Funky Friday – Episode 57: For Mom
- Noah McDonough
- 12 hours ago
- 6 min read
🎧 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 → Coming soon
📖 Full Episode Recaps + Setlists → Here
📂 Renegade Radio Site → Here
Airdate: 3.6.26 - 9 AM Pacific Time on KDOG & 9 PM Pacific Time on KCSM HD2
Happy Funky Friday, Renegades of Funk!
Funky Friday – Episode 57: For Mom
Funky Friday Episode 57 will air on Friday the 6th, carrying a quieter intention beneath the groove. This episode will begin not with ignition, but with reflection. A birthday dedication frames the broadcast this week, honoring the music that shaped memory long before Funky Friday ever reached the airwaves.
Every show has a pulse. This one has a heartbeat.
The hour will open gently. A song of emotional gravity will establish the tone before rhythm begins to gather around it. From there the broadcast will gradually widen its stride. Soul will set the emotional ground. Voices of authority will arrive first. The groove will take its time before tightening into the pocket.
Momentum matters.
This episode will move deliberately from reflection toward celebration. Early minutes will carry warmth and space before the rhythm section begins asserting itself. Once the pocket locks, the broadcast will expand into the deeper architecture of funk — bass lines thickening, horns sharpening, percussion settling into disciplined repetition.
Some funk announces itself immediately.
Other funk reveals its strength slowly.
Episode 57 chooses patience.
Midway through the hour the energy will rise. The pocket will deepen. Horn lines will sharpen and the dance floor will begin to take shape. The rhythm section will carry the narrative forward while voices, brass, and percussion build momentum together.
The closing minutes will choose joy.
After the groove stretches across the hour, the broadcast will land on a note of uplift — the kind of song that leaves the room lighter than it found it. Reflection at the beginning. Celebration at the end.
The broadcast will air at 9AM PT on KDOG and 9PM PT on KCSM HD2, continuing Funky Friday’s commitment to intentional radio programming that blends groove, atmosphere, and lineage.
This week the rhythm carries a personal note.
Sometimes the deepest grooves come from the people who first introduced us to music to begin with.
Episode 57 is for Mom.
Funky Friday – Episode 57: For Mom
🔥 SETLIST + RENEGADE NOTES
Roberta Flack — “Killing Me Softly with His Song” (1973)
Personnel: Roberta Flack (vocals, piano), Eric Gale (guitar), Ron Carter (bass), Grady Tate (drums).
Renegade Note: A gentle opening. Reflection before rhythm. The hour begins with emotional gravity.
Marvin Gaye — “What’s Going On” (1971)
Personnel: Marvin Gaye (vocals, piano), James Jamerson (bass), Eli Fontaine (saxophone), The Funk Brothers (rhythm section).
Renegade Note: Soul with conscience. Warmth and message move together.
Bill Withers — “Lovely Day” (1977)
Personnel: Bill Withers (vocals), Ray Parker Jr. (guitar), Melvin Dunlap (bass), James Gadson (drums).
Renegade Note: Optimism enters the room. The pocket begins to gather.
Aretha Franklin — “Rock Steady” (1971)
Personnel: Aretha Franklin (vocals, piano), Donny Hathaway (electric piano), Chuck Rainey (bass), Bernard Purdie (drums).
Renegade Note: Authority arrives. Soul tightens into groove.
Chaka Khan — “I’m Every Woman” (1978)
Personnel: Chaka Khan (vocals), Nickolas Ashford & Valerie Simpson (songwriters), David “Hawk” Wolinski (keys), Tony Maiden (guitar).
Renegade Note: Power and celebration. The rhythm gains lift.
The Meters — “Cissy Strut” (1969)
Personnel: Leo Nocentelli (guitar), George Porter Jr. (bass), Zigaboo Modeliste (drums), Art Neville (organ).
Renegade Note: Minimalist funk architecture. The pocket becomes the center.
Parliament — “Give Up the Funk (Tear the Roof Off the Sucker)” (1976)
Personnel: George Clinton (vocals), Bernie Worrell (keys), Bootsy Collins (bass), Garry Shider (guitar), Parliament-Funkadelic collective.
Renegade Note: Communal groove. One of funk’s defining anthems.
Bill Withers — “Use Me” (1972)
Personnel: Bill Withers (vocals), Benorce Blackmon (guitar), Melvin Dunlap (bass), James Gadson (drums).
Renegade Note: Dark groove authority. Minimalism with attitude.
Average White Band — “Cut the Cake” (1975)
Personnel: Alan Gorrie (bass, vocals), Hamish Stuart (guitar, vocals), Roger Ball (saxophone), Malcolm Duncan (saxophone), Robbie McIntosh (drums).
Renegade Note: Funk precision with celebratory flair. The birthday energy arrives.
Kool & The Gang — “Get Down On It” (1981)
Personnel: James “J.T.” Taylor (lead vocals), Ronald Bell (tenor saxophone, songwriting), Robert “Kool” Bell (bass), George Brown (drums), Dennis Thomas (alto saxophone), Claydes Charles Smith (guitar), Eumir Deodato (producer).
Renegade Note: Dance-floor funk with precision. By the early 1980s Kool & The Gang had refined their sound into sleek groove architecture—tight rhythm, bright horns, and a chorus designed to bring the room together.
Herb Alpert — “Rise” (1979)
Personnel: Herb Alpert (trumpet), Andy Armer (keyboards), Abraham Laboriel (bass), Harvey Mason (drums).
Renegade Note: Smooth jazz-funk precision. The trumpet floats while the rhythm section locks into a laid-back pocket that defined late-70s instrumental groove.
The J.B.’s — “Pass the Peas” (1972)
Personnel: Fred Wesley (trombone), Maceo Parker (saxophone), Bootsy Collins (bass), John “Jabo” Starks (drums), James Brown band leadership.
Renegade Note: Horn discipline and rhythmic authority. Pure funk architecture.
Earth, Wind & Fire — “September” (1978)
Personnel: Maurice White (vocals, kalimba), Philip Bailey (vocals), Verdine White (bass), Larry Dunn (keys), Ralph Johnson (drums).
Renegade Note: Pure joy. Funk closes with celebration.
Why Episode 57?
Funky Friday has always honored the lineage of groove.
This week it honors something quieter.
Music enters our lives through people long before we understand genres or production credits. Parents, siblings, friends, mentors, they form the earliest soundtracks of our lives.
Sometimes the records stay with us forever.
Episode 57 begins with reflection and ends with celebration.
🔗 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 → Coming soon
📖 Full Episode Recaps + Setlists → Here
📂 Renegade Radio Site → Here
Funk Facts
🎤 Roberta Flack — A Song Inspired by a Listener
“Killing Me Softly with His Song” began with a concert experience. Singer Lori Lieberman attended a performance by Don McLean and wrote a poem describing how the music felt like the singer was revealing her own life. Songwriters Charles Fox and Norman Gimbel transformed that moment into the composition that Roberta Flack would later turn into a timeless soul recording. Sometimes the audience becomes the story.
🌍 Marvin Gaye — Message Inside the Groove
“What’s Going On” proved that social commentary and groove could coexist without losing momentum. Motown’s rhythm section holds steady while the arrangement floats above it. Protest does not always shout. Sometimes it sings.
☀️ Bill Withers — Optimism as Rhythm
“Lovely Day” rides a deceptively simple groove. The pocket remains steady while Withers stretches the melody across the rhythm. Joy becomes structure. The song reminds us that warmth can be just as powerful as intensity.
👑 Aretha Franklin — Authority in the Pocket
“Rock Steady” does not rush. The groove sits deep while Aretha delivers vocal command over the rhythm section. Soul and funk meet in discipline. When the Queen sings, the band locks in behind her.
✨ Chaka Khan — Power as Celebration
“I’m Every Woman” brings strength to the dance floor. The groove remains tight while the vocal soars above it. Funk thrives when confidence meets rhythm. Celebration becomes part of the pocket.
🥁 The Meters — Minimalism as Funk
“Cissy Strut” proves that funk does not require excess. Guitar, bass, drums, and organ repeat with surgical precision. The groove becomes hypnotic. New Orleans rhythm taught generations of bands how to say more with less.
🔥 Parliament — Community as Groove
“Give Up the Funk (Tear the Roof Off the Sucker)” works because it invites participation. Call and response. Collective rhythm. Funk becomes a shared experience rather than a performance.
🌙 Bill Withers — Groove With Shadows
“Use Me” sits darker than most soul recordings of its era. The rhythm section moves slowly but deliberately. Funk often lives in tension. Not every groove is meant to feel comfortable.
🎂 Average White Band — Precision Funk
“Cut the Cake” showcases horn arrangement and rhythmic discipline working together. The band balances celebration with control. Funk sharpens when the rhythm section refuses to rush.
🎉 Kool & The Gang — Funk Meets Pop Radio
“Get Down On It” marked Kool & The Gang’s transition from hard 1970s funk into the polished dance-funk sound of the early 1980s. Produced by Brazilian arranger Eumir Deodato, the track balanced radio-friendly hooks with a rhythm section still rooted in classic funk pocket.
🎺 Herb Alpert — Instrumental Groove Goes Mainstream
“Rise” became one of the rare instrumental recordings to top the Billboard Hot 100 in 1979. Built around a hypnotic bassline and relaxed drum groove, the record helped carry jazz-funk into pop radio while keeping the pocket intact.
🎺 The J.B.’s — The James Brown Blueprint
“Pass the Peas” captures the pure architecture of James Brown’s band leadership. Horn stabs. Tight rhythm. Repetition with purpose. Funk becomes mechanical precision with human energy.
🌈 Earth, Wind & Fire — Joy as Arrangement
“September” blends horn sections, layered vocals, and rhythmic bounce into one of funk’s most uplifting recordings. Celebration becomes composition. Some grooves are built to last forever.