![]()
The sound of George Clinton and Parliament is a sound that defined an era, and they also became an inspiration to future generations. They developed a distinct form of funk music during the 1970s that pulled from the psychedelic counter-culture and science-fiction; which was immensely popular in the United States at the time.
Clinton was born in Kannapolis, North Carolina but spent his developmental years in Plainfield, New Jersey. There, he along with Fuzzy Haskins, Grady Thomas, Calvin Simon and Ray Davis, formed the collective, The Parliaments. Initially, a doo-wop group, the band’s music ultimately went in the direction of soul, rock, and funk.
Throughout the 1970’s, George Clinton and Parliament experienced a series of highs and lows. He briefly gave up the rights to the Parliament name due to a contractual dispute with their record label; hence the creation of the Funkadelic group. They released eight studio albums during this time, and recorded hits such as “Flash Light,” “Aqua Boogie” and “Give Up The Funk (Tear The Roof Off The Sucker).”
As time progressed, the Parliament-Funkadelic collective continued to grow, and so did their problems. Many of Parliament’s pivotal members decided to depart from the group amidst business turmoil, and George Clinton dissolved the band in the early 1980’s.
George Clinton launched his solo career in 1981 and recorded several solo projects. He also produced songs for notable musicians throughout the 1980s. He would go on to influence 1990s hip-hop and the G-Funk sound of the West Coast and is regarded as one of the innovators of funk music; after an almost 40-year hiatus, George Clinton and Parliament released an album together in May of 2018 entitled Medicaid Fraud Dogg.