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Once upon a time there was Funk. The Rhythm of the One. Funk's true One was James Brown's epochal 1965 single "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag"--and what a bag it was. From "Papa" came every superbad good-foot groove in the book, from P-Funk thru Prince to Missy Elliott. As George Clinton said on Funkadelic's "One Nation Under A Groove," Funk was about dancing your way out of your constrictions: music for the hips and the genitals. Rock's Backpages hereby offers up a half-ton of mighty jams and wicked riffs for your funking pleasure: the crème de la Fonk from all walks of music.

50: The Jimmy Castor Bunch: "It's Just Begun," from It's Just Begun (RCA, 1972)  A seminal track on the early hip-hop scene. Opening with a solo horn riff before lunging headlong into a merciless wah-wah groove, "Begun" is a funk operetta, crammed with fatback drums, stonking horns, Castor's nutso declamations, guitarist Harry Jensen's best Hendrix-impression, and some of the finest cowbells ever committed to vinyl. The king of early gonzo-funk, saxophonist Castor was also responsible for such caveman-odes as "Troglodyte" and "Luther The Anthropoid."

49: Lee Dorsey: "Yes We Can (Part 1)," from Yes We Can (Polydor, 1970) Dorsey's early soul sides with Allen Toussaint--"Ride Your Pony," "Get Out My Life, Woman"--were propulsive enough, but the title track of the LP they made together in 1970 was even better. The Band so dug Toussaint's ultra-syncopated mix of horns, guitars (electric and acoustic), and gospel organ they hired the N'awlins maestro for Cahoots and Rock Of Ages.

48: Metallica: "Sad But True," from Metallica (Vertigo, 1991) "Blasphemy!" "Sacrilege!" Protest all you want, this funk-metal monsta of a track stays. Lars Ulrich may be an irritating Danish twat, but anyone who can pound the sh*t out of his kit like he does on this "black album" classic has to receive an official pardon.

47: Archie Bell & The Drells: "Tighten Up," from Tighten Up (Atlantic, 1968) Another proto-funk classic and another relentless groove. Based around a classic, rolling bass riff, instruments drop in and out at Archie's request, firmly in the tradition of "Dance To The Music" and "Memphis Soul Stew." Truly a seminal work, you can hear "Tighten Up"'s influence throughout the '70s. It was also an inspiration to the young Todd Rundgren, who wrote a spoof called "Loosen Up" for his band the Nazz.

46: Michael Viner's Incredible Bongo Band: "Apache," from Bongo Rock (MGM, 1973) Yes, this is that "Apache," 'cept coming from another galaxy entirely. Opening with the dup-dup-dup conga sound heard on almost every early rap record, the Bongo Band takes its inspiration from the blaxploitation soundtracks of the early 1970s. Showcasing Viner's massed ranks of percussionists, the track also boasts a solid wall of horns and a screaming Hammond sound that Lalo Schifrin and Jimmy Smith would have been proud of. As cut-up by Kool DJ Herc and scratched up by the Sugarhill Gang and the Furious Five.

45: Miles Davis: "Right Off," from A Tribute To Jack Johnson (Columbia, 1970) Bizarrely, the real star of this 27-minute jam (call it "jazz-funk" if you dare!) is future Mahavishnu Orch twiddler John McLaughlin, whose slashing staccato chords and curling wah-wah fills suggest that Inner Mounting Flame was very much the wrong turning to take.

44: The Brothers Johnson: "Ain't We Funkin' Now'," from Blam! (A&M, 1978) Ain't they just. Louis and George Johnson were musical sons of Sly Stone and Larry Graham who became proteges of Quincy Jones--hard funk goes uptown. This stomper acts as a showcase for Brother Louis's phenomenal slapping skills. Giddown, yawl.

43: Grace Jones: "Pull Up to the Bumper," from Nightclubbing (Island, 1981) The queen of cross-dressing's finest hour and the perfect soundtrack to a hot summer's day in downtown New York. Complemented by car horns, shrieks, synths, and some sweet downhome guitar, Lowell "Sly" Dunbar (drums) and Robbie Shakespeare (bass)--those funky kings of Kingston--lay down a groove that's tightly metronomic yet loose as a Yohji Yamamoto suit.

42: Talking Heads: "Once In A Lifetime," from Remain In Light (Sire, 1980) A suburban nightmare set to a shuddering beat: Talking Heads' greatest moment was all about Eno's channeling of David Byrne's neurotic twitch into a propulsive, swamplike groove. And everything in the track--the itchy guitars, the booming tom-toms, the gamelan-ish keyboard loops--hinges on Tina Weymouth"s simple up-down/two-note bass line. Still entrancing after two decades.

41: The Headhunters: "God Made Me Funky," from Survival Of The Fittest (Arista, 1975) The inspiration, surely, for most of the No Wave scene--where Herbie Hancock's trippy, slo-mo jazzfunk merged with solid gutbucket Southern funk, a gorgeous Gil Scott Heron-style lead vocal and gospel chorus and a positively demented sax solo.

Funk numbers 40-31 comin' at ya next week!

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