George Clinton (funk musician)

George Edward Clinton (born July 22, 1941 ) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer and bandleader.

Owned in part by Clinton, it was staffed by various members of Parliament-Funkadelic, and known as the "hangout for all the local singers and musicians" in Plainfield's 1950s and 1960s doo-wop, soul, rock, and proto-funk music scene.

For a period in the 1960s Clinton was a staff songwriter for Motown.

Despite initial commercial failure and one major hit single, ("(I Wanna) Testify" in 1967), as well as arranging and producing scores of singles on many of the independent Detroit soul music labels, the Parliaments eventually found success under the names Parliament and Funkadelic in the 1970s (see also P-Funk).

These two bands combined the elements of musicians such as Jimi Hendrix, Sly and the Family Stone, Frank Zappa, and James Brown while exploring various sounds, technology, and lyricism.

His Parliament-Funkadelic collective (which primarily recorded under the distinct band names Parliament and Funkadelic) developed an influential and eclectic form of funk music during the 1970s that drew on Afrofuturism, outlandish fashion, psychedelia, and surreal humor.

Clinton and Parliament-Funkadelic dominated Black music during the 1970s, with over 40 R&B hit singles (including three number ones) and three platinum albums.

From 1971 to late 1973, Clinton and several other members of the band settled in Toronto.

During their years in Toronto, they honed their live show and recorded the album America Eats Its Young, which was their first to feature Bootsy Collins.

In the 1980s, Clinton began to encounter legal difficulties arising from PolyGram's acquisition of Parliament's label, Casablanca Records.

He recorded several solo albums, although all of these records featured contributions from P-Funk's core musicians.

This period of Clinton's career was marred by multiple legal problems resulting in financial difficulties due to royalty and copyright issues, notably with Bridgeport Music, who Clinton claims fraudulently obtained the copyrights to many of his recordings.

During the mid to late 1980s, many hip-hop and rap artists cited Clinton's earlier music as an influence.

Along with James Brown, Clinton's songs with Parliament-Funkadelic were often sampled by rap producers.

He launched his solo career with the 1982 album Computer Games and would go on to influence 1990s hip-hop and G-funk.

Clinton is regarded, along with James Brown and Sly Stone, as one of the foremost innovators of funk music.

In 1982, Clinton was signed to Capitol Records under two names: his own as a solo artist, and as the P-Funk All-Stars, releasing Computer Games under his own name that same year.

The single "Loopzilla" hit the Top 20 on the R&B charts, followed by "Atomic Dog", which reached #1 R&B and #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?"

He is also a notable music producer who works on almost all the albums he performs on, and has produced albums for Bootsy Collins and Red Hot Chili Peppers, among others.

In 1985, he was recruited by the Chili Peppers to produce their album Freaky Styley, because the band members were huge fans of his and of funk in general.

Clinton wrote the vocals and lyrics to the title track, which was originally intended by the band to be left as an instrumental piece.

The album was not a commercial success at the time.

In 1987, Clinton was recruited to write the theme song for The Tracey Ullman Show, "You're Thinking Right".

In 1989, Clinton released The Cinderella Theory on Paisley Park, Prince's record label.

Clinton appeared in films such as Graffiti Bridge (1990), House Party (1990), PCU (1994), Good Burger (1997), and The Breaks (1999).

Clinton continued his work with Paisley Park with Hey, Man, Smell My Finger in 1993.

The year 1994 saw Clinton contribute to several tracks on Primal Scream's studio album Give Out But Don't Give Up.

In 1994, he appeared as the host of the anthology television film Cosmic Slop.

In 1995, Clinton sang "Mind Games" on the John Lennon tribute Working Class Hero.

"Sure, sample my stuff…" he remarked in 1996; "Ain't a better time to get paid than when you're my age. You know what to do with money. You don't buy as much pussy or drugs with it – you just buy some."

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.

He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997, alongside 15 other members of Parliament-Funkadelic.

In 1997, he appeared as himself in the Cartoon Network show Space Ghost Coast to Coast.

Clinton also appeared as the voice of the Funktipus, the DJ of the funk radio station Bounce FM in the 2004 video game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, in which his song "Loopzilla" also appeared.

Rapper Dr. Dre often sampled Clinton's music, helping to bring about the G-funk era.

In 2019, he and Parliament-Funkadelic were given Grammy Lifetime Achievement Awards.

George Edward Clinton was born in Kannapolis, North Carolina, grew up in Plainfield, New Jersey, and currently resides in Tallahassee, Florida.

During his teen years, Clinton formed a doo-wop group inspired by Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers called the Parliaments, while straightening hair at a barbershop in Plainfield, New Jersey.

The West End of Plainfield was once home to a barbershop on 216 Plainfield Avenue known as "Silk Palace".