George Clinton (funk musician)
- This article is about the American funk musician. For other persons of that name see George Clinton.
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George Clinton (born July 22, 1941) is an American musician, considered one of the fathers 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, and grew up in Plainfield, New Jersey. 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 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. For information on The Parliaments, Parliament or Funkadelic, see their respective articles, or P-Funk.
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. 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 three 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. 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 him. 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.
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.
Drug crimes
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] On August 11, 2004, he pleaded no contest to two misdemeanor drug-paraphernalia charges, while the felony charge was dropped.
Discography
Albums released under the name "George Clinton."
| Year | Title | Label |
|---|---|---|
| 1982 | Computer Games | Capitol Records |
| 1983 | You Shouldn't-Nuf Bit Fish | Warner Bros. |
| 1985 | Some of My Best Jokes Are Friends | Capitol Records |
| 1986 | R&B Skeletons in the Closet | Capitol Records |
| 1989 | The Cinderella Theory | Paisley Park Records |
| 1993 | Hey Man, Smell My Finger | Paisley Park Records |
| 1993 | Sample Some of Disc - Sample Some of D.A.T. | AEM |
| 1996 | Testing Positive | AEM |
| 2005 | How Late Do U Have 2BB4UR Absent? | The C Kunspyruhzy |
Famous songs
- (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)
See also
External links
- George Clinton's official web site
- MoreThings Al Barger's remedial George Clinton funk lessons
- George Clinton at IMDb
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