George Clinton (funk musician)
This article is about the American funk musician. For other persons of that name see George Clinton.George Clinton (born
July 22,
1941) is an
American musician, he is widely considered one of the forefathers of
funk. He was the mastermind of the
bands
Parliament and
Funkadelic during the
1970s and early
1980s, and was a solo funk artist as of
1981.
He was born in
Kannapolis, North Carolina, grew up in
Plainfield, New Jersey, and currently resides in
Tallahassee, Florida. In Plainfield, he ran a barber salon, where he straightened hair, and soon formed a
doo wop group, inspired by
Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers, called
The Parliaments. Despite initial commercial failures, The Parliaments eventually found success under the names
Parliament and
Funkadelic in the seventies (see also
P-Funk). This article focuses on Clinton's solo efforts after
1981.
Usually recording under the name
George Clinton & the P.Funk All-Stars, Clinton recorded several solo
albums. The primary reason was legal difficulties, due to the complex copyright and trademark issues surrounding the name "Parliament" (primarily) and
Polygram's purchase of his former label (as part of Parliament),
Casablanca Records. In
1982, Clinton signed to
Capitol Records as a solo artist and as the P.Funk All-Stars, releasing
Computer Games that same year. "
Loopzilla" hit the Top 20
R&B charts, followed by "
Atomic Dog," which reached #1 R&B, but peaked at #101 on the
pop chart. In the next four years, Clinton released three more studio albums (
You Shouldn't-Nuf Bit Fish,
Some of My Best Jokes Are Friends and
R&B Skeletons in the Closet) as well as a live album,
Mothership Connection (Live from the Summit, Houston, Texas) and charting three singles in the R&B Top 30, "
Nubian Nut," "
Last Dance," and "
Do Fries Go with that Shake." This period included multiple legal problems (resulting in financial difficulties) due to complex royalty and copyright issues. In
1985 he was recruited by the
Red Hot Chili Peppers to produce their album
Freaky Styley, because the bandmembers were huge fans of George Clinton and
Funk in general.His popularity waned in the mid 1980s, but was revived by the rise of
rap music (particularly, in the 1990s,
G Funk), as many rappers cited him as an influence and began
sampling his songs. Alongside
James Brown, George Clinton is considered to be one of the most sampled musicians ever.
In
1989, Clinton released
The Cinderella Theory on
Paisley Park,
Prince's record label. This was followed by
Hey Man, Smell My Finger. Clinton then signed with
Sony 550 and released
T.A.P.O.A.F.O.M. (The Awesome Power Of A Fully Operational Mothership) in
1996, having reunited with several old members of Parliament and Funkadelic.
 |
George Clinton at the VH1 Fashion Awards. He is known for his flamboyant style. |
In the
1990s, Clinton appeared in films such as
Graffiti Bridge (
1990),
Good Burger (
1997) and
PCU (
1994). Most recently he appeared as the voice of The Funktipus, the DJ of the Bounce FM station in the
2004 video game,
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.
Rapper Dr. Dre sampled most of his beats to create his
G-Funk music era.
On
December 6,
2003, Clinton was charged with one
felony count of
cocaine possession and a
misdemeanor count of possessing
drug paraphernalia in
Tallahassee, Florida.[
1] Just two weeks later, he made his first public appearance since the arrest, jamming onstage with the rock band
Phish in
Miami. On
August 11,
2004, he pleaded
no contest to two misdemeanor drug-paraphernalia charges, while the felony charge was dropped.
Albums released under the name "George Clinton."
*
(Not Just) Knee Deep*
Atomic Dog*
Do Fries Go With That Shake?*
Flashlight*
One Nation Under A Groove*
Give Up The Funk (Tear The Roof Off The Sucker)*Dr. Funkenstein
*
George Clinton's official web site*
MoreThingsAl Barger's Remedial George Clinton Funk Lessons
*
