Parliament Funkadelic featuring George Clinton

Event Info

George Clinton - one of the foremost innovators of Funk, is the mastermind behind the legendary Parliament/Funkadelic, creating a uniquely identifiable art that has lifted Funk from what was once considered a simple style to an internationally recognized musical genre earning George Clinton and Parliament/Funkadelic their rightful place in music history: an induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and recipients of the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

Clinton started his career with the Parliaments, a barbershop doo-wop ensemble, which scored a major hit with "I Wanna Testify" in 1967. Clinton developed an act/sound which merged the polish of Motown acts, the rawness of James Brown, the bohemian style of Sly Stone and the pop sensibility of the Beatles – and forever set himself apart from the Motown era. By the early ’70s, the group's tight songs evolved into sprawling jams around funky rhythms. They dropped the "s" from the band’s name and Parliament was born. Around the same time, Clinton spawned Funkadelic, a rock group which fused acid-rock guitar, bizarre sound effects, and cosmological rants with danceable beats and booming bass lines.

Clinton's dancefloor dominance continued throughout the ’70s reaching its peak with the 1983 George Clinton release of “Atomic Dog,” which took the term "dancefloor anthem" to a new level. With its infectious beat and unique melodic structure, “Atomic Dog” remains popular with young audiences today and can be heard not only in clubs, on campus, and at the cookout, but also in commercials (E-Trade) and numerous movies (102 Dalmatians, Trolls World Tour). It was sampled countless times, most notably by Snoop Dogg on his smash “Snoop Dogg (What’s My Name Pt. 2).” Indeed, Clinton’s P-Funk, with its infectious groove and irresistible beats, became a go-to source for countless early rap recordings. As Clinton has said, "Funk is the DNA of hip-hop and rap."

Being the most sampled artist, Clinton is recognized as the godfather of modern urban music. Beats, loops, and samples of P-Funk have appeared on albums by 2Pac, OutKast, Dr. Dre, Busta Rhymes, Missy Elliot, De La Soul, Fishbone, Ice Cube, Public Enemy and Childish Gambino.