By Deardra Shuler
“P-Funk” is pure funk. I do the best I can with the funk and after that... Funk It!” claimed George Clinton of the Parliament-Funkadelic, as we talked about his being inducted in the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame and his years as a funkmeister.
Born July 22, 1941, Clinton revolutionized the music of the 1970s -- not only as a singer but as a producer and songwriter. He was the principal architect of P-Funk and creator of Parliament. Parliament started out as a doo-wop band in the 1950s after 15 year old George formed them. He later added a second band, Funkadelic in the 1970s, which emulated the psychedelic guitar strains of Jimi Hendrix. Funkadelic produced a sound unheard of at that time. The Funkadelic band was comprised of master musicians such as keyboardist Bernie Worrell; bassist Billy Bass Nelson; guitarist Tawl Ross; keyboard player Mickey Atkins; Tiki Fulwood on drums and lead guitarist Eddie Hazel. Even Sly Stone played with them as did the great Jimi Hendrix before Hendix became The Jimi Hendrix Experience.
“Eventually Parliament ended up at Motown. When that faded out, I started Funkadelic. Funkadelic played behind Parliament, it was our back-up band. But we were all one group because we all played together at the same time and still do. When Parliament didn't have a regular album, Funkadelic would put an album out,” said Clinton. “Funkadelic did the psychedelic music releasing songs like “Free Your Mind And Your Ass Will Follow” and “Maggot Brain.” Parliament came out with “Chocolate City, and a single entitled “Flashlight” that became their signature” Things started to go well for us and for a long while Parliament-Funkadelic dominated black music during the 1970s,” remarked Clinton.
Once Clinton became a solo artist, he signed with Capitol Records wherein he played with the P-Funk All Stars releasing “Computer Games,” Loopzilla, “Atomic Dog,” “Nubian Nut,” “and Do Fries Go With That Shake,” etc. “The bands released a series of hits which include: “The Motor Booty Affair,” “Gloryhallastoopid,” “Trombipulation” and “Aqua Boogie,” said George who wrote songs during his Motown days for the Jackson Five and the Supremes, et al. His latest releases in 2008, were “How Late Do You Have 2 BB4UR Absent?” and “The Gangsters of Love.” Currently George is in the studio recording a series of Motown tunes.
Clinton and his bands garnered over 40 R&B hit singles, and three of their albums went platinum. George Clinton also released albums with the All-Funk All Stars entitled “You Shouldn't-Nuf Bit Fish,” “Some of My Best Jokes Are Friends,” “R&B Skeletons in the Closet” and “The Cinderalla Theory.” "Loopzilla" was our hit that topped at #20 on the R&B charts. “Atomic Dog,” came next reaching #1 on the R&B charts ” commented the extraordinary music innovator.
Mr. Clinton devised a stage show and went on tour. This tour was known as Parliament-Funkadelic's “P-Funk Earth Tour.” The biggest feature of the show was the Mothership, a spacecraft designed as a flying saucer that landed on stage during each show with Clinton emerging from the ship as his alter-ego “Dr. Funkenstein.” Fans flocked to the shows in droves to see this grand spectacular which included wild psychedelic music and out-of-this-world costumes and multi-colored psychedelic wigs.
“The Mothership was a million dollar stage set. It landed on the stage and was 60 feet across. It landed at Madison Square Garden a couple of times. During that period everybody was playing with us. Sly Stone played with us for a time and was one of the few who actually stepped out of the Mothership. As noted earlier, Jimi Hendrix occasionally played with us. We loved his guitar style and copied Jimi's mastery of the psychedelic guitar. Eddie Hazel was our lead guitar player and the only person that could play anywhere near Jimi and also come up with his own songs. In fact, a lot of folks thought our song “Maggot Brain,” emulated Jimi's sound, ” recalled Clinton.
On tour presently, Clinton was in Tallahassee, Florida when he and this reporter spoke. “I am eager to get back home to New Jersey. I was in the Bronx and then headed to Finland and the Netherlands immediately afterwards. We toured Europe and performed in Japan. We also expect to be in Africa, near Madagascar later this year. It's been a busy tour, so I am looking forward to some down time afterwards. I plan to go fishing. Fishing is one of my favorite things to do. I caught a shark here in Florida. What was I going to do with a shark? So, I threw it back,”chuckled George concerning his fish tale.
Known as the Godfather of Modern Urban Music, Clinton has inspired artists such as the Outkasts, Snoop Dog, Missy Elliott, Dr. Dre, Busta Rhymes and Fishbone. He sang with Tupac Shakur on the song “Can't C Me” from Tupac's album “Eyez on Me.” He worked with the WuTang Clan on their song “Wolves,” from their album “Diagrams.” He also wrote the vocals for the ground breaking release “Freaky Styley” with the Red Hot Chilli Peppers. Most recently, George did an amusing puppet show project soon to be aired on Nickelodeon.
“I am always changing. I don't think about the music I have made already, I think about the music I am going to make. I cant think about “One Nation” “Atomic Dog”or “Knee Deep,” because if I have that on my mind, I cant come up with a new sound. I don't really listen to my music from the past unless I bump into someone playing it. “Gangsters of Love” and “How Late Do You Have 2 BB4UR Absent?” are my latest offerings. Both tunes are a departure from my early days,” said Clinton who received several awards including “The Heroes Award,” “Lifetime Achievement Award,” and the “NAACP Image Award.
