Parliament-Funkadelic

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The bands Parliament and Funkadelic are intrinsically linked and can not be easily separated. This article provides an integrated history of both bands. For details on the individual bands, see the separate articles

Parliament-Funkadelic is a Funk music collective headed and refereed by George Clinton , that specialised in P Funk and performed under the guise of not only Parliament and Funkadelic (two bands comprised of the same members, recording for different labels), but also in a score of offshoot groups and solo ventures. Recording under a myriad of names, this group had thirteen Top Ten hits in the U.S. R&B music charts between 1967 and 1983, including six number one hits in the R&B Charts.

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[edit] Etymology of the term "P-Funk"

The etymology of the term P-Funk is subject to multiple interpretations. It has been identified alternately as an abbreviation of "Parliament-Funkadelic", "pure funk", "psychedelic funk" or "Plainfield Funk", referring to Plainfield, New Jersey, the band's hometown. The breakout popularity of Parliament-Funkadelic elevated the status of P-Funk to describe what is now considered to be a genre of music in its own right.

[edit] History of Parliament Funkadelic

[edit] Early Development

The P-Funk story began in 1956 in Plainfield, New Jersey, with a doo-wop group formed by fifteen-year-old George Clinton. This was The Parliaments, a name inspired by Parliament cigarettes. By the early 1960s, the group had solidified into the five-man lineup of Clinton, Ray "Stingray" Davis, Clarence "Fuzzy" Haskins, Calvin Simon and Grady Thomas.

In 1964 Clinton added a backing band made up of the young Plainfield musical talent that came into Clinton's barbershop, including Frankie Boyce, Richard Boyce and Langston Booth.

[edit] P-Funk Goes To Motown

The 1960s were a tough decade for The Parliaments. In a recorded interview on one of his Family Series compilation albums, Clinton describes how he was so inspired by the success of Motown Records that he decided to move the band to Detroit and audition for the label.

Things didn't work out as planned. The Parliaments ended up recording only a handful on singles for the relatively minor label Revilot Records. These included a hard-won hit in 1967 with 'I Wanna Testify', but the band struggled to achieve recognition. In the meantime George Clinton wrote songs for several established Motown acts, including The Jackson 5 and the Supremes; band members such as Eddie Hazel and Billy Nelson occasionally worked as studio musicians. Interestingly, the development of Detroit Techno has been linked to the Clinton influence. It must be stated, that the vast majority of the P-Funk albums were recorded in Detroit at United Sound Studios on Second Avenue. That Techno is likened to P-Funk therefore is no coincidence. Detroit has long felt, and been an integral part of the Funk.

[edit] Transition to Funkadelic

At the end of the 1960s, Revilot folded and took the Parliaments name with it. At this point George Clinton decided to have the backing band - The Funkadelics - come to the fore. By this point the Boyce brothers and Booth had been enlisted in the US Army and sent to Vietnam, and so a new band was assembled -- Billy Bass Nelson (bass), Eddie Hazel (lead guitarist), Tawl Ross (guitarist), Tiki Fulwood (drums), and Mickey Atkins (keyboards). They became Funkadelic, and the sound and look of the band became less clean-cut, showing strong influence from some of the band's contemporaries: Jimi Hendrix, James Brown and in particular Sly and the Family Stone. P Funk's connection to the Vietnam conflict grew as former band members and friends were affected by the war, resulting in two poignant records: Come In Out The Rain (Osmium, 1970) and March To The Witch's Castle (Cosmic Slop), 1973).

The sound hardened into a blend of psychedelic rock/R&B, and a purified, raw Funk music essence. Through their experimentation with distortion and feedback and their obnoxious attitude toward live appearances, Funkadelic gathered a small but devoted cult following. They recorded the underground classic album Funkadelic (Westbound Records, 1970) but widespread commercial success eluded them for the time being.

Funkadelic recorded two more albums in the following year, Free Your Mind And Your Ass Will Follow and Maggot Brain. The same year, Funkadelic saw the arrival of master keyboardist Bernie Worrell, another Plainfield youngster and a classically trained musician, who opened up the band's sound into a whole new strange area of gothic funkiness.

[edit] Arrival of the Collins Brothers

Billy Nelson and Eddie Hazel temporarily left the group in 1972 due to financial disputes, and Tawl Ross left due to drug problems. William and Phelps Collins, two brothers who eventually became more widely known as Bootsy and Catfish, respectively, joined the band. Both brothers were influential in the development of the P-Funk sound, particularly bassist Bootsy, and the result was America Eats Its Young (1972), a bizarre, distorted and brilliant work.

[edit] The Reemergence of Parliament

The arrival of the Collins brothers changed the tone of the Funkadelic sound, which did not please other band members. Bootsy left briefly after that album, while Catfish was an on-and-off member who eventually wound up playing mostly for his brother's solo efforts.

By the time Bootsy came back in 1974, Clinton had decided to open up another front for The Funk. He had released a selection of the band's experimental songs under the name Parliament in 1970, as the album Osmium, and a number of singles followed on Holland-Dozier-Holland's Invictus record label. But the Parliament name languished for four years after that, until Clinton resurrected it in 1974 for Up For The Downstroke, which was basically recorded by Funkadelic, plus Bootsy.

The following year, Maceo Parker and Fred Wesley (also from the JBs) joined Parliament, enhancing the horns and adding a new, jazzy dimension to the music. The same year, the incredible young light of Glen Goins joined too, a naturally talented singer rooted strongly in the gospel, as well as Jerome "Big Foot" Brailey on drums. This was 1975, the year of Chocolate City, an album-length tribute to the group's loyal fanbase in Washington D.C..

In 1976, Parliament released the classic album Mothership Connection. "Tear the Roof Off the Sucker (Give Up The Funk)" became the second Top Ten single for the group, peaking at number five on the US R&B charts, and the album became Parliament's first LP to go gold and platinum.

In 1978, Parliament won its first No. 1 hit with "Flashlight" from the album Funkentelechy vs. The Placebo Syndrome. The album itself was another platinum success. Easily one of the most influential albums of the past 30 years, "Funkentelechy Vs. The Placebo Syndrome" accomplishes what many contemporary albums fail to do: communicate and firmly establish a musical agenda to be followed for years to come. Many of the tracks on this masterpiece are still performed by GC and the Funk Mob to this day. "Bop Gun" features the last performance of vocalist extraordinare Glenn Goins. Bass guitarist Bootsy Collins comes into his own on four of the tracks, but is almost transcendental on the title cut "Funkentelechy". OG Funkadelic bass player Billy Bass Nelson is laid-back but forceful on "Placebo Syndrome". Keyboard genius Bernard Worrell takes center stage on almost the entire LP, but then single-handedly revolutionizes dance music(and later new wave and rap) with the signature hit "Flash Light"

[edit] P-Funk On The Rise

Clinton had signed Parliament to Casablanca Records. In 1976 he moved Funkadelic from Westbound to Warner Brothers, angering some of the original members.

But Funkadelic would go on with mounting confidence and popularity throughout the 1970s, recording a string of excellent albums - Cosmic Slop (1973), Standing On The Verge Of Getting It On (1974), Let's Take It To The Stage (1975), Tales of Kidd Funkadelic (1976), Hardcore Jollies (1976), One Nation Under A Groove (1978), Uncle Jam Wants You (1979), and The Electric Spanking Of War Babies (1981). In this period they had two No. 1 hits of their own: One Nation Under a Groove in 1978 and (Not Just) Knee Deep in 1979.

As the years went by, their strengths were boosted by the constant attraction of new talent - including Eddie Hazel-esque guitarist Michael Hampton, The Ohio Players Funk genius Junie Morrison, and even Sly Stone for a time.

Parliament went on through the 1970s with a series of successful albums: The Clones Of Dr. Funkenstein (1976), Funkentelechy Vs. the Placebo Syndrome (1977), Motor-Booty Affair (1978), Gloryhallastoopid (1979) and Trombipulation (1980). The band scored another No. 1 hit in 1979 with "Aqua Boogie", from the Motor-Booty Affair album.

Looking to capitalize on his group's recent successes and build an audience for future projects, George Clinton devised a stage show to tour Stadiums usually frequented by the Dinosaurs of Rock. This was Parliament's "Earth Tour". The show comprised most of the elements of the P-Funk mythology. The central device was a space craft, The Mothership, which descended onto the stage. Out of this came Clinton in the guise his alter-ego, Dr. Funkenstein. Footage of this ground-breaking tour is scarce but available (try youtube.com). Before the band went on the tour, they had filmed a dress rehearsal of the show in a disused air hangar. These rehearsals are known as the Newburgh sessions, and have gone down in history as the 'holy grail' for P Funk fans.

The albums of the period had morphed into concept albums, with bizarre, space-age themes that carried elaborate and pointed political and sociological messages, and were usually linked between albums (see P-Funk mythology). The two most notable additions to the group during this period were Junie Morrison and Rodney "Skeet" Curtis. Junie in particular played several instruments, wrote, produced and arranged many of the most-respected songs on two crucial albums, One Nation Under a Groove and Motor Booty Affair.

[edit] Bootsy's Rubber Band & The P-Funk Family

With help from Clinton, Bootsy Collins formed Bootsy's Rubber Band, a fiercely-funky, bass-driven group, along with Catfish Collins, Mudbone Cooper, The Horny Horns and, at times, Bernie Worrell and Joel Johnson.

Bootsy's Rubber Band was the beginning of a burgeoning P-Funk family, which multiplied in the late seventies, with the building swarm of musicians recording albums released under a multitude of names - including The Brides of Funkenstein and Parlet, and most notably The Horny Horns with Fred Wesley. Bernie Worrell and Eddie Hazel also released excellent solo albums.

The changes that happened in 1976 with the move to Warner Brothers, and the string of No. 1 hits, saw the emergence of the lavish P-Funk tours that would eventually become legendary, involving huge elaborate props, costumes, routines and even a massive, flying full-size recreation of the Mothership landing on stage, called in by the gospel harmonies of Glen Goins. These tours became ever more and more elaborate and expensive, resulting in dire financial straits. In 1979, Funkadelic launched the Anti-Tour, scrapping much of the lavishness. This was where Dennis Chambers and Blackbyrd McKnight joined the group.

As the 1970s drew to a close, bad management had put the whole empire in jeopardy. George Clinton's tendency to neglect the very people who had helped him build the P-Funk sound also meant that many of the greatest musical talents turned against him. Glen Goins left to form renegade P Funk band Quazar; Jerome Brailey left to form the equally renegade Mutiny; and the original Parliaments formed a renegade Funkadelic of their own. The P Funk mob began to splinter, and their foundation started to crumble.

Parliament's final album - Trombipulation - came out in 1980, and Funkadelic's - The Electric Spanking Of War Babies in 1981.

[edit] End For The Funk?

Casablanca Records folded in 1982. Like Revilot in the 1960s, it took the legal rights to the name Parliament with it. Meanwhile Warner Brothers seemed to have lost interest in Funkadelic, becoming prudish, fussy, negative and penny pinching, despite all the band's years of success. With the Funk Mob in chaos already, the end of the P seemed nigh.

[edit] P-Funk Lives!

George Clinton battled with financial problems and some well publicised drug problems, and kept recording during the 1980s. The remaining Funk Mob recorded the 1982 hit album Computer Games, which included the much-sampled, No. 1 single, "Atomic Dog". The following year, he formed The P Funk All Stars, who went on to record Urban Dancefloor Guerillas in 1983 and toured regularly up until 1984. The P-Funk All-Stars re-emerged in 1989.

Other P-Funk artists continued with their own projects, including Sweat Band and O.G. Funk. Clinton produced a series of solo rap albums too during this time, of mixed quality.

As the 1980s continued, with an industry hostile to it, The Funk began to slip out of the popular consciousness. But hip hop kept the flame alive, the growing genre of funk-sampling street music.

By 1993, most of the old Parliament and Funkadelic albums had been re-released. A new generation began to pick up on the power of The Funk. The same year saw the return of a reconstituted P-Funk All-Stars, with the re-release of Urban Dancefloor Guerillas as Hydraulic Funk, and a scandalous new hip hop influenced album Dope Dogs, including the excellent 'All Sons Of Bitches'. In 1994, the group toured with Lollapalooza.

P-Funk's fortunes seemed back on the rise. In 1996 they released T.A.P.O.A.F.O.M.. But legal problems flared up again, and it would be another ten years before another album would be released. In the intervening time, successive tours would slowly restore some of the broken ties between the original band members, together with an accumulation of new talent, slowly rebuilding that old confidence and audacity.

In 2002, Bootsy released Play With Bootsy.

And in 2005, Clinton released the latest P Funk All Stars album How Late Do You Have 2BB4UR Absent? in time for the 50th anniversary of the founding of the original Parliaments.This album also features the resurgence of a whole new generation of the P-FUNK.With names like Haskins,reappearing in the form of Nowell H.the son of an Original Parliament Funkadelic Member.We also see the younger siblings of long standing P-FUNK frontman Garry Shider appearing on this album as well.These three collectively have continued to tip the scales toward another P-FUNK dominated era in Music History.

A new P Funk group called Children Of Production, extracted from the current P Funk All Stars line up featuring Kendra Foster and Shondra (Sativa Diva) Clinton has released a self-titled album of funk and hip hop for 2006.

The band completed a tour of the United Kingdom on Monday 17 July 2006, having performed in Gateshead, Manchester, and Hammersmith in London.

[edit] Key figures in the development of the P-Funk sound

[edit] George Clinton

George Clinton has been, since its inception, the driving force behind the development of the P-Funk sound. Though he may be remembered today more for his rainbow hair and outlandish costumes than his music, his influence on generations of musicians has been remarkable. Clinton's artistry encompassed more than mere entertainment. In an era of growing black awareness, political ferment, social protest and societal upheaval, Clinton, like scores of his contemporaries (Curtis Mayfield and The Impressions; the Temptations; Donny Hathaway; Marvin Gaye; Edwin Starr; Oscar Brown, Jr.; The Staples Singers/Swingers; The Voices of East Harlem; Nina Simone; etc.) took African-American popular music (long concerned with issues of social, political and economic justice) to new levels of political outspokenness, public visibility and artistic accomplishment, tackling such complex subjects as the Vietnam War and the War on Drugs with intelligence and awareness.

[edit] Bootsy Collins

Bootsy is a versatile bassist, capable of playing many styles. He is adventurous and original in his playing, and has become known as a legendary virtuoso of the bass guitar. He also made a substantial impact as a songwriter and uncredited guitarist and drummer on several studio tracks. Like many of Clinton's bandmembers, he is also known for his outlandish stage wear, especially gaudy glasses. Bootsy also had a successful solo career, during which he often used the stage and production names "Bootzilla" and "Casper". Collins stopped performing with the band to focus on his solo efforts in the late seventies, though he continued to contribute on studio albums for many years.

[edit] Eddie Hazel

Eddie Hazel is considered one of the most influential guitarists in musical history. Though he was never as flashy as many others, his playing was always intense and unconventional. "Maggot Brain", a ten-minute solo, is widely cited as an emotional masterpiece of the guitar. He wrote many of the guitar riffs for the band, and did some singing as well. Along with childhood friend, Billy Bass Nelson, Hazel developed psychedelic funk rock, mixing blues, rock and roll, soul, Motown and pop music. Hazel died on December 23, 1992.

[edit] Garry Shider

Shider is probably the most well-known vocalist of the group. He performed leads on many of their most famous songs ("Cosmic Slop" being particularly notable). Shider is generally considered the band's lead vocalist and is known for the diaper he wears on stage during live performances. Shider has also composed a number of the band's songs and is one of the many guitarists in the group. Shider continues to tour with the band.

[edit] Bernie Worrell

Bernie Worrell, keyboardist, was added after the release of their first album. He deserves a special mention as an especially important influence in the early development of the P-Funk sound. Of particular importance is his pioneering use of deep, heavy Moog synthesizer sounds to reinforce the bassline, something that had not been done before and was introduced on the song Flashlight. Even before officially joining the group, he helped out on many of the recording sessions. Eventually, he became responsible for many of the musical arrangements. Worrell left the band in 1981, though he continued to contribute on P-funk studio albums after that time and on occasion he appears live with Parliament-Funkadelic as a Special Guest.

[edit] Junie Morrison

Walter "Junie" Morrison joined P-Funk in early 1978 as musical director after having success in the early Ohio Players and as a solo artist. Though primarily a keyboardist, Junie composed or co-wrote several of the band's hits at the height of their popularity (e.g. One Nation Under a Groove, Knee Deep, Let's Play House, Theme from the Black Hole). He also served as a lead vocalist, producer, and arranger, and played several instruments on many of the band's songs. Morrison stopped touring with the band after 1981, but contributed on many subsequent albums.

[edit] Glen Goins

Born and raised in Plainfield, New Jersey in a family of talented musicians, this master vocalist with the strong, haunting gospel voice is perhaps best know for calling in the Mothership in the P Funk live shows. Goins was one of the first of many musicians to leave the group in reaction to what was perceived as Clinton's bad management and poor treatment of musicians. He formed Quazar in 1978 to be a renegade Funk outfit, which also featured his younger brother Kevin Goins, now performing with PTheory. Glen died from Hogkins Disease in the same year, aged only 24.

[edit] Catfish Collins

A strong rhythm guitarist, versatile like his brother, Catfish Collins's ability to lock onto a groove and keep it going through the epic live jamming the group is known for has made him one of the most influential rhythm guitarists in musical history. He was able to keep a stable rhythm, thereby allowing Worrell and others to go off on musical improvisatory excursions while keeping the music stable and grounded. The most shining example of his innovative rhythm guitar playing can be found on the 1978 R&B number one smash "Flash Light".

See also: List of P-Funk members

See also: List of P-Funk projects

[edit] Notable songs

This song or music-related list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.


[edit] Other References

  • Mentioned in The Mighty Boosh episode "The Legend of Old Gregg".

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../p/a/r/Parliament-Funkadelic_cfcc.html"
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