A History of Funk Music and Black Liberation of the 1970s | Full Documentary | Independent Lens

Sat, 02 May 2026 13:16:31 +0000

Official website: https://to.pbs.org/IL_2024 | #IndieLensPBS
“WE WANT THE FUNK!,” a syncopated voyage through the history of funk music, spans from gospel, soul, highlife, and early jazz roots, to its rise and impact on new wave and hip-hop, as funk music has been transcendent for creators and listeners alike. Revolutionary moments in the movement are captured in James Brown's dynamism, the extraterrestrial funk of George Clinton's Parliament Funkadelic, transformed girl group Labelle, Fela Kuti's Afrobeat, and other influential musicians of the genre.

WE WANT THE FUNK! | Independent Lens

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#fulldocumentary #funkmusic #musichistory #musicgenre

Chapters
00:00 Intro
00:21 “It’s Got To Be FUNKY”
04:08 American Bandstand & Motown
07:37 Respectability Politics & Assimilation
12:45 James Brown and “The Groove”
16:14 “I’m Black and I’m Proud”
19:00 The Rhythm of Funk & “The One”
24:30 Funky Moves & Funky Grooves
28:34 Hippie Funk: Sly & The Family Stone
30:02 Funk vs. Motown
34:25 Parliament Funkadelic - “Flashlight”
40:30 The Black Anthem
41:50 Gospel, Funk, and Kirk Franklin
45:59 Funk is Sacred & Secular
49:06 The Great Space Race: Funk & Afrofuturism
52:10 Women in Funk: Soul Sista
54:45 The Great Migration
1:00:04 Funk in Africa: Fela Kuti & Afrobeat
1:08:45 Elton John & David Bowie & The Talking Heads
1:16:50 The Funk Lives On: Hip-Hop Samples
1:20:51 Credits

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@independentlens is an Emmy® Award-winning PBS documentary series. With founding executive producer Lois Vossen, the series has been honored with 10 Academy Award nominations and features documentaries united by the creative freedom, artistic achievement, and unflinching visions of independent filmmakers. Presented by ITVS, INDEPENDENT LENS is funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, Acton Family Giving, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Ford Foundation, Park Foundation, Wyncote Foundation, and National Endowment for the Arts.