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Funk, Soul |
The group that would become Funkadelic was originally formed by George Clinton in 1964, as the unnamed musical backingfor
his doo wop group The Parliaments while on tour. The band originally consisted of musicians Frankie Boyce, RichardBoyce, and
Langston Booth plus the five members of the Parliaments on vocals. Boyce, Boyce, and Booth enlisted in theArmy in 1966,
and Clinton recruited bassist Billy Bass Nelson and guitarist Eddie Hazel in 1967, then also added guitaristTawl Ross and
drummer Tiki Fulwood. The band name "Funkadelic" was coined by Nelson after the band relocated to Detroit.B ...read more
The group that would become Funkadelic was originally formed by George Clinton in 1964, as the unnamed musical backingfor
his doo wop group The Parliaments while on tour. The band originally consisted of musicians Frankie Boyce, RichardBoyce, and
Langston Booth plus the five members of the Parliaments on vocals. Boyce, Boyce, and Booth enlisted in theArmy in 1966,
and Clinton recruited bassist Billy Bass Nelson and guitarist Eddie Hazel in 1967, then also added guitaristTawl Ross and
drummer Tiki Fulwood. The band name "Funkadelic" was coined by Nelson after the band relocated to Detroit.By 1968,
because of a dispute with Revilot, the record company that owned the name "The Parliaments", the ensemblebegan playing
under the name Funkadelic.
As Funkadelic, the group signed to Westbound in 1968. Around this time, the group's music evolved from soul and doo
wopinto a harder guitar-driven mix of psychedelic rock, soul and funk, much influenced by the popular musical (and
political)movements of the time. Jimi Hendrix and Sly Stone were major inspirations.[2] This style later evolved into a tighter
guitar-based funk (circa 1971-75), which subsequently, during the height of Parliament-Funkadelic success (circa 1976-81),
addedelements of R&B and electronic music, with less psychedelic rock elements.
The group's self-titled debut album, Funkadelic, was released in 1970. The credits listed organist Mickey Atkins plus
Clinton,Fulwood, Hazel, Nelson, and Ross. The recording also included the rest of the Parliaments singers (still uncredited due
tocontractual concerns), several uncredited session musicians then employed by Motown, as well as Ray Monette (of
RareEarth) and future P-Funk mainstay Bernie Worrell.
Bernie Worrell was officially credited starting with Funkadelic's second album, 1970s Free Your Mind... and Your Ass WillFollow,
thus beginning a long working relationship between Worrell and Clinton. The album Maggot Brain followed in 1971.The first
three Funkadelic albums displayed strong psychedelic influences (not least in terms of production) and limitedcommercial
potential, despite containing many songs that stayed in the band's setlist for several years and would influencemany future
funk, rock, and hip hop artists.
After the release of Maggot Brain, the Funkadelic lineup was expanded greatly. Tawl Ross was unavailable after
experiencingeither a bad LSD trip or a speed overdose, while Billy Bass Nelson and Eddie Hazel quit due to financial concerns.
From thispoint, many more musicians and singers would be added during Funkadelic's (and Parliament's) history, including
therecruitment of several members of the famous James Brown backing band The JB's in 1972 - most notably Bootsy
Collinsand the Horny Horns. Bootsy and his brother Catfish Collins were recruited by Clinton to replace the departed Nelson
andHazel. Bootsy in particular become a major contributor to the P-Funk sound. In 1972, this new line-up released
thepolitically-charged double album America Eats Its Young. The lineup stabilized a bit with the album Cosmic Slop in
1973,featuring major contributions from recently added singer-guitarist Garry Shider. After first leaving the band, Eddie
Hazelspent a year in jail for drug possession and assault, then returned to make major contributions to the 1974 album
Standingon the Verge of Getting It On. Hazel only contributed to P-Funk sporadically thereafter.[3.
George Clinton revived Parliament in 1974 and signed that act to Casablanca Records. Parliament and Funkadelic
featuredmostly the same stable of personnel but operated concurrently under two names. At first, Parliament was designated
as amore mainstream funk ensemble dominated by soulful vocals and horn arrangements, while Funkadelic was designated as
amore experimental and freestyle guitar-based funk band. The ensemble usually toured under the combined nameParliament.
Funkadelic or simply P-Funk (which also became the catch-all term for George Clinton's rapidly growing stable offunk artists).
In 1975 Michael Hampton, a teen guitar prodigy, replaced Hazel as the premier lead guitarist in Parliament-Funkadelic, andwas
a major contributor to the next several Funkadelic albums. Funkadelic left Westbound in 1976 and moved to WarnerBrothers.
Their first album for Warner was Hardcore Jollies in 1976. Just before leaving Westbound, Clinton provided thatlabel with a
collection of recently recorded outtakes, which Westbound released as the album Tales of Kidd Funkadelic. Thatalbum did
significantly better commercially than Hardcore Jollies and included "Undisco Kidd", an R&B Top 30 single. In1977, Westbound
capitalized further by releasing the anthology The Best of the Early Years.
As Parliament began achieving significant mainstream success in the 1975-1978 period, Funkadelic recorded and releasedits
most successful and influential album, One Nation Under a Groove in 1978, adding former Ohio Players keyboardistWalter
"Junie" Morrison and reflecting a more melodic dance-based sound. The title track spent six weeks at #1 on the R&Bcharts,
around the time that Parliament was enjoying the #1 R&B singles "Flash Light" and "Aqua Boogie". Uncle Jam WantsYou in
1979 continued Funkadelic's new more electronic sound production. The album contains the fifteen-minute "(Not Just)Knee
Deep" featuring former Spinners lead singer Philippé Wynne, an edited version of which topped the R&B charts. Thefinal official
Funkadelic album, The Electric Spanking of War Babies, was released in 1981. The release was originally adouble-album
project, but it was reduced to a single disc under pressure from Warner Brothers. Some of the deleted trackswould appear on
future P-Funk releases, most notably the 1982 hit single "Atomic Dog" which appeared on the first GeorgeClinton solo album.
Meanwhile, the album Connections & Disconnections (re-issued on CD as Who's a Funkadelic) was released under the
nameFunkadelic in 1981. The album was recorded by former Funkadelic members and original Parliaments Fuzzy Haskins,
CalvinSimon, and Grady Thomas, who had left P-Funk in 1977 after disagreements with George Clinton's management
practices.This LP, notable for its heavy use of Thomas "Pae-dog" McEvoy's jazz horn, contains the track called "You'll Like It
Too",which came a very popular breakbeat source for the Hip hop community in the 80s. Another rebellious former band
member,drummer Jerome Brailey, released the album Mutiny on the Mamaship, by his new band Mutiny. Even Clinton himself
foundthis to be a good album despite containing lyrics that mocked him and his management of the P-Funk enterprise.
In the early 1980s, with legal difficulties arising from the multiple names used by multiple groups, as well as a shakeup
atParliament's record label, George Clinton dissolved Parliament and Funkadelic as recording and touring entities.
However,many of the musicians in later versions of the two groups remained employed by Clinton. Clinton continued to
release newalbums regularly, sometimes under his own name and sometimes under the name George Clinton & the P-Funk All.
Stars. Inthe mid-1980s, the last Funkadelic album By Way Of The Drum was recorded by Clinton with P-Funk personnel and
manyelectronic devices. The album was rejected by its record label and did not see official release in America until it
appeared asa reissue in 2007. It features a cover of "Sunshine Of Your Love" by Cream. The album did not receive any
publicity, but stillreceived favorable reviews.
Clinton continued his P-Funk collective in the 1990s and 2000s, with a revolving stable of musicians, some of whom
remainfrom the classic lineups of Funkadelic and Parliament. The rock-oriented sound of Funkadelic has diminished, as Clinton
hasmoved towards more of an R&B and hip hop sound. In 1997 the group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.[4.
Filmmaker Yvonne Smith of New York City-based Brazen Hussy productions produced Parliament-Funkadelic: One NationUnder
a Groove, a full-length documentary about the groundbreaking group, which aired on PBS in 2005.[5] As of 2008,Clinton was
at work on a new Funkadelic album for his new record label. In November 2008, Westbound Records releasedToys, a
collection of Funkadelic outtakes and demos from the Free Your Mind and America Eats Its Young era. Criticalreception of the
album has generally been positive. « hide |
Similar Bands: Parliament, Electric Sorcery, Eddie Hazel, Bootsy Collins, George Clinton and the P-Funk All Stars
Contributors: Madcreator, ThrashingWhiplash, mynameismud420, Apocalyptic Raids, DesolationRow, Dr Funkenstein, djon96,
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