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Five years ago, the Rock's Backpages posse knocked their fevered crania together and came up with the 50 greatest tracks ever laid down in the name of F.U.N.K. Here come the next ten, from K.C. & the Sunshine Band to Fela Kuti via Funkadelic and Wacko Jackson...-- Barney Hoskyns, Editorial Director, Rock's Backpages

30 K.C. & the Sunshine Band: "Get Down Tonight," from K.C. & the Sunshine Band (TK, 1975) We could be very snooty and disqualify these Miami Vice dudes on grounds of ofayness. Actually, we will be snooty enough to select the relentless, ecstatic, Clavinet-crazed "Get Down Tonight" over the more obvious/populist "That's the Way (I Like It)." So c'mon and "do a little dance/make a little love..." Resist if you dare.

29 James Brown: "Sex Machine," single (King, 1970) What is there left to say about this? In a thousand years' time, our descendants will listen to this and bleep: "That Was The Funk." Shall we take it to the bridge?

28 D.J. Rogers: "On The Road Again," from On The Road Again (RCA, 1976) An intro of airport sound effects ("Last call for all passengers..." "Hey man, you got the time?" etc.), a jet taking off, then a sudden swirl of strings drags you slap-bang into groove central. Sustained by a whole choir of backing vocalists and anchored by the awesome slap bass of Keith Hatchell, Rogers laments life on the road: "I run for the hotel, all the groupies wish me well... I grow tired of every hotel lobby, but I want my son to grow up and be somebody". Voices from the church, grooves from the alley. A masterpiece.

27 Funkadelic: "(Not Just) Knee Deep," from Uncle Jam Wants You (Warner Bros., 1979) Forgive us for omitting "One Nation Under a Groove," but this fiendishly funky epic from Uncle Jam is even better: King George at his elasticated, hilarious best, rescuing late '70s dance music from the disco "blahs". In funk he trusted, and so should you.

26 Little Feat: "Rock and Roll Doctor," from Feats Don't Fail Me Now (Warner Bros., 1974) A dense, sweaty take on the New Orleans second-line strut. Beats go missing, Bill Payne's Wurlitzer piano nudges and nurdles, Lowell George's slide whines over the top. In the engine room, Richie Hayward and Ken Gradney nail down an awesome groove. Two Degrees in be-bop? A Phd in Swing? More like a Masters in Da Fonk.

25 Donny Hathaway: "Jealous Guy," from Donny Hathaway Live (Atlantic, 1971) A silk purse from a sow's ear. Donny takes John Lennon's drab whingeathon and, ably assisted by a band of the reddest heat, transforms it into a soulful groove of the first order. Who said funk had to be fast? Drummer Fred White's snare is so in-the-pocket it's frightening, whilst NY session god Cornell Dupree's guitar sparkles and shimmers. Did Hathaway ever sound better? We think not.

24 Tom Tom Club: "Genius of Love" (Island, 1981) A timeless slice of moonlighting from Talking Heads' Chris and Tina, "Genius" is a dreamy conflation of slowed-down "Once In A Lifetime" funk, throbbing dub bass and indie-girly vocals – one of the great club tracks of the '80s and unequivocal in its homage to James Brown, Hamilton Bohannon and the fonk in general. Reborn many times as a hip hop sample.

23 Rufus: "Tell Me Something Good," from Rags To Rufus (ABC, 1974) The story, no doubt apocryphal, is that Stevie Wonder popped his head around the studio door during a Rufus recording sesh. "Hey, Stevie, ya'll wanna write us a song?" Ten minutes later...voila! And what a song it was. Taken at a hip-grinding mid tempo, built around a gorgeous descending clavinet-and-wah-guitar riff, and topped off by Chaka Khan in full-on finger-wagging "Give it ta me now!" attitude, this funk great still stirs the senses. A classically dry mid-'70s sound and a refusal to quite let rip gives the song a superb tension, unlike the somewhat bloated Live: Stompin' At The Savoy re-visit.

22 Michael Jackson: "Don't Stop ("Til You Get Enough)," from Off The Wall (Epic, 1979) Easy to forget how electrifying and downright fonkeh this stellar intro to the New MJ was. (Hey, the dude was still black in 1979!) With Quincy's virtual wall of funk behind him – special nods to Louis Johnson on bass, the Jerry Hey-led horns, and Paulinho Da Costa heading up a phalanx of percussionists – Jacko soars superbly over some of the slickest fills ever devised, "melting like hot candlewax". You will too.

21 Fela Anikulapo Kuti: "I.T.T. (International Thief Thief)," from Black President (Arista, 1981) Nigerian Fela Kuti was a legend: he singlehandedly created the Afro-Beat genre, founded his own state – the Kalakuta Republic – wedded over 20 of his singers and dancers (beat that, Prince!) and spent over two years as a political prisoner. His songs mixed the politics of Kwame Nkrumah, Malcolm X and the Black Panthers with a relentless jazz-based, keyboard- and horn-driven funk. Here, amidst avant-garde horns and snatches of keyboard that sound like Al Kooper attempting Thelonious Monk, Kuti exhorts his people to stand up against the imperialism of multinationals like ITT. "African man we no dey carry s**t," indeed!

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