George Edward Clinton is an American musician, singer, songwriter, bandleader, and record producer. His Parliament-Funkadelic collective developed an influential and eclectic form of funk music during the 1970s that drew on science fiction, outlandish fashion, psychedelia, and surreal humor. He launched his solo career with the 1982 album Computer Games and would go on to influence 1990s hip hop and G-funk.
Parliament-Funkadelic is an American music collective of rotating musicians headed by George Clinton, primarily consisting of the funk bands Parliament and Funkadelic, both active since the 1960s. Their distinctive funk style drew on psychedelic culture, outlandish fashion, science-fiction, and surreal humor; it would have an influential effect on subsequent funk, post-punk, hip-hop, and techno artists of the 1980s and 1990s, while their collective mythology would help pioneer Afrofuturism. The groups released albums such as Maggot Brain (1971), Mothership Connection (1975), and One Nation Under a Groove (1978) to critical praise, and scored charting hits with singles such as "Give Up the Funk" (1975) and "Flash Light" (1978). Overall, the collective achieved thirteen top ten hits in the American R&B music charts between 1967 and 1983, including six number one hits.
The P-Funk mythology is a group of recurring characters, themes, and ideas primarily contained in the output of George Clinton's bands Parliament and Funkadelic. This "funkology" was outlined in album liner notes and song lyrics, in addition to album artwork, costumes, advertisements, and stage banter. P-Funk's "Dr. Seussian afrofunk" is often cited as a critical component of the Afrofuturism movement.
Funkadelic was an American funk rock band formed in Plainfield, New Jersey in 1968 and active until 1982. The band and its sister act Parliament, both led by George Clinton, pioneered the funk music culture of the 1970s. Initially formed as a backing band for Clinton's vocal group the Parliaments, Funkadelic eventually pursued a heavier, more psychedelic rock-oriented sound. They released acclaimed albums such as Maggot Brain (1971) and One Nation Under a Groove (1978).
Clarence Eugene "Fuzzy" Haskins is a former singer with 1950s and 1960s doo-wop group, The Parliaments. He is a founding member of the groundbreaking and influential 1970s funk bands Parliament and Funkadelic, also known as Parliament-Funkadelic. He left Parliament-Funkadelic in 1977 to pursue a solo career. He is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, inducted in 1997 with fifteen other members of Parliament-Funkadelic. In 2019, he and Parliament-Funkadelic were given Grammy Lifetime Achievement Awards.
William Earl "Bootsy" Collins is an American bass guitarist and singer.
Uncle Jam Wants You is the eleventh studio album by American funk rock band Funkadelic. It was originally released by Warner Bros. Records on September 21, 1979, and was later reissued on CD by Charly Groove Records and Priority Records. It was produced by George Clinton under the alias Dr. Funkenstein. It is the first Funkadelic album since America Eats Its Young in 1972 not to sport a cover illustrated by Funkadelic artist Pedro Bell, though Bell did provide artwork for the album’s back cover and interior. Uncle Jam Wants You was the second Funkadelic album to be certified gold. The album peaked at #18 on the US Billboard 200 and #2 on the US Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts.
Philippé Wynne was an American singer, best known for his role as a lead vocalist of The Spinners. Wynne scored notable hits such as "How Could I Let You Get Away", "The Rubberband Man", and "One of a Kind ". After leaving The Spinners, Wynne never regained the same success, although he was featured in hits by other artists such as "(Not Just) Knee Deep" by Funkadelic. Wynne died of a heart attack while performing at a nightclub.
Roger Troutman, also known as Roger, was an American singer, songwriter, record producer, multi-instrumentalist and the founder of the band Zapp who helped spearhead the funk movement and heavily influenced West Coast hip hop due to the scene's heavy sampling of his music over the years. Troutman was well known for his use of the talk box, a device that is connected to an instrument to create different vocal effects. Roger used a custom-made talkbox—the Electro Harmonix "Golden Throat"—through a Moog Minimoog and later in his career a Yamaha DX100 FM synthesizer. As both band leader of Zapp and in his subsequent solo releases, he scored a bevy of funk and R&B hits throughout the 1980s and regularly collaborated with hip hop artists in the 1990s.
Jerome Eugene "Bigfoot" Brailey is an American drummer, best known for his work with P-Funk, which included the bands Parliament, Funkadelic, and numerous related projects. Brailey is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, inducted in 1997 with fifteen other members of Parliament-Funkadelic.
Zapp is the debut studio album by the American funk band Zapp, released on July 30, 1980 by Warner Bros. Records. The album's style and sound bears a striking resemblance to Parliament-Funkadelic, as the band was working with and being mentored by P-Funk members William Earl "Bootsy" Collins and George Clinton during the album's production. The album was produced by Zapp frontman Roger Troutman along with funk musician Bootsy Collins. The Troutman family of the Zapp band had close ties with the Collins family, both being Ohio natives. This friendship proved instrumental in Zapp gaining a record deal with Warner Bros. Records in 1979. Zapp was recorded between late 1979 and early 1980 at the United Sound Studios in Detroit, Michigan, of which Parliament-Funkadelic frequented.
"Computer Love" is a song performed by American funk band Zapp, issued as the fourth and final single from their fourth studio album The New Zapp IV U. Featuring vocals by Shirley Murdock and Charlie Wilson and written by Murdock, Zapp Band leader Roger Troutman and his brother Larry Troutman, the single peaked at number 8 on the Billboard R&B chart in 1986.
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—and non-Troutman family members Bobby Glover, Gregory Jackson, Sherman Fleetwood, Jerome Derrickson, Eddie Barber 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.
Funk or Walk is the debut album by the Brides of Funkenstein, released on Atlantic Records in September 1978. The album was produced by George Clinton with the exception of the album's first single "Disco To Go" which was written and produced by Clinton and Bootsy Collins. The Brides of Funkenstein consisted of Lynn Mabry and Dawn Silva, who were members of Sly and the Family Stone prior to joining P-Funk. Funk Or Walk earned Mabry and Silva a Record World Award for Best New Female Artists and Best New R&B Group in 1979. The song was originally performed live by Bootsy's Rubber Band. To this day, the P-Funk All Stars continue to play "Disco To Go" in their live concerts. The Brides of Funkenstein also toured and recorded with Parliament/Funkadelic around this same time.
Urban Dancefloor Guerillas is the debut album of funk band the P-Funk All-Stars, released in 1983 on Uncle Jam Records. The album features an amalgamation of various alumni from the bands Parliament and Funkadelic, both of which were disbanded by 1981. It is the only studio album credited solely to the P-Funk All-Stars, as opposed to other albums that are credited to George Clinton and the P-Funk All Stars. The songs on Urban Dancefloor Guerillas were produced by a variety of members of the P-Funk musical collective including Clinton, Garry Shider, Walter Morrison, Sylvester Stewart, and Bootsy Collins.
Sweat Band is the 1980 debut album by the P-Funk spin off act the Sweat Band. The album was the first official release on the Uncle Jam Records label, formed by George Clinton and his business manager Archie Ivy, and distributed by CBS Records. The band was formed by P-Funk bassist Bootsy Collins after losing the rights to the name Rubber Band to a folk music group of the same name. The album features many of the same musicians and singers from Bootsy's Rubber Band. The album was released during the same week as Ultra Wave, Collins' fifth album for Warner Bros. Records.
Wynne Jammin' is a 1980 album by Philippé Wynne, the former lead singer of the Spinners. It was the second album released on the Uncle Jam/CBS label, fronted by Parliament-Funkadelic leader George Clinton and his manager Archie Ivy. The album features many musicians from the P-Funk stable.
George Clinton: The Mothership Connection is a DVD released in 1998 and then reissued in 2001, featuring George Clinton and Parliament-Funkadelic. The DVD features a concert performed by Parliament-Funkadelic at The Summit in Houston, Texas on October 31, 1976. The DVD documents the beginning of famed P-Funk Earth Tour, which would run for almost two years.
What's Bootsy Doin'? is a 1988 album by Parliament-Funkadelic bassist Bootsy Collins. The album was released by Columbia Records and was his first album after a six-year hiatus from the music scene. The album reunites Collins with former P-Funk players Bernie Worrell, Fred Wesley and Gary "Mudd Bone" Cooper, and also features newcomers including Mico Wave and Godmoma.
