The Essential Guide to Classic Funk: Tracks, Artists, Dance Steps, and Trivia
Long before club dancers synchronized their routines under disco mirrors, Memphis veteran Rufus Thomas turned physical comedy into a chart-topping sensation. Released in late 1969 on Stax Records, "Do the Funky Chicken" catalyzed a nationwide soul dance craze. Thomas did not invent dance crazes from scratch; he codified street movements, giving them humorous narratives that made participation effortless.
The mechanics of the record were deceptively technical. The foundational Do the Funky Chicken dance steps demanded full-body coordination: "You raise your left arm up, and your right arm too," Thomas instructed, warning dancers that halfway participation ruined the effect. Dancers flapped their elbows outward like wings, flapped their knees together on the two-and-four backbeat, and dropped down into a half-squat before popping up again.
This routine was more than a novelty. By encouraging uninhibited, grounded footwork, Thomas broke away from the polished, upright choreography favored by Motown vocal groups. His work at Stax validated spontaneous, raw expression on regional dancefloors, laying the groundwork for a broader spectrum of 1970s funk dance moves that embraced sweat, physical exhaustion, and earthy humor.
