Funkadelic

Funkadelic Artistfacts

  • 1968-
    George ClintonVocals, bandleader
    Eddie HazelGuitar
    Bernie WorrellKeyboards
    Billy NelsonBass
    Tiki FulwoodDrums
    Garry ShiderGuitar
    Michael HamptonGuitar
    Bootsy CollinsBass
  • Funkadelic and Parliament were both the creation of George Clinton, who used many of the same musicians in both bands. Funkadelic's sound is more of a guitar-based acid rock, as opposed to the horn-heavy Parliament. And you'll hear a lot more instrumental passages on Funkadelic songs; Parliament relies more on vocals.
  • George Clinton cites "Music For My Mother," a song from the first Funkadelic album, as the most important P-Funk song to him. "That was the beginning of the notion that we were going to do a funky band, as opposed to a doo-wop group/singing group like the Temptations," he said in a Songfacts interview. "That was a conscious thought, that that was the way I was going to go, and everything else came after that."
  • The Funkadelic ethos is largely explained in two of their songs: "Maggot Brain," which is about rising to a transcendent spiritual state, and "One Nation Under A Groove," where we all come together, united by funk.
  • Funkadelic fans are known as Funkateers, exhibiting a high degree of Funkativity.
  • The name "Funkadelic" is a mashup of "funky" and "psychedelic," which describes their sound. Their bass player, Bill Nelson, came up with it.
  • When Parliament-Funkadelic were inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 1997, 16 of their members were included, which is more than any other band in the Rock Hall.
  • Many of the musicians in Parliament-Funkadelic (including Bernie Worrell, Eddie Hazel and Maceo Parker) got their own solo projects thanks to George Clinton, who liked to spread the funk far and wide. Bootsy's, which was called Bootsy's Rubber Band, was the most successful. He had a #1 R&B hit in 1978 with "Bootzilla," a song based on a character he created.
  • Guitarist Eddie Hazel was a big part of their sound, which distinguished Funkadelic from Parliament. His solos could go on for quite a while, as heard on the track "Good Thoughts Bad Thoughts."

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