Funky Friday – Episode 54: My Funky Valentine

🎧 Quick Links:

🎧 Listen live on KDOG 9 AM Pacific Time→ Here

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

📆 Add to Calendar — Funky Friday (Weekly):

• 9 AM KDOG

Add to Google Calendar

• 9 PM KCSM HD2

Add to Google Calendar

🎶 Catch the Replay → Here

📖 Full Episode Recaps + Setlists → Here

📂 Renegade Radio Site → Here

Airdate: 2.13.26 - 9 AM Pacific Time on KDOG & 9 PM Pacific Time on KCSM HD2

Happy Funky Friday, Renegades of Funk!

Funky Friday – Episode 54: My Funky Valentine

Funky Friday Episode 54: My Funky Valentine will air on Friday the 13th, carrying forward a thread that has existed since the earliest days of Funky Friday. This is not a Valentine’s Day funk radio show built around novelty or sentiment. It is an episode about continuity, confidence, and timing.

Some episodes announce themselves loudly.Others wait until you are ready to recognize them.

My Funky Valentine belongs to the second category.

This set is not organized around romance as spectacle. It is built around connection as structure. Funk has always understood that love does not need explanation. It needs presence. It needs discipline. It needs a groove willing to stay in the pocket long enough for trust to form.

While preparing this episode, a quiet piece of continuity surfaced. Funky Friday’s third episode also landed on Valentine’s Day. That discovery did not redirect Episode 54. It clarified it. Certain grooves return when the conditions are right, not when the calendar demands it.

This episode exists because the instinct still holds.

Funk does not rush intimacy. A bassline does not plead. Rhythm establishes confidence before words ever arrive. That philosophy shapes the entire hour.

Funky Friday – Episode 54: My Funky Valentine

🔥 SETLIST + RENEGADE NOTES

Aretha Franklin — “Freeway of Love” (1985)

Personnel: Aretha Franklin (vocals), Narada Michael Walden (producer, drums), Randy Brecker (trumpet), Clarence Clemons (saxophone), Corrado Rustici (guitar), Walter Afanasieff (keyboards).

Renegade Note: Celebration without hesitation. Authority wrapped in velocity. The groove does not ease into the room. It arrives fully formed, horns forward, confidence intact.

Johnny “Guitar” Watson — “Tarzan” (1980)

Personnel: Johnny “Guitar” Watson (vocals, guitar), Larry James (bass), Paul Humphrey (drums), Greg Phillinganes (keyboards).

Renegade Note: Swagger arrives early. Funk announcing presence without asking permission.

Rick James — “Give It to Me Baby” (1981)

Personnel: Rick James (vocals, bass), Daniel LeMelle (guitar), Alonzo Miller (keyboards), Keith Sterling (drums).

Renegade Note: Heat without hesitation. Desire framed as certainty, not pursuit.

Earth, Wind and Fire — “Love’s Holiday” (1977)

Personnel: Maurice White (vocals), Verdine White (bass), Philip Bailey (vocals), Fred White (drums), Al McKay (guitar).

Renegade Note: Romance slows the pulse without losing momentum. Warmth arrives with discipline.

Sly and The Family Stone — “If You Want Me to Stay” (1973)

Personnel: Sly Stone (vocals, keyboards), Freddie Stone (guitar), Larry Graham (bass), Greg Errico (drums).

Renegade Note: Restraint as seduction. Funk trusting space to do the talking.

The Temptations — “I Can’t Get Next to You” (1969)

Personnel: Dennis Edwards (lead vocals), Norman Whitfield (producer), James Jamerson (bass), Uriel Jones (drums).

Renegade Note: Tension framed as energy. Longing delivered with precision, not desperation.

Rufus and Chaka Khan — “Ain’t Nobody” (1983)

Personnel: Chaka Khan (vocals), David “Hawk” Wolinski (keyboards), Bobby Watson (bass), John Robinson (drums).

Renegade Note: Authority without volume. The room locks in immediately.

Kool and The Gang — “Fresh” (1984)

Personnel: James “J.T.” Taylor (vocals), Robert “Kool” Bell (bass), George Brown (drums), Claydes Charles Smith (guitar).

Renegade Note: Effortless uplift. Groove as shared confidence.

The Time — “Jungle Love” (1984)

Personnel: Morris Day (vocals), Jesse Johnson (guitar), Jellybean Johnson (drums), Jimmy Jam (keyboards).

Renegade Note: Playfulness as control. Funk smiling without losing authority.

Ohio Players — “Skin Tight” (1974)

Personnel: Leroy “Sugarfoot” Bonner (guitar), Marshall Jones (bass), Ralph “Pee Wee” Middlebrooks (trombone), Clarence Satchell (saxophone), Cornelius Johnson (drums).

Renegade Note: Time stretched with intention. Groove extended only as long as the story requires.

Curtis Mayfield — “Give Me Your Love (Love Song)” (1975)

Personnel: Curtis Mayfield (vocals, guitar), Joseph “Lucky” Scott (bass), Tyrone McCullen (drums).

Renegade Note: Intimacy without excess. Late hour gravity settles in.

Isaac Hayes — “Do Your Thing” (1971)

Personnel: Isaac Hayes (vocals, keyboards), Charles Pitts (guitar), Duck Dunn (bass), Willie Hall (drums).

Renegade Note: Long form authority. Funk refusing to rush resolution.

Barry White — “Can’t Get Enough of Your Love, Babe” (1974)

Personnel: Barry White (vocals), Gene Page (arrangement), Wilton Felder (bass), Ed Greene (drums).

Renegade Note: Final embrace. No commentary needed. The groove closes the circle.

Why My Funky Valentine?

Love in funk has never been confined to holidays or sentiment. It lives in practice, in repetition, and in rhythm. Funk has always carried intimacy forward through sound, embedding connection into everyday motion rather than reserving it for special occasions.

Funk did not approach romance as spectacle. It developed its language over time, drawing from soul, blues, gospel, and lived experience. What mattered was not performance, but presence. The groove held steady. The pocket stayed intact. Musicians expressed connection by trusting timing instead of chasing attention.

My Funky Valentine is not a theme. It is a reminder. Love in funk is not declared once a year. It is practiced, sustained, and passed forward through rhythm.

🔗 Quick Links:

🎧 Listen live on KDOG 9 AM Pacific Time→ Here

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

📆 Add to Calendar — Funky Friday (Weekly):

• 9 AM KDOG

Add to Google Calendar

• 9 PM KCSM HD2

Add to Google Calendar

🎶 Catch the Replay → Here

📖 Full Episode Recaps + Setlists → Here

📂 Renegade Radio Site → Here

Funk Facts

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🚘 Aretha Franklin — Velocity as Authority

“Freeway of Love” does not ease into motion. It accelerates. Built on bright horns, tight percussion, and unmistakable vocal command, the groove treats celebration as momentum rather than indulgence. Aretha frames joy as forward movement. Confidence is not suggested. It is driven.

🦍 Johnny “Guitar” Watson — Swagger as Language

“Tarzan” announces itself without explanation. The guitar talks first. The rhythm follows. This is funk establishing presence before conversation begins. Watson proves that attraction often starts with posture, not persuasion.

🔥 Rick James — Desire Without Apology

“Give It to Me Baby” removes ambiguity entirely. The groove does not build toward permission. It assumes it. Rick James reframed funk sexuality as certainty rather than chase, making confidence the most seductive instrument in the room.

🌙 Earth, Wind & Fire — Romance With Discipline

“Love’s Holiday” slows the tempo without softening the structure. Warmth arrives through balance, not indulgence. Earth, Wind & Fire demonstrate that intimacy gains power when rhythm remains intact.

🪞 Sly & The Family Stone — Restraint as Power

“If You Want Me to Stay” is built on space. The groove leaves room for choice. Sly shows that funk can express longing without pressure, letting restraint become its own form of authority.

⚡ The Temptations — Tension as Energy

“I Can’t Get Next to You” transforms desire into momentum. The rhythm moves forward even as the lyric acknowledges distance. Funk here treats frustration not as weakness, but as fuel.

👑 Rufus & Chaka Khan — Authority in Stillness“

Ain’t Nobody” does not rush the room. It claims it. Chaka Khan’s delivery locks the groove in place, proving that presence alone can command attention without escalation.

✨ Kool & The Gang — Ease as Confidence

“Fresh” carries uplift without urgency. The groove smiles, but it never slips. Kool & The Gang remind us that confidence does not require intensity. Sometimes it simply arrives and stays.

🐆 The Time — Playfulness Under Control

“Jungle Love” balances humor with precision. The track flirts openly, but the pocket never breaks. Funk here shows that fun works best when discipline stays in charge.

🕰️ Ohio Players — Time as Texture

“Skin Tight” stretches the moment deliberately. The groove extends not to impress, but to settle in. Ohio Players understand that intimacy often requires time, not speed.

🖤 Curtis Mayfield — Intimacy With Weight

“Give Me Your Love (Love Song)” carries gravity without heaviness. Curtis Mayfield lets emotion surface through patience. The groove listens as much as it speaks.

🏛️ Isaac Hayes — Authority Through Duration

“Do Your Thing” refuses to be hurried. The structure allows confidence to unfold at its own pace. Funk here operates as inevitability, not urgency.

🌹 Barry White — Closure as Embrace

“Can’t Get Enough of Your Love, Babe” does not conclude the story. It seals it. The groove lingers, affirming connection without commentary. Funk ends the hour the way it began. Assured. Present. Complete.