Funky Friday – Episode 42: Beam of a Titan

A Tribute to Coach John Beam

Airdate: 11.21.25 - 9am Pacific Time on KDOG & 9pm Pacific Time on KCSM HD2

🔗 Quick Links:

🎧 Listen live on KDOG  9am Pacific Time→ Here

🎧 Listen live on KCSM HD2 9pm Pacific Time→ Here (On mobile scroll down to the KCSM HD2 player)

🎶 Catch the Replay → Here

📖 Full Episode Recaps + Setlists → Here

🎟 RSVP to Episodes → Here

📂 Renegade Radio Site → Here

Happy Funky Friday.

This week, Oakland lost a giant — a mentor, a builder, a lifeline, a man who shaped generations at Skyline High and Laney College. Coach John Beam wasn’t just a football coach; he was an architect of possibility. A Titan who taught Eagles to fly.

Our condolences to the Beam family and the Community of Oakland. His impact and legacy reach far beyond the field.

Today’s episode steps out of its usual swagger and into something deeper: a memorial in rhythm. A journey through grief, community, and legacy, told through soul, funk, and the heartbeat of the Bay.

This is Funky Friday Episode 42 — Beam of a Titan.

Episode Set List

Marvin Gaye — “Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)” (1971, Detroit → Everywhere)

Personnel: Marvin Gaye – vocals/keys | James Jamerson – bass | Bob Babbitt – bass | Chet Forest – drums | David Van DePitte – arrangement

Renegade Note: Marvin didn’t just write a song — he wrote a diagnosis. “Inner City Blues” is a mirror held up to America, capturing the pressure, violence, and fatigue of communities like Oakland long before cable news ever cared. The bassline moans like a siren, the drums feel like a slow march through grief, and Marvin’s voice lands somewhere between prayer and warning. For times like this, it’s not just appropriate — it’s honest. Coach Beam raised young men inside these same truths, meeting them where they were and lifting them higher.

Tower of Power — “So Very Hard to Go” (1973, Oakland)

Personnel: Lenny Williams – vocals | Emilio Castillo – sax | Stephen “Doc” Kupka – baritone sax | Rocco Prestia – bass | David Garibaldi – drums

Renegade Note: A ballad from the city itself — born in Oakland, shaped in Oakland, sung for Oakland. “So Very Hard to Go” is one of Tower of Power’s most vulnerable recordings, carried on Lenny Williams’ soaring voice and that unmistakable East Bay rhythm. TOP rarely slows down, but when they do, it’s devastating. it’s about loss, gratitude, and the ache of letting go. Oakland knows that feeling these past few weeks.

The Isley Brothers — “For the Love of You” (1975, Cincinnati)

Personnel: Ronald Isley – vocals | Ernie Isley – guitar | Chris Jasper – keys | Marvin Isley – bass

Renegade Note:A sonic breath in a heavy moment. “For the Love of You” is velvet, warmth, and open sky. Ernie Isley’s guitar floats, Ronald Isley’s voice consoles, and the groove invites reflection instead of collapse. After the weight of the first three tracks, the Isleys offer a moment of release — a reminder that love, memory, and community are what hold us together when the world tilts.

Marvin Holmes & The Uptights — “Day of Rest” (1972, Oakland)

Personnel: Marvin Holmes – guitar/bandleader | Victor Holmes – bass | Eddie “Sugarman” Curtis – keys | Billy Ingram – drums | The Uptights Horn Section – brass/woodwinds

Renegade Note: East Oakland soul-funk with Sunday-morning gravity. “Day of Rest” isn’t about movement — it’s about space. A moment of pause, a breath inside the storm. Holmes built music that carried both the grit and grace of the Town, and this track lands like a quiet hymn. Placed here, it becomes the emotional center of the tribute — a still point to honor a mentor, a coach, and a man who lifted generations. Oakland needed this moment of stillness.

Maze feat. Frankie Beverly — “Before I Let Go” (1981, San Francisco / Oakland)

Personnel: Frankie Beverly – vocals/guitar | Robin Duhe – bass | Roame Lowry – percussion

Renegade Note: If the Bay Area had an official family reunion anthem, it would be this. “Before I Let Go” is pure community energy — BBQ smoke, folding chairs, cousins you haven’t seen in years, kids dancing on the grass. Maze didn’t build hits; they built rituals. This is where the tribute shifts from grief into celebration, because that’s the kind of man Coach Beam was — someone who brought people together.

The Pointer Sisters — “Yes We Can Can” (1973, Oakland)

Personnel: Anita Pointer – vocals | Bonnie Pointer – vocals | June Pointer – vocals

Renegade Note: Pure Oakland optimism and communal uplift. “Yes We Can Can” is unity, resilience, and belief in better — the philosophy Coach Beam lived by. If there was ever a mission statement for lifting young people toward their future, it’s this song.

Con Funk Shun — “Ffun” (1977, Vallejo)

Personnel: Felton Pilate – vocals/guitar | Michael Cooper – vocals/guitar | Karl Fuller – trumpet

Renegade Note: Vallejo’s finest bring joy with a capital J. “Ffun” is pure Bay Area bounce — rubbery bass, tight horns, and harmonies sharp enough to cut glass. The song embodies a truth Beam lived daily: joy isn’t a luxury, it’s fuel. When you’re lifting young people up, sometimes joy is the difference between quitting and climbing.

Aretha Franklin — “Rock Steady” (1971, Detroit)

Personnel: Aretha Franklin – vocals | Donny Hathaway – keys | Dr. John – percussion | Chuck Rainey – bass | Bernard Purdie – drums

Renegade Note: Aretha steps into full funk mode here, powered by one of the cleanest rhythm sections ever assembled. Purdie’s drums snap like electricity, Chuck Rainey walks the bass like a sermon, and Aretha rides the groove with swagger and precision. “Rock Steady” is about finding your footing — something Coach Beam helped countless young men do on and off the field.

The O’Jays — “Give the People What They Want” (1975, Philadelphia)

Personnel: Walter Williams – vocals | Eddie LeVert – vocals | MFSB – instrumentation

Renegade Note:Funky, righteous, and unmistakably communal. A song about listening to the needs of the people and showing up with integrity. If Beam represented anything, it was the ability to understand what his players truly needed — structure, belief, purpose — and to give it without hesitation.

Santana — “Oye Como Va” (1971, San Francisco)

Personnel: Carlos Santana – guitar | Gregg Rolie – keys | Michael Carabello – percussion | José “Chepito” Areas – timbales

Renegade Note: Santana’s Latin-rock classic is pure Bay multicultural rhythm — the sound of a city built from many worlds moving as one. “Oye Como Va” means “Listen to how this rhythm goes.” It’s an invitation. A call to move together. A reflection of the community Beam helped shape: diverse, resilient, and always in motion.

Stevie Wonder — “Higher Ground” (1973, Los Angeles)

Personnel: Stevie Wonder – everything (clavinet, drums, vocals, Moog bass)**

Renegade Note: Written after a near-death experience, “Higher Ground” is Stevie’s testament to second chances, spiritual growth, and the fight forward. The drums slap, the clavinet growls, and Stevie’s voice pushes like a man climbing. This record carries the spirit of rising above circumstances — the kind of climb Beam instilled in his players, students, and community.

Sly & The Family Stone — “I Want to Take You Higher” (1969, San Francisco)

Personnel: Sly Stone – vocals/keys | Cynthia Robinson – trumpet | Larry Graham – bass | Freddie Stone – guitar

Renegade Note: A Bay Area anthem. A stadium lifter. A unifier. This track isn’t about literal height — it’s about elevation of spirit. Energy. Momentum. Used memorably in the year 2000 movie Remember the Titans, it resonates even more here: a reminder that leadership at its best doesn’t drag people — it lifts them.

Curtis Mayfield — “Move On Up” (1970, Chicago)

Personnel: Curtis Mayfield – vocals/guitar | Joseph “Lucky” Scott – bass | Master Henry Gibson – percussion

Renegade Note:Curtis Mayfield’s masterpiece isn’t just a song — it’s a philosophy. A blueprint for progress. A melody built on hope, persistence, and the belief that better is always possible. No record captures Coach Beam’s life mission more clearly than this one. It’s the perfect closing chapter: a call forward, upward, onward.

WHY BEAM OF A TITAN?

Because Coach John Beam embodied the best of what Oakland can be — tough, loving, resilient, and transformative. Because he met young people at their lowest and showed them their highest potential. Because he built a community through discipline, compassion, and belief. Because he carried himself with strength and humility. Because his loss shook a city that already knows too much grief.

This episode walks through that emotional arc — pain, reflection, celebration, and finally, uplift. It’s not just a playlist. It’s a goodbye. And a thank you. rest in power Coach Beam.

🔗 Quick Links:

🎧 Listen live on KDOG  9am Pacific Time→ Here

🎧 Listen live on KCSM HD2 9pm Pacific Time→ Here (On mobile scroll down to the KCSM HD2 player)

🎶 Catch the Replay → Here

📖 Full Episode Recaps + Setlists → Here 

🎟 RSVP to Episode → Here

📂 Renegade Radio Site → Here

Funk Facts

---

Marvin Gaye — “Inner City Blues”

Marvin fought Motown to release What’s Going On, recording the entire album against the label’s wishes. It went on to shift the cultural landscape and redefine what soul music could say.

Tower of Power — “So Very Hard to Go”

Though known for their horn-driven funk, TOP considered this ballad their proudest vocal work — a rare moment of vulnerability from a band built on swagger and groove.

Aretha Franklin — “Rock Steady”

Featuring Bernard Purdie’s iconic “Purdie Shuffle,” the track became a drumming landmark and one of Aretha’s funkiest recordings.

Santana — “Oye Como Va”

Originally written by Tito Puente, Santana’s version became a musical bridge between Latin, rock, funk, and the Bay’s multicultural heartbeat.

Curtis Mayfield — “Move On Up”

Though not a major U.S. hit at release, it became one of the most influential soul anthems of all time — sampled, quoted, and revered across decades of hip-hop and soul.

IN MEMORY OF COACH JOHN BEAM

A mentor, a leader, a Titan, an Eagle, and a North Star for thousands. Thank you for everything you gave this city. Your legacy lives on in every life you lifted.