Inspired by Motown’s assembly line of sound, George Clinton gradually put together a collective of over 50 musicians and recorded the ensemble during the ’70s both as Parliament and Funkadelic. While Funkadelic pursued band-format psychedelic rock, Parliament engaged in a funk free-for-all, blending influences from the godfathers (James Brown and Sly Stone) with freaky costumes and themes inspired by ’60s acid culture and science fiction. From Parliament’s 1970 inception until Clinton’s dissolving of the band in 1980, they hit the R&B Top Ten with funk classics such as “Up for the Down Stroke,” “Tear the Roof Off the Sucker (Give Up the Funk),” “Flast Light,” and “Aqua Boogie (A Psychoalphadiscobetabioaquadoloop).” They truly excelled in two other areas: effective album statements, including the platinum releases Mothership Connection and Funkentelechy vs. the Placebo Syndrome (1977), and the most dazzling, extravagant live show in the business. After Clinton fused his concepts for P-Funk All Stars, he revitalized them separately in the 2010s, first with an album from Funkadelic and then one with Parliament, Medicaid Fraud Dogg (2018).
By the time his on-the-move family settled in New Jersey during the early ’50s, George Clinton (born in 1941 in Kannapolis, North Carolina) became interested in doo wop, which was just beginning to explode in the New York-metro area. Basing his group on Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers, Clinton formed the Parliaments in 1955 with a line-up that gradually shifted to include Clarence “Fuzzy” Haskins, Grady Thomas, Raymond Davis, and Calvin Simon. Based out of a barbershop backroom where Clinton straightened hair, the Parliaments released only two singles during the next ten years, but frequent mid-’60s trips to Detroit — where Clinton began working as a songwriter and producer — eventually paid off their investment.
After finding a hit with the 1967 single “(I Wanna) Testify,” the Parliaments ran into trouble with Revilot Records and refused to record any new material. Instead of waiting for a settlement, Clinton decided to record the same band under a new name: Funkadelic. Founded in 1968, the group began life as a smokescreen, claiming as its only members the Parliaments’ backing band — guitarist Eddie Hazel, bassist Billy Nelson, rhythm guitarist Lucius “Tawl” Ross, drummer Ramon “Tiki” Fulwood, and organist Mickey Atkins — but in truth including Clinton and the rest of the former Parliaments lineup. Revilot folded not long after, with the label’s existing contracts sold to Atlantic; Clinton, however, decided to abandon the Parliaments name rather than record for the major label. One previously recorded Parliaments single, “A New Day Begins,” was licensed to Atco in 1969 and became a number 44 hit that May. By 1970, Clinton had regained the rights to the Parliaments name; he then signed the entire Funkadelic lineup to Invictus Records as Parliament. The group released one album — 1970’s Osmium — and scored a number 30 hit, “Breakdown,” on the R&B chart in 1971. With Funkadelic firing on all cylinders, however, Clinton decided to discontinue Parliament (the name, not the band) for the time being.