations (1974)
Song For You GET NOW (Amazon)

33. Fame – David Bowie (1975)
Young Americans GET NOW (Amazon)

34. Play That Funky Music – Wild Cherry (1976)
Wild Cherry GET NOW (Amazon)

35. Get Down Tonight – K.C. & the Sunshine Band (1975)
KC and the Sunshine Band 25th Anniversary Collection GET NOW (Amazon)

36. Merry Go Round – Ohio Players (1977)
Angel / Jass-Ay-Lay-Dee GET NOW (Amazon)

37. A Real Mother for Ya – Johnny “Guitar” Watson (1977)
A Real Mother For Ya GET NOW (Amazon)

38. Back in Love – L.T.D. (1977)
Something To Love GET NOW (Amazon)

39. Confunkshunizeya – Con Funk Shun (1976)
Secrets GET NOW (Amazon)

40. Slippery When Wet – Commodores (1975)
Caught in the Act GET NOW (Amazon)

41. Super Natural Feeling – Blackbyrds (1977)
Action / Better Days GET NOW (Amazon)

42. Glide – Pleasure (1978)
Future Now GET NOW (Amazon)

43. Climbing Up the Ladder – Isley Brothers (1977)
Go For Your Guns GET NOW (Amazon)

44. Living for the City – Stevie Wonder (1973)
Innervisions GET NOW (Amazon)

45. Hollywood Swinging – Kool and the Gang (1973)
Wild And Peaceful GET NOW (Amazon)

46. Masquerade – George Benson (1976)
Breezin GET NOW (Amazon)

47. Good to Your Earhole – Funkadelic (1975)
Let’s Take It to the Stage GET NOW (Amazon)

48. Bambi – Prince (1978)
Prince GET NOW (Amazon)

49. Best of My Love – Emotions (1977)
Rejoice GET NOW (Amazon)

50. Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin) – Sly & the Family Stone (1970)
Sly & The Family Stone Greatest Hits GET NOW (Amazon)

Scott Goldfine

As a fervid lifelong music & film enthusiast / student, I grew up in and around the Los Angeles entertainment industry. I have worked and held many positions in various media realms, since 1998 serving as Editor-in-Chief and now Associate Publisher for Security Sales & Integration, a trade publication serving the electronic security industry. I love several genres of music & film. The former includes funk (Parliament-Funkadelic, Prince, Ohio Players, etc.); blues (Stevie Ray Vaughan, Buddy Guy, Eric Gales, etc.); rock (Jack White, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Neil Young, etc.); hard rock (AC/DC, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, etc.); jazz (Herbie Hancock, Bob James, Crusaders, etc.); R&B (Stevie Wonder, Chaka Khan, Gil Scott-Heron, etc.); and more. I was a club disc jockey and ran a mobile DJ company (Musical Moods) for more than 15 years, which is where the name Dr. GX originates (Doctor Good Times). Fave film genres include horror (Dawn of the Dead, Evil Dead, Nightmare on Elm Street, etc.); science fiction (Aliens, Terminator, 2001, etc.); action (Warriors, Road Warrior, Die Hard); westerns (Outlaw Josey Wales, Showdown at OK Corral; Wild Bunch, etc.); suspense (Jaws, Inception, Silence of the Lambs, etc.); drama (Apocalypse Now, Goodfellas, Pulp Fiction, etc.); and comedies (Life of Brian, Superbad, Ruthless People, etc.). I have attended many hundreds of concerts and movies (in theaters or screenings). I may as well also throw in a few favorite TV shows to give an even broader taste of my sensibilities. A handful would be Breaking Bad, Walking Dead, Lost, Justified, Fargo, Seinfeld, Sopranos, South Park, Brooklyn Nine Nine, Key & Peele, Monty Python, Inside Amy Schumer, Louie, Modern Family, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Last Man on Earth, Bob Newhart Show, All in the Family and The Office. Fave authors are Stephen King, Clive Barker and Michael Crichton. I am also a big sports fan and lifelong supporter of the Dallas Cowboys (NFL), Los Angeles Lakers (NBA) and Pittsburgh Pirates (MLB). Also enjoy my family of course, electronics/computers/AV gear, and animals, nature and outdoor activities. Graduate of Santa Monica High School, Santa Monica College and California State University Northridge (Radio-TV-Film, Psychology minor). Also studied at UCLA for kinesiology/psychology and earned post-grad Certificate in Accounting from Santa Monica College. Present main occupation is as Associate Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Security Sales & Integration (SSI), which I joined in 1998. I am responsible for overseeing all editorial content in print. online, electronic, in-person and any other media or products for the electronic security industry's leading business-to-business trade publication. SSI is part of Framingham, Mass.-based Emerald Expositions.