BBC - Soul Deep The Story of Black Popular Music (2005) Part 5 Ain't It Funky James Brown

This foot-stomping six-part series - made by the BBC team who produced the critically-acclaimed “Lost Highway”, “Walk on By” and “Dancing in the Streets” series - charts the evolution of soul music, with a fascinating combination of rare archive footage and over 100 contemporary interviews. In the words of its greatest performers, producers and songwriters, “Soul Deep The Story of Black Popular Music” is a search through time and place for the roots of black music, the genetic blueprint for nearly all other forms of modern popular music. From rhythm & blues, soul, Motown, funk and hip hop, we learn the story of the rise…and further rise of black music—the biggest single influence on global popular culture today. “Soul Deep” is the story of the beat that made the dance floor jump, the sax that made ears ring and the songs that made us laugh and cry. It's the story of legends like James Brown, Otis Redding, Sam Cooke and Ray Charles, and of the music that changed the world. Central to the rise of soul music as a global phenomenon was the independent record labels, from Stax Records in Detroit to Atlantic Records in New York. The importance of the producer in record making is exemplified by Berry Gordy, founder of Motown Records, who single-handedly managed to create the most prolific 'music-making factory' the world has ever seen, producing artists such as The Four Tops, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Diana Ross and The Jackson 5. Now, after years of struggle for mainstream acceptance, soul music is one of the biggest musical genres in the world and a billion-dollar industry. This landmark documentary reveals how black music has achieved the enviable position of not having to compromise on its 'blackness' or its attitude.

Part 5 Ain't It Funky James Brown

Funk was a brand new Soul bag. It was the soundtrack to riots and revolution, the heady Black Power era in the second half of the 60s and early 70s. Its tough urban syncopated rhythms brilliantly evoked a time of Black cultural pride and political upheaval. By emphasizing the first beat of every bar in Brand New Bag, Brown created a musical revolution that changed the course of rhythm and blues, opening the way for hip hop. And it was this new edge which influenced two emerging songwriters at Motown, Norman Whitfield and Barratt Strong, who became the architects of that label's psychedelic soul years. Ain't It Funky traces Funk's roots from the raw blueprint of James Brown's Papa's Got A Brand New Bag to the crazy, psychedelic Funk of George Clinton and his Parliament/Funkadelic thang of the mid-70s. Interviewees include Bootsy Collins, James Brown, George Clinton, Otis Williams (The Temptations), Pee Wee Ellis, Fred Wesley and David Ritz.

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