History Music / GeorgeClinton

'''George Clinton''' (July 22, 1941-) is a famous and acclaimed {{Funk}} musician. If JamesBrown was the [[TropeMaker pioneer]] of funk, George Clinton was the man who arguably [[TropeCodifier fulfilled its potential]] as the driving force of Parliament-Funkadelic. He is known foremost for his conceptual vision, socially conscious lyrics and production skills. The bands themselves are famous for their excellent musicianship, fierce live performances and outlandish albums boasting satirical comic-book artwork, its most famous covers being the ones drawn by Pedro Bell and Overton Loyd. Besides being considered a member of funk's "holy trinity" (alongside Music/JamesBrown and Music/SlyAndTheFamilyStone), he's also the second or third most {{sampl|ing}}ed musician, depending on who's counting.

* MindFuck: The title track from 1971's Free Your Mind And Your Ass Will Follow. The lyrics are almost completely nonsensical, mostly consisting of the title and "The King Of Heaven Is Within", the song itself is as Psychedelic as Soul can be, going into JimiHendrix territory, and probably the most accurate representation of taking LSD. George himself did say the album WAS to see if they could make a whole album while tripping on acid, and it shows very well.

* SpiritualSuccessor: To space jazz pioneer SunRa.

* InTheStyleOf: "Maggot Brain" from ''Music/MaggotBain'' somewhat imitates Music/JimiHendrix. Early albums (1970-1972) owed quite a bit to the influence of Motown's psychedelic soul bands and hard funk.

* '''Phillippe Wynne''' - vocals

* {{Crunchtastic}}: Oh, man, Clinton loves long compound funny words - "Supergroovalisticprosifunkstication", "Psychoalphadiscobetabioaquadoloop", "Promentalshitbackwashpsychosis Enema Squad (The Doo Doo Chasers)" from ''Music/OneNationUnderTheGroove'' (longest compound song title ever?).

* MindFuck: The title track from 1971's Free Your Mind And Your Ass Will Follow. The lyrics are almost completely nonsensical, mostly consisting of the title and "The King Of Heaven Is Within", the song itself is as Psychedelic as Soul can be, going into Jimi Hendrix territory, and probably the most accurate representation of taking LSD. George himself did say the album WAS to see if they could make a whole album while tripping on acid, and it shows very well.

* BlackSheepHit: The title track from 1978's One Nation Under A Groove has more mainstream Dance-Funk appeal than Funkadelic's previous hard Funk Rock material.

* 1978 - ''One Nation Under a Groove''

* {{Crunchtastic}}: Oh, man, Clinton loves long compound funny words - "Supergroovalisticprosifunkstication", "Psychoalphadiscobetabioaquadoloop", "Promentalshitbackwashpsychosis Enema Squad (The Doo Doo Chasers)" (longest compound song title ever?).

* EpicRocking: "One Nation Under a Groove", "Mommy, What's a Funkadelic?", "What Is Soul", "Free Your Mind And Your Ass Will Follow", "Maggot Brain" from ''Music/MaggotBrain'', "Promentalshitbackwashenemapsychosis Squad (The Doo-Doo Chasers)", "Bop Gun (Endangered Species)", "Flash Light", "Aqua Boogie (Psychoalphadiscobetabioaquadoloop)", "Deep" ...and that's just a few.

* InTheStyleOf: "Maggot Brain" somewhat imitates Music/JimiHendrix. Early albums (1970-1972) owed quite a bit to the influence of Motown's psychedelic soul bands and hard funk.

'''George Clinton''' (July 22, 1941-) is a famous and acclaimed {{Funk}} musician. If JamesBrown was the [[TropeMaker pioneer]] of funk, George Clinton was the man who arguably [[TropeCodifier fulfilled its potential]] as the driving force of Parliament-Funkadelic. He is known foremost for his conceptual vision, socially conscious lyrics and production skills. The bands themselves are famous for their excellent musicianship, fierce live performances and outlandish albums boasting satirical comic-book artwork, its most famous covers being the ones drawn by Pedro Bell and Overton Loyd. Besides being considered a member of funk's "holy trinity" (alongside JamesBrown and Sly Stone), he's also the second or third most {{sampl|ing}}ed musician, depending on who's counting.

George Clinton was born in 1941 in Kannapolis, North Carolina and grew up in Plainfield, NewJersey. After some time in a barber salon, he became a staff songwriter for Motown, while fronting a small-time doo-wop group named The Parliaments, which had a hit in 1967 with "(I Wanna) Testify". But this band disintegrated, and Clinton instead formed Funkadelic, a band which played a combination of psychedelic rock and funk, influenced by other famous musicians such as JimiHendrix, James Brown and Sly & the Family Stone.

The period of 1975-1979 is widely considered Parliament-Funkadelic's "classic period", when they released a string of concept albums full of bizarre spacey imagery and their own [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P-Funk_mythology mythology]], which were critically acclaimed and commercially successful, backed by an elaborate stage show that rivaled PinkFloyd. The same period resulted in a stream of side-projects and more off-shoots, out of which only Bootsy's Rubber Band earned any comparable success or visibility.

Not to be confused with UsefulNotes/BillClinton (''TheOnion'' ran quite a few stories during TheNineties that played on the similarity), [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Clinton_%28vice_president%29 vice president George Clinton]], or the decidedly white and not-very-funky soundtrack composer [[http://www.last.fm/music/George+S.+Clinton George S. Clinton]].

Had an appearance AsHimself in ''{{PCU}}''.

* '''George Clinton''' - vocals, keyboards, synths, RecordProducer, mastermind. P-Funk just wouldn't exist without him. Famous for his outlandish costumes and rainbow dreadlocks. [[WebComic/{{XKCD}} Randall Munroe]] tried to start a rumour that he had a Ph.D in Mathematics. ''TheOnion'' are also fans.

* '''Phelps Collins''' aka "Catfish" - guitar. Joined the band alongside his more famous brother Bootsy. Former member of JamesBrown's band.
* '''[=DeWayne=] [=McKnight=]''' aka "Blackbird" - guitar. Joined in the late seventies, largely serves as lead guitarist in live shows. Retired in 2008. Once joined the RedHotChiliPeppers, but that didn't pan out and he got replaced by John Frusciante.

* '''William Collins''' (better known as "Bootsy") - bass, vocals, guitar, drums. Initially a member of JamesBrown's band, came to P-Funk with his brother Catfish circa 1972. Famous for his basslines, his "space bass", his cartoonish suits (complete with top hats) that would later be seen on Public Enemy's Flava Flav and rapper T-Pain, and his instantly recognizable, goofy voice. Later formed Bootsy's Rubber Band. Average listeners probably know him for the vocals he contributed to Deee-lite's "Groove Is in the Heart" and cameo in the video (''Deee-lite have definitely been known to smoke... on stage that is!'' *slide whistle*).

* '''Maceo Parker''' - alto and baritone saxophone, flute. Joined in 1975. Also played for JamesBrown and {{Prince}}.
* '''Fred Wesley''' - trombone. Bandmate of Parker's with JamesBrown, came along with Parker in 1975.
* '''Ray Davis''' aka "Stingray" - vocals. Known for his distinctive bass voice. Later left P-Funk and joined TheTemptations circa 1995. Died in 2005. Please don't confuse him with the guy from TheKinks.

* 1971 - ''Maggot Brain''

* 2008 - ''[[CoverAlbum George Clinton and His Gangsters of Love]]''

* DenserAndWackier: MUCH more than name-brand Funk musicans and bands like the OhioPlayers, EarthWindAndFire, Etc. The goal of Parliament/Funkadelic is to be weird as hell.

* CoverDrop: The title tracks of ''Maggot Brain'' and ''Free Your Mind and Your Ass Will Follow''.

* EpicRocking: "One Nation Under a Groove", "Mommy, What's a Funkadelic?", "What Is Soul", "Free Your Mind And Your Ass Will Follow", "Maggot Brain", "Promentalshitbackwashenemapsychosis Squad (The Doo-Doo Chasers)", "Bop Gun (Endangered Species)", "Flash Light", "Aqua Boogie (Psychoalphadiscobetabioaquadoloop)", "Deep" ...and that's just a few.

* InTheStyleOf: "Maggot Brain" somewhat imitates JimiHendrix. Early albums (1970-1972) owed quite a bit to the influence of Motown's psychedelic soul bands and hard funk.

* PopStarComposer: ''Muppets in Space''.
* ProtestSong: "Funky Dollar Bill", "Better By The Pound", "The Placebo Syndrome" and "Wizard of Finance" criticise the American society's materialism and complacency. "March to the Witch's Castle" is about scarred Vietnam War veterans returning to America[[note]]a lot of which have become drug addicts and have been abandoned by wives who thought they were missing in action or died in combat[[/note]] and questioning their involvement in the war. "If You Don't Like the Effects, Don't Produce the Cause" is ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin. "You and Your Folks, Me and My Folks" is a call for unity among the disadvantaged. "Cosmic Slop" is about a mother who becomes a prostitute to feed her children.

* TakeThat: "Let's Take It to the Stage" contains jokes at the expense of various funk bands like [[Music/SlyAndTheFamilyStone Slick and the Family Prick]], [[{{Rufus}} Sloofus]], [[KoolAndTheGang Fool and the Gang]], or [[EarthWindAndFire Earth Hot Air and No Fire]]. Also insinuates that the 17 minute gap in the Watergate tapes was erased because that's where RichardNixon recorded himself doing drugs.

->''There's a good time waiting for you, come on and let's get free!''

->''Make my funk the P-Funk, I wants to get funked up''
->''I want the bomb, I want the P-Funk, I want my funk uncut.''

* ContinuityNod: Clinton has a habit of recycling his older melodies in new contexts. For example: The Funkadelic song "Red Hot Mama" borrows the melody from their older song "I Bet You", and the Parliament Song "Do That Stuff" takes a riff from "You Can't Miss What You Can't Measure" by Funkadelic. And we haven't mentioned how many lines he recycles between albums as a MythologyNod.

* CallBack: Too many {{Mythology Nod}}s to count.

Not to be confused with BillClinton (''TheOnion'' ran quite a few stories during TheNineties that played on the similarity), [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Clinton_%28vice_president%29 vice president George Clinton]], or the decidedly white and not-very-funky soundtrack composer [[http://www.last.fm/music/George+S.+Clinton George S. Clinton]].

-> ''There's a good time waiting for you, come on and let's get free!''

-> ''Make my funk the P-Funk, I wants to get funked up''
-> ''I want the bomb, I want the P-Funk, I want my funk uncut.''

George Clinton is a famous and acclaimed {{Funk}} musician. If JamesBrown was the [[TropeMaker pioneer]] of funk, George Clinton was the man who arguably [[TropeCodifier fulfilled its potential]] as the driving force of Parliament-Funkadelic. He is known foremost for his conceptual vision, socially conscious lyrics and production skills. The bands themselves are famous for their excellent musicianship, fierce live performances and outlandish albums boasting satirical comic-book artwork, its most famous covers being the ones drawn by Pedro Bell and Overton Loyd. Besides being considered a member of funk's "holy trinity" (alongside JamesBrown and Sly Stone), he's also the second or third most {{sampl|ing}}ed musician, depending on who's counting.

* ContemptibleCover: ''Free Your Mind… and Your Ass Will Follow''.

* TakeThat: "Let's Take It to the Stage" contains jokes at the expense of various funk bands like [[SlyAndTheFamilyStone Slick and the Family Prick]], [[{{Rufus}} Sloofus]], [[KoolAndTheGang Fool and the Gang]], or [[EarthWindAndFire Earth Hot Air and No Fire]]. Also insinuates that the 17 minute gap in the Watergate tapes was erased because that's where RichardNixon recorded himself doing drugs.

* SingingSimlish: "Night of The Thumpasorus Peoples" makes this sound [[CrowningMusicOfAwesome awesome.]]

George Clinton is a famous and acclaimed {{Funk}} musician. If JamesBrown was the [[TropeMaker pioneer]] of funk, George Clinton was the man who arguably [[TropeCodifier fulfilled its potential]] as the driving force of Parliament-Funkadelic. He is known foremost for his conceptual vision, socially conscious lyrics and production skills. The bands themselves are famous for their excellent musicianship, fierce live performances and outlandish albums boasting satirical comic-book artwork, its most famous covers being the ones drawn by Pedro Bell and Overton Loyd. Besides being considered a member of funk's "holy trinity" (alongside JamesBrown and [[SlyAndTheFamilyStone Sly Stone]]), he's also the second or third most {{sampl|ing}}ed musician, depending on who's counting.

--> '''Funkadelic''', "Good To Your Earhole"

--> '''Parliament''', "P-Funk (Wants to Get Funked Up)"

George Clinton is a famous and acclaimed {{Funk}} musician. If JamesBrown was the [[TropeMaker pioneer]] of funk, George Clinton was the man who arguably [[TropeCodifier fulfilled its potential]] as the driving force of Parliament-Funkadelic. He is known foremost for his conceptual vision, socially conscious lyrics and production skills. The bands themselves are famous for their excellent musicianship, fierce live performances and outlandish albums boasting satirical comic-book artwork, its most famous covers being the ones drawn by Pedro Bell and Overton Loyd. Besides being considered a member of funk's "holy trinity" (alongside JamesBrown and [[SlyAndTheFamilyStone Sly Stone]]), he's also the second or third most [[{{Sampling}} sampled]] musician, depending on who's counting.

!!The P-Funk collective provides examples of the following tropes;

--> ''There's a good time waiting for you, come on and let's get free!''

--> ''Make my funk the P-Funk, I wants to get funked up''
--> ''I want the bomb, I want the P-Funk, I want my funk uncut.''

* 1996 - ''T.A.P.O.A.F.O.M.''[[hottip:*:The Awesome Power Of A Fully Operational Mothership]]

* ProtestSong: "Funky Dollar Bill", "Better By The Pound", "The Placebo Syndrome" and "Wizard of Finance" criticise the American society's materialism and complacency. "March to the Witch's Castle" is about scarred Vietnam War veterans returning to America [[hottip:*: a lot of which have become drug addicts and have been abandoned by wives who thought they were missing in action or died in combat]] and questioning their involvement in the war. "If You Don't Like the Effects, Don't Produce the Cause" is ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin. "You and Your Folks, Me and My Folks" is a call for unity among the disadvantaged. "Cosmic Slop" is about a mother who becomes a prostitute to feed her children.

* CloudCuckooLander: Oh yeah. Listen to some of his lyrics, read his song titles... hell, just look at his onstage costumes. "Eccentric" is putting it mildly. Probably because of all the drugs.

* ChorusOnlySong: "Get Off Your Ass and Jam", "Nappy Dugout".

* ContemptableCover: ''Free Your Mind… and Your Ass Will Follow''.