The Evolution of George Clinton

George Edward Clinton was born on July 22, 1941 in Kannapolis, N.C. He grew up in New Jersey, where he first discovered his love of Doo-wop. It was there that Clinton formed his first group, The Parliaments, in the early 1950s. The group rehearsed in the back of a barbershop where Clinton worked at the time.

The Parliaments scored their first hit record with “I Wanna Testify” in 1967. But when their record label, Revilot Records, went bankrupt, the band lost the rights to their name and began recording their music under a new name – Funkadelic.

In 1970, Clinton reclaimed The Parliaments name and the group secured a new contract with Invictus Records to record as Parliament. But Funkadelic didn’t go away. Clinton’s musicians recorded under both names, with Funkadelic recording more psychedelic rock and Parliament focusing on funk. One of Parliament’s first and funkiest hits was “Flashlight,” the group’s first number-one R&B hit.

In 1978, Funkadelic released their tenth studio album, “One Nation Under a Groove,” which also happened to be the one to achieve the most commercial success. The title track spent six weeks at the top of the Billboard Soul charts and is included in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s 500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll.

A Parliament/Funkadelic show is always a treat for the eyes and ears. You can always count on Clinton to wear something memorable. His outfits are almost as famous as his music.

In 1982, Clinton began recording as a solo artist. One of the most popular tracks on his first solo album, “Computer Games,” was “Atomic Dog,” which spent four weeks at the top of Billboard’s Hot R&B Singles chart. The funky track is a cookout classic that is guaranteed to get the men of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. off their feet.

Without a doubt, Clinton’s music has had a major influence on Hip-Hop culture. His songs are right up there with James Brown’s – heavily sampled by some of Hip-Hop’s biggest artists, including Public Enemy (“Bring the Noise”), De La Soul (“Me, Myself, and I”) and Snoop Dogg (“Who am I (What’s My Name)?”).

In 1997, Parliament/Funkadelic became a part of music history when they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Their all-star class included legendary artists like The Jackson 5, Mahalia Jackson and the Bee Gees.

In 2009, BMI, the music industry’s performance rights organization, honored Clinton with the BMI Icon Award. The award is presented to songwriters and producers who have had a meaningful impact on the industry at large. The presentation included an all-star tribute featuring Cee Lo Green, Janelle Monáe and Big Boi.

On February 16, 2012, Clinton received an Honorary Doctorate of Music from Berklee College of Music. He also taught a four-day residency at the school. Talk about a funky class!

Clinton and the P-Funk All Stars gave a 13-minute masterclass in bringing the funk in this Tiny Desk Concert, proving that even after all of these years, they have not missed a beat.

Clinton is known for being an incredible singer, songwriter and producer. But you may not know that he is also a talented visual artist. Pieces he’s designed and created are on display in galleries across the country, including the well-known Parliament-Funkadelic’s Mothership stage prop, which is on permanent display at the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington DC.

On Jan. 19, Clinton took his place among stars like Missy Elliot, Salt-N-Pepa and Sheila E. when he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The star-studded presentation included remarks from civil rights attorney Ben Crump and Anthony Kiedis of The Red Hot Chili Peppers.