MusicPix.net has featured George Clinton twice in as many years. Our second pass covering one of the most outrageous and entertaining shows in the music business, left us the unmistakably fortunate feeling to have been funked by Clinton at this stage of his career. At 65 years young, Clinton is without question, the ‘Godfather of Funk’ and then some as evidenced by his 3 ½ hour performance. We’re also reminded that there aren’t many entertainers of his stature that have witnessed, and honestly, was a part of, the birth of funk and psychedic musicl. Dr. Funkenstein, by definition, is a Mad’glad scientist, master technician of Clone Funk and outer space tribal leader of the descendants of the Thumpasorus Peoples. Even this ‘outta-this-world’ description pales, and doesn’t seem to do justice to, the legendary George Clinton as he proves that there are no boundaries in our musical Universe. Clinton and James Brown share the credit of being influential in creating black popular music that appealed to a wide audience regardless of age, gender, race, or geography. For over four decades, Clinton’s groups have pervaded International popular music.

The performance began with CHILDREN OF PRODUCTION, yet another band made up members of the P-Funk All Stars. Sativa (aka Shonda Clinton, George’s granddaughter and Kendra Foster & Co. was the appetizer for what was to be long and satisfying full-course meal of Rap, Funk, Soul, R & B, and Rock & Roll! After nearly an hour of steamy, sexy, rap, rhythm & rhyme, Clinton royally took the stage in a purple robe, sweat suit, lavender sunglass with a rainbow of dreadlocks covered by a hoodie. The set list comprised of hit after hit (see provided set list) with the audience singing every word. Touring to promote Clinton’s latest release, "How Late Do U Have 2 B B 4 U R Absent?" proved that funk is alive and well. “Bounce To This” follows Clinton’s nearly-patented formula of repetitive and entrancing lyrics to provocative rhythms. Figuratively and literally, the 20+ entourage ‘fired up on stage,’ clearly showing that one must get out-of-your-mind to fully comprehend the magnitude of funk. After inviting as many fans on stage as it would hold for what seemed to be the end of the show for an Atomic Dog dance party, the band then ripped into a 50’s Rock & Roll medley of timeless tunes from Jerry Lee Lewis and Little Richard. Songs flowed from one into another…There’s a Whole Lot of Shakin’ Going on, Lucille, The Hop, Twist & Shout and Come on Baby, Let the Good Times Roll.

George Clinton Live Concert Photos

How Funk began….
While growing up in New Jersey, George was a fan of Frankie Lyman and the Teenagers. After seeing them perform at a talent show, he decided it was time to do his thang. First as the founding member of the Parliaments, Clinton started recording doo wop sides in the 1950’s, followed by a move to Detroit where the group got a hit with “(I Just Wanna) Testify” in 1967.

In 1968, after a contract dispute with Revilot, Clinton lost the rights to the name the Parliaments and consequently formed a new group, Funkadelic with his old backup band. With Funkadelic, Clinton established an innovative mix by drawing from James Brown, Jimi Hendrix, and Sly and the Family Stone. Funkadelic, a visionary band that combined acid rock with primal funk combined sophisticated funk rhythms with electronic arrangements, outrageous lyrics, and lavish stage productions. Indeed, P-Funk (for Parliament-Funkadelic), as Clinton’s body of work later became known, grew to be a philosophy and state of mind as much as dance music. Funkadelic’s debut album (Funkadelic, 1970) was followed by a series of provocatively titled albums for Westbound Records: Free Your Mind and Your Ass Will Follow (1970); Maggott Brain (1971); America Eats Its Young (1972); Cosmic Slop (1973); and One Nation Under a Groove (1978).

In 1970, after regaining the right to use the name the Parliaments, Clinton formed a new group called Parliament with the same members as Funkadelic. Clinton hoped to reach a broader audience by performing more accessible songs emphasizing vocal arrangements with Parliament while continuing to produce wilder instrumental music with Funkadelic. Clinton now had two bands signed to two different labels even though each band consisted of the same members. Funk became popular and George produced hits with both acts. Parliament was hitting with dance floor jams like “Tear the Roof Off the Sucker (Give Up the Funk),” “Aqua Boogie,” “Flashlight,” and “Bop Gun.” And the same time, Funakdelic had its own successes with funk jams like “(Not Just) Knee Deep” and “One Nation Under A Groove.” Parliament recorded several well-received funk albums, including Up For The Downstroke (1974), Mothership Connection (1975), and ParliamentLive/P-Funk Earth Tour (1977). Many well-known instrumentalists have performed with Parliament and Funkadelic over the years, including bassist Bootsy Collins and saxophonist Maceo Parker. Clinton has offered many a musician the opportunity to be fertilized in funk soil, as well as providing a solid foundation of 'rock' for booty bouncing- a creative environment with a funked-up climate for cultivating dozens of spin-off groups which have emerged from the P-Funk experience.

As the Seventies came to a close, George Clinton soldiered on as a solo act and hit once again with the Number One Urban smash “Atomic Dog.” Times and music changed, but Clinton remained true to the funk and recorded a number of acclaimed albums for Prince’s Paisley Park imprint as well as Epic Records in the 1980’s and ‘90’s.

After being inducted into The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1997, and recently winning a long-term court battle over the rights for some of his work, George Clinton created his own label, The C Kunspyruhzy, which released Clinton’s first studio album in ten years. The label will also house solo recordings by individual members of the P-Funk Empire. Clinton also plans to release a collection of Parliament-Funkadelic, and P-Funk All Stars live recordings from board tapes. Called the Uncut Funk Series, the live CD’s will incorporate some of the best shows over the past thirty years and will be companioned with extensive liner notes.

Discography

1967 The Parliaments I Wanna Testify
1970 Funkadelic Funkadelic
1970 Funkadelic Free Your Mind...And Your Ass Will Follow
1970 Parliament Osmium
1971 Funkadelic Maggot Brain
1972 Funkadelic America Eats Its Young
1973 Funkadelic Cosmic Slop
1974 Funkadelic Standing on the Verge of Getting It On
1974 Parliament Up for the Down Stroke
1975 Funkadelic Let's Take It to the Stage
1975 Parliament Chocolate City
1976 Funkadelic Hardcore Jollies
1976 Funkadelic Tales of Kidd Funkadelic
1976 Parliament Clones of Dr. Funkenstein
1976 Parliament Mothership Connection
1977 Parliament Funkentelechy Vs. the Placebo Syndrome
1977 Parliament Get Down & Boogie
1977 Parliament Live Earth Tour
1978 Funkadelic One Nation Under a Groove
1978 Parliament Motor Booty Affair
1979 Funkadelic Uncle Jam Wants You
1979 Parliament Gloryhallastoopid
1980 Parliament Trombipulation
1981 Funkadelic The Electric Spanking of War Babies
1982 George Clinton Computer Games
1983 George Clinton You Shouldn't-Nuf Bit Fish
1984 P-Funk Allstars Urban Dancefloor Guerillas
1985 George Clinton Some of My Best Jokes Are Friends
1986 George Clinton R&B Skeletons in the Closet
1989 George Clinton The Cinderella Theory
1993 Sample Some of Disc, Sample Some of DAT Vol. 1
1993 George Clinton Hey Man, Smell My Finger
1994 Sample Some of Disc, Sample Some of DAT 2
1995 Sample Some of Disc, Sample Some of DAT Vol. 3
1995 George Clinton & Family Go Fer Yer Funk
1995 George Clinton & Family P is the Funk
1995 George Clinton & Family Plush Funk
1995 George Clinton & Family Testing Positive 4 The Funk
1995 George Clinton & Family A Fifth of Funk
1996 George Clinton The Awesome Power of a Fully Operation Mothership
1996 George Clinton Greatest Funkin Hits
1997 George Clinton & The P-Funk Allstars Live & Kickin'
1998 George Clinton & P-Funk Allstars Dope Dogs
2000 George Clinton The Best of George Clinton
2002 Parliament Funked Up: The Very Best of Parliament
2003 George Clinton Six Degrees of P-Funk
2004 George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic Instant Live: Portland, ME
2004 George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic Instant Live: Atlanta, GA
2005 Parliament Gold
2005 How Late Do You Have 2BB4UR Absent?

The Band

George Clinton (aka Dr. Funkenstein) Lead Vocals, Referee
Garry “Starchild” Shider Vocals, Rhythm Guitar
DeWayne “Blackbyrd” McKnight Lead Guitar, Musical Director
Michael “Kid Funkadelic” Hampton Lead Guitar
Cordell “Boogie” Mosson Rhythm Guitar, Bass Guitar, vocals
Lige Curry Bass Guitar, Vocals
Ronald “RonKat” Spearman Bass Guitar, Vocals
Frankie “Kash” Waddy Drums
Ricardo “Rico” Lewis Drums
Bernie “Woo Warrior” Worrell Keyboards, Synthesizers
Michael “Clip” Payne (The Man In the Box) Keyboards, Vocals
Bennie Cowan Trumpet
Greg Thomas Saxophone, Vocals
Robert “P-Nut” Johnson Vocals
Belita Woods Vocals
Steve Boyd Vocals
Kim Manning Vocals
Kendra Foster Vocals
Sativa (aka Shonda Clinton) Rapper
Carlos “Sir Nose” McMurray Dancer/Sir Nose D’void of Funk
Gene “Poo Poo Man” Anderson Dancer/Vocals

GEORGE CLINTON & PARLIAMENT/FUNKADELC
2006 WINTER TOUR SET LIST as provided by George Clinton Enterprises (NOT NECESSARILY IN THIS ORDER/NOT NECESSARILY ALL/ONLY THESE SONGS)

LETS TAKE IT TO THE STAGE
BOP GUN
DO THAT STUFF
FUNKENTELECHY (featuring BELITA WOODS)
COSMIC SLOP
ONE NATION UNDER A GROOVE
HIT IT AND QUIT IT
FLASHLIGHT (featuring “Sir Nose”)
SOMETHIN’ STINK AND I WANT SOME (featuring SATIVA)
HARD AS STEEEL (featuring SATIVA)
BOOTY
MOTHERSHIP CONNECTION (STARCHILD)
U.S. CUSTOM COAST GUARD DOPE DOGS
STANDING ON THE VERGE OF GETTIN’ IT ON)
GIVE UP THE FUNK (TEAR THE ROOF OFF THE SUCKER)
I LOVE YOU MORE THAN WORDS CAN SAY (featuring BELITA WOODS)
IF ANYBODY GETS FUNKED UP (IT’S GONNA BE YOU)
MAGGOT BRAIN (featuring MICHAEL “KID FUNKADELIC” HAMPTON)-sadly missing from 3.21.06 perfomance.
FLY ON (DOG STAR) (featuring DeWAYNE “BLACKBYRD” McKNIGHT)
JUST SAY DING (featuring FUNKADELIC)
(NOT JUST) KNEE DEEP (w/SENTIMENTAL JOURNEY featuring BELITA WOODS)
FREAK OF THE WEEK
PUMPIN’ IT UP
ALL SONS OF BITCJES
SOME NEXT SHIT
AIN’T NOTHIN’ BUT A JAM YA’LL
AQUABOOGIE
SUPER STUPID
DR. FUNKENSTEIN
FREE YOUR MIND (AND YOUR ASS WILL FOLLOW)
WHY SHOULD I DOG YOU OUT?
CHILDREN OF PRODUCTION
ATOMIC DAWD
RED HOT MAMMA
WE DO THIS, THIS IS WHAT WE DO
WHOLE LOTTA SHAKIN’ GOING ON
NEVER GONNA TELL IT (featuring KIM MANNING)
PARADIGM

By
Gwyn Tyme