Artists like Fred Wesley & The Horny Horns

The J.B.'s was James Brown's band from 1970 through the early 1980s. On records, the band was sometimes billed under alternate names such as Fred Wesley and the JBs, The James Brown Soul Train, Maceo and the Macks, A.A.B.B., Fred Wesley and the New JBs, The First Family, and The Last Word. In addition to backing Brown, the J.B.'s played behind Bobby Byrd, Lyn Collins, and other singers associated with the James Brown Revue, and performed and recorded as a self-contained group. In 2015, they were nominated for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame but failed to be inducted and can be considered for Musical Excellence in the future. They have been eligible since 1995.

William Earl "Bootsy" Collins is an American bass guitarist, singer, and songwriter. Rising to prominence with James Brown in the early 1970s before joining the Parliament-Funkadelic collective, Collins established himself as one of the leading names and innovators in funk music with his driving basslines and humorous vocals. He later formed his own P-Funk side project known as 'Bootsy's Rubber Band'. He has been a frequent collaborator with musicians from a variety of genres, including dance music, electronic big beat, and alternative metal (Praxis), among others. In 1997 he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, along with 15 other members of Parliament-Funkadelic. In 2020, Rolling Stone ranked Collins number four in its list of the 50 greatest bassists of all time.

Graham Central Station was an American funk band named after founder Larry Graham. The name is a pun on New York City's Grand Central Terminal, often colloquially called Grand Central Station.

Edward Earl Hazel was an American guitarist and singer in early funk music who played lead guitar with Parliament-Funkadelic. Hazel was a posthumous inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, inducted in 1997 with fifteen other members of Parliament-Funkadelic. His ten-minute guitar solo in the Funkadelic song "Maggot Brain" is regarded as "one of the greatest solos of all time on any instrument". In 2023, Rolling Stone ranked Hazel at no. 29 in its list of 250 of the greatest guitarists of all time.

Roy Edward Ayers Jr. was an American vibraphonist, record producer, and composer. Ayers began his career as a post-bop jazz artist, releasing several studio albums with Atlantic Records, before his tenure at Polydor Records beginning in the 1970s, during which he helped to pioneer jazz-funk. He was a key figure in the acid jazz movement, and has been described as "The Godfather of Neo Soul". He was best known for his compositions "Everybody Loves the Sunshine", "Running Away", and "Freaky Deaky" and others that charted in the 1970s. At one time, Ayers was listed among the performers whose music was most often sampled by rappers.

Maceo Parker is an American funk and soul jazz saxophonist, best known for his work with James Brown in the 1960s, Parliament-Funkadelic in the 1970s and Prince in the 2000s. Parker was a prominent soloist on many of Brown's hit recordings, and a key part of his band, playing alto, tenor and baritone saxophones. Since the early 1990s, he has toured under his own name.

Zapp is an American funk band that emerged from Dayton, Ohio, United States, in 1977. Particularly influential in the electro subgenre of funk, Zapp were known for their trademark use of the talk-box effect. The original line-up consisted of four Troutman brothers—frontman Roger, Larry, Lester and Terry—first cousin, Sherman Fleetwood—and non-Troutman family members Bobby Glover, Gregory Jackson, Jerome Derrickson, Eddie Barber, Jannetta Boyce and Shirley Murdock. Zapp also worked closely with George Clinton and Bootsy Collins of Parliament-Funkadelic during its early stages, their support being a factor in the group gaining a record deal with Warner Bros. Records in 1979.

The Bar-Kays is an American funk band formed in 1964. The band had dozens of charting singles from the 1960s to the 1980s, including "Soul Finger" in 1967, "Son of Shaft" in 1972, and "Boogie Body Land" in 1980. The Bar-Kays also served as the backing band for a variety of singers, including Isaac Hayes and Otis Redding.

The Average White Band were a Scottish funk and R&B band that had a series of soul and disco hits between 1974 and 1980. They were best known for their million-selling instrumental track "Pick Up the Pieces", and their albums AWB and Cut the Cake. The band name was initially proposed by Bonnie Bramlett. They have influenced others, such as the Brand New Heavies, and been sampled by various musicians, including the Beastie Boys, Public Enemy, TLC, the Beatnuts, Too Short, Ice Cube, Eric B. & Rakim, Nas, A Tribe Called Quest, Christina Milian, and Arrested Development, making them the 15th most sampled act in history.

Parlet was an American female funk group formed in 1978 as a spin-off of Parliament-Funkadelic. Conceived by George Clinton, Parlet was envisioned as a female counterpart to the Parliament vocal group, blending streetwise funk with theatrical stage presence and bold sensuality. The group’s earliest lineup featured longtime P-Funk vocalists Debbie Wright, Jeanette Washington, and Mallia Franklin — all of whom had contributed background vocals on Parliament-Funkadelic albums throughout the mid-1970s.

Harvey William Mason is an American jazz drummer, record producer, and member of the band Fourplay. He was the original drummer for Herbie Hancock's band The Headhunters.

Marcus Ramone Cooper Sr, better known by his stage name Pleasure P, is an American R&B singer who experienced success as a member of the group Pretty Ricky before embarking on a solo career in 2007. His 2008 debut solo single "Did You Wrong" peaked at number 90 on the Billboard Hot 100 while follow-up singles—"Boyfriend #2" and "Under" peaked at numbers 42 and 78 respectively—the former of which remains his highest charting song on the Hot 100. All three preceded the release of his debut studio album The Introduction of Marcus Cooper (2009), which peaked at number 10 on the Billboard 200 and earned him a Grammy nomination for Best Contemporary R&B Album at the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards.

Lettuce is a North American funk band originating from Boston, Massachusetts in 1992. Its members are guitarist Adam "Shmeeans" Smirnoff, Nigel Hall, Adam Deitch (drums/percussion), Erick "Maverick" Coomes (bass), Ryan Zoidis (saxophone) and Eric "Benny" Bloom (trumpet).

The Headhunters is an American jazz fusion band formed by Herbie Hancock in 1973. The group fused jazz, funk, and rock music.

The Brand New Heavies are an English band formed in 1985, consisting of Simon Bartholomew, Andrew Levy, and Jan Kincaid. After the addition of N'Dea Davenport in 1990, the group experienced mainstream success and pioneered a new genre called acid jazz.

Nils Landgren is a Swedish R&B, funk, and jazz trombone player and singer. He is known as The Man with the Red Horn because he plays a red trombone.