Best 1980s Funk Songs — List of 80s Funk and Disco Tracks

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1. 1
   ZA
   ▶

   More Bounce to the Ounce

   Zapp · from Zapp (1980) · Album scores 90/99

   Talk-box electro-funk that shaped hip-hop.

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2. 2
   DR
   ▶

   I'm Coming Out

   Diana Ross · from Diana (1980) · Album scores 84/99

   Chic production and a gay-anthem-in-waiting.

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3. 3
   DR
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   Upside Down

   Diana Ross · from Diana (1980) · Album scores 84/99

   Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards turn Motown into disco.

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4. 4
   K&
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   Celebration

   Kool & the Gang · from Celebrate! (1980) · Album scores 84/99

   The most-played wedding song with no plans to apologise for it.

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5. 5
   ZA
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   Doo Wa Ditty (Blow That Thing)

   Zapp · from Zapp (1980) · Album scores 90/99

   Roger Troutman's talk-box on its debut — irresistible.

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6. 6
   RJ
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   Super Freak

   Rick James · from Street Songs (1981) · Album scores 82/99

   The most sampled verse in hip-hop history, and still the best.

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7. 7
   GJ
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   Pull Up to the Bumper

   Grace Jones · from Nightclubbing (1981) · Album scores 79/99

   Coolly menacing post-disco from Compass Point.

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8. 8
   RJ
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   Give It to Me Baby

   Rick James · from Street Songs (1981) · Album scores 82/99

   The groove that opened the album and set the decade.

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9. 9
   GB
   ▶

   You Dropped a Bomb on Me

   The Gap Band · from Gap Band IV (1982) · Album scores 85/99

   Roger Troutman's vocoder and the bass that broke dancefloors.

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10. 10
    PR
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    Forget Me Nots

    Patrice Rushen · from Straight from the Heart (1982) · Album scores 80/99

    The bassline that launched a thousand samples.

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11. 11
    GB
    ▶

    Outstanding

    The Gap Band · from Gap Band IV (1982) · Album scores 85/99

    A slow-jam standard that defined the early '80s R&B ballad.

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12. 12
    CA
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    Word Up!

    Cameo · from Word Up! (1986) · Album scores 85/99

    The synth-funk landmark with the most copied bassline of the decade.

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