Funky Party

Time to round up your super-freaky friends and book a ticket to funkytown with these booty-jigglin', bass-wigglin', brassy, sassy dance classics. Here, it's all about the rhythm, the groove, and the moves. James Brown sets the pace with "Get Up (I Feel Like Being A) Sex Machine, Pts. 1 & 2". And thanks to Beyoncé, Stevie Wonder, and Marvin Gaye, you'll be on full steam till sunrise.

Shake that thing all the way through to our ultra-funky Next Steps.

Under some circumstances, the thought of finding yourself in a hot funk is unappealing . . . but here, that's exactly where you want to be. Pigbag's relentless "Papa's Got a Brand New Pigbag" has the power to transform any gathering into a dance-storm of whirling dervishes, and Funkadelic proves itself the ultimate uniting influence with "One Nation Under a Groove". That thing moving your booty? It's called funk, and there's more of it in Deep Cuts.

Give this last can of funk a good shake and spray it 'round your party till your guests are completely doused. Here, the fizz comes from Gwen Guthrie, the former backing singer for Aretha Franklin who hit big in '86 with "Ain't Nothin' Goin' on But the Rent"; the Ohio Players, who made a huge impression on the Red Hot Chili Peppers with "Love Rollercoaster"; and fellow Ohio legends the Dazz Band ("Let It All Blow").

There are many ways to pump life into a flaccid party, but one of the best is to spike it with a heavy dose of funk. From pioneers like James Brown and Sly & The Family Stone through the masters of the P-funkin' '70s, the super-freakin' '80s, the Deee-Lite-ful '90s, and on into the twenty-funkst century (with Joss Stone, the Black Eyed Peas, Gnarls Barkley), we've got the tunes to keep your guests bustin' moves and grindin' grooves right through the night. A twang of bass, a blast of brass, and a pinch of booty . . . your funk party starts now.