The Gem City is known for a lot of things, such as the many innovations and inventions made by the Wright Brothers, John H. Patterson and Charles Kettering. But one Dayton hallmark has largely been forgotten about or ignored until recent times, and that is funk music.
Dayton has considerable roots in the genre, and many of the most popular funk artists came from the city, particularly the west side. It was even dubbed “The Land of Funk” in the song “Fantastic Voyage” by Lakeside.
During the time regarded as the peak era of funk (1975-1980) there were 11 funk bands from Dayton signed to major record labels.
It started in the 1970’s when funk music, a fusion genre with elements of jazz, R&B and rock, was emerging in several predominantly African American communities across the U.S. The most important thing was catching a groove and not letting it go.
In its heyday, there were several pioneers that brought funk to the mainstream, including George Clinton, Isaac Hayes and James Brown. But in that 1975 to 1980 period, The Ohio Players put the Gem City on the map.
Though together since 1959, their first hit came in 1974 with “Skin Tight,” which included a rift written by bassist Marshall Jones that fans still send him mail about to this day.
They followed its success with four more #1 hits including “Love Rollercoaster,” “Fire,” “I Wanna Be Free” and “Honey.” They also earned two Grammy nominations and embarked on a European tour.
The Players were the first music superstars to hail from Dayton, and never forgot their roots, as they stayed behind to teach even more musicians how to capture the funk.
“Dayton kept us grounded,” Jones said in an interview with WYSO. “We were stars to the world, but Dayton was our home. We were a true show band. With all the musicians even if they were in school and learning, they had a world class show band as a model. That’s why so many groups came up out of Dayton.”
These groups included Slave, Zapp, Roger Troutman, Heatwave, Faze-O, Sun, Lakeside, Platypus and Shadow.
Slave was formed by the trumpet player for The Ohio Players, Pee Wee Middlebrooks and his nephew, Stevie Washington. They were one of the first groups to make use of the electric trumpet and produced several hits including “Slide,” which peaked at number 1 on the US R&B charts in 1977.
Sax player Clarence Satchell discovered and produced another successful Dayton funk group called Faze-O. Their biggest hit, “Riding High,” stayed on the charts for 18 weeks is one of the most sampled songs in hip hop. Other successful singles for the group included “Toe Jam” and “Good Thang.”
Heatwave was another Dayton funk group, and were unique by blending elements of funk and disco, seen on their biggest hit, “Boogie Nights.”
Perhaps the most successful funk group besides The Ohio Players to claim Dayton as their own were Roger Troutman and his group Zapp (also called Zapp & Roger).
The band formed in 1977 and consisted of four brothers: Roger Troutman, Larry Troutman, Lester Troutman and Terry Troutman, all born in Hamilton, Ohio. Gregory Jackson and Bobby Glover rounded up the lineup. In their beginnings they worked with well renowned funk producers George Clinton and Bootsy Collins from Parliament Funkadelic.
They innovated the genre by heavily using electronic sounds and the talk-box, a device that can change the frequency and sounds of instruments, as well as someone’s voice. Their music was dubbed, techno-funk.
Zapp released their self titled debut album in 1980, and it debuted on top of the R&B charts. “More Bounce to the Ounce,” the highest charting single from the album, propelled the group to new heights, and Roger Troutman soon started a solo career.
Troutman scored a huge hit with his cover of Marvin Gaye’s “I Heard it Through the Grapevine” on the album “The Many Facets of Roger.” He released four solo albums total.
Troutman’s work has been recognized as influential to the forming of G-Funk, the popular west coast hip hop sound that sampled many of his songs. He also earned his largest hit by performing the vocals on the Dr. Dre/Tupac song “California Love.”
There have been several attempts to honor the influence Dayton funk artists have made in music, but none stayed consistent until now.
The first museum exhibit dedicated to the Dayton funk was opened in 1998 by MichaeI Sampson. It was called “Something In the Water.”
“Dayton, loved these bands.” Sampson said in an interview with WYSO. “They felt that these groups identified with them personally. The musicians – a lot of them – have not received their due. They should. It did not have to be that we were the home of this powerful brand of music.”
However the exhibit didn’t last long and several groups engaged in a bidding war to open up their own funk museum. This included Wright State University, Land of Funk Experience Inc. and David Webb’s Dayton Funk Dynasty Group.
Webb eventually won, and opened the Funk Music Hall of Fame and Exhibition Center in Dayton this past February.
The impact the many funk groups of the Gem City made on music is still felt to this day, as artists continue to sample their work. However, it is not widespread knowledge to many.
With the opening of a Funk Music Hall of Fame, Daytonians old and young will be able to learn about how much the city contributed to the genre.
Henry Wolski
Executive Editor