I know he was the mastermind behind Parliament, Funkadelic, P-Funk, Brides, etc. But, instrumentally, did he play anything? His bands are so gigantic, I'm just curious.

George Clinton is the single most influential figure in the history of funk, the mastermind behind both Parliament & Funkadelic.

Clinton started his career in junior high, founding The Parliaments, a barbershop doo-wop ensemble, which scored a major hit with "I Wanna Testify" in 1967. Clinton then began experimenting with harmonies, melody and rhythm and taking cues from the psychedelic movement, forever setting himself apart from the Motown era.

By the early 1970’s, the group’s tight songs evolved into sprawling jams around the funkiest of rhythms. They dropped the "S" from the band name and Parliament was born. Around the same time, Clinton spawned Funkadelic, a rock group which fused psychedelic guitar distortion, bizarre sound effects, and cosmological rants with danceable beats and booming bass lines which became the definition of funk.

Funkadelic made a number of Earth shattering concept albums, focusing the politics facing the planet, with titles like Free Your Mind and Your Ass Will Follow, Maggot Brain, and America Eats It’s Young.

Parliament & Funkadelic dominated and revolutionized the music scene in the 1970’s, capturing 40 R&B hit singles and racking up four #1 hits: "Flashlight," "One Nation Under a Groove," "Aqua Boogie" and "(Not Just) Knee Deep." Clinton’s collaborators included master keyboardist Bernie Worrel, guitarist Eddie Hazel, bassist Bootsy Collins, saxophonist Maceo Parker, trombonist Fred Wesley. On stage, spectacle ruled the day, with an enormous mothership, outrageous costumes, and marathon performances.

In the 1980’s, George Clinton emerged as a successful solo artist. He released Computer Games with the #1 hit single "Atomic Dog," produced The Red Hot Chili Peppers pioneering Freaky Styley, and signed onto Prince’s Paisley Park label. He also began to experiment with the urban hip-hop music scene, as a generation of rappers reared on P-Funk began to name-check him.

By 1990, Clinton had become recognized as the godfather of modern urban music. Beats, loops and samples of P-Funk appeared on albums by OutKast, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Busta Rhymes, Missy Elliot, De La Soul, Fishbone, and many, many others. As Clinton has said, "Funk is the DNA of hip-hop and rap." Clinton also teamed up to create new recordings with artists like Too $hort, Digital Underground, Ice Cube, Q-Tip, Coolio and Redman. In 1996, Clinton released his most recent solo album The Awesome Power of a Fully Operational Mothership, which reunited him with Bernie Worrel and Bootsy Collins.

In 1997, George Clinton & Parliament / Funkadelic were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Guitar Center’s Hollywood Rock Walk, and earned a Lifetime Achievement Award at the NAACP Image Awards. In 2002, SPIN magazine voted Parliament/Funkadelic #6 of the 50 Greatest Band of All Time.

At the dawn of the new millennium, the Parliament Funkadelic juggernaut has shown no signs of slowing down, remaining active on the recording and touring fronts. The line-up includes both original band members, such as guitarist Gary Shider, guitarist Dewayne "Blackbyrd" McKnight, guitarist Mike Hampton, and bassists William "Billy Bass" Nelson and Cardell "Boogie" Mosson, along with fresh new voices with sometimes as many as 30 people appearing on stage at once. In the summer of 2002, George Clinton & Parliament / Funkadelic completed an ambitious world tour of the United States, Europe, Australia, and Japan.


So there ya go.
He played spoons.

I read somewhere he's more of a producer than a musician, (if does play anything)

Although James Brown played keys often, he still dictated to the band the direction he wanted to go by humming the melody or back beat to the musicians and then let the pros make it shine.

George probably did/does this too.

Similer note:
I used to think Prince was a virtuoso composer. My favorite songs of his involve strings and horns.

Then after reading some liner notes on the toilet one night I found out that those favorite arrangements were by The hornheads and cool strings were by Clare Fischer.

Hate to go here, but I'd say you're taking some SERIOUS artistic license in the praise-athon up there. The same glorious things could be said about Prince, James Brown, Sly Stone or Stevie Wonder:



Or on this one...
again, same thing can be said about Prince and the Time, Vanity 6, Sheila E, Madhouse, etc, or James Brown's JBs, et al, Stevie's Syreeta, etc.

So again, I respect the man's work, but to some degree, I do find it odd that he's revered as the Godfather of Funk when so many other funk artists have contributed as much if not more to Funk.

But I digress.

Does anyone know if he played any instruments?

otan said:

I actually seem him play keys onstage during one of his shows.

he does play keys

check it out...wefunk.com

http://www.wefunk.com/

I read or saw on TV somewhere that George didn't write the music to Atomic Dog. The music was already laid down, George came into the studio, made up some shit and the song was completed.

Any truth to this?

George Clinton is cool. He was gonna sign Zapp 2 his 'Uncle Jam' label until Warner's signed Roger 2 a solo deal. After some contractual disputes, Zapp went 2 Warner's.

Even if George plays a bit of keys, obvously he won't go down in the books as a master at them. But I don't think it detracts from his legacy at all.

I sometimes hold Quincy Jones, and any number of non-playing producers, etc. under similar criticism. But we should keep in mind that ideas in art are every bit as important as mechanical skills. No legendary classical composer I can think of played every instrument in an orchestra, yet many possessed the talent necessary to construct magnificent symphonies utilizing each instrument section.

As it were, George does play a bit of keys and some minial percussion. He certainly also wrote all those far out lyrics, and it's he who first injected funk with the attitude, aesthetic and unlikely merge of musical influences that define it today. He was the first -- that's why he's so respected.
[This message was edited Sat Nov 8 18:50:57 PST 2003 by Lammastide]

The fact of the matter is when I've seen him live he treats the crowd like multiple instruments and plays them like he does his band.

He is funk.

Lammastide said:

FYI, Quincy Jones was actually a jazz trumpeter prior to becoming a world-renowned arranger/producer. He suffered a brain aneurysm in the 70's, and since then, he has not been able to play (his brain won't allow his hands to interact in that fashion any longer). He is occasionally credited with some keyboard on his more recent albums (presumably one-handed).

That said, I understand your point.

George sang lead vocals on many classic P-Funk tracks, like Flash Light.

I've already saw footage of quincy jones playing keys, some pretty chords.

todd305 said:

Thanks for that news. I never knew that.

I saw him on tour here in Amsrtedam last year,
Man that was something else they started at 21.00 and kept playing until 03.00 !! It was one of the best concerts I ever went too !!

And yes, the roof went offf !!

He will play with Gotcha at some festival in the Milkyway soon, I read somewhere...

otan said:

Sorry Otan, I thought you'd get the hummor. (I know, I'm not so direct)

blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, history, history,...

So there ya go.
He played spoons.

I took that info from his new site. that's why it sounds so self-indulged.

zippy!

Quincy was a trumpet player in Basie's big band and he plays piano as well. He wasn't just reaching for notes from out of thin air. He is so deep in theory that we could only hope to scratch the surface.Listen to anything Quincy wrote and U will hear and see if U know music theory and see how technically sound his works are.

Lammastide said:

sorry Lamm I see that Todd already told u. I didn't see it until I read on down the thread.

2 me George´s greatness is what impact his music
has had.He was the leader of a mothership with
other great sidemen ofcourse & his stuff was so
spaced out & ahead of it´s time & just like James Brown
he was extremely productive during a 10 year period
with lot´s of great side projects outside
Parliament/Funkadelic.
/peace Manki

yamomma said:

I wouldnt go as far as calling George "the single most influential musician in Funk", because thats dissin James Brown. He made funk happen in the 60s already, when George was still sining doo-wop with the Parliaments.

I listen to Mr. Brown way more than george.
[This message was edited Wed Nov 12 9:58:55 PST 2003 by NFO]

soulpower said:

Like I said, I took that rambling from George's web-site. That's why it sounds so self-indulged.

Personally, I own way more JB cds than george's bands' albums.

otan said:

he dont need 2 play any instruments, HES FUCKEN GEORGE CLINTON 4 FUCKS SHAKE!!!

wildblueangel said:

Thanks Carl Sagan. My initial question, though, was DID HE PLAY any instruments, NOT did he contribute to funk. DID HE PLAY ANY INSTRUMENTS.

So, if this discussion were, DID HE RIDE A HORSE THROUGH A FLAMING PILE OF TIRES WHILE WEARING A THONG, your answer would be just as valid. 4 Fucks shake.

edit - had to misspell SAKE to match the original wry wit.
[This message was edited Wed Nov 12 14:09:21 PST 2003 by otan]

O - Did U check out that link I provided above. Quite the Funk website(s) and a plethora of info on George and so many other funksters.

No - i haven't had a chance - it's on my top ten list right now. thanks Red. You rock. Wanna write an article about net radio exposure?

hmmm...or Beau, maybe go direct to a closer source, do an interview with Travis Storch at Live365 (you still have his co-ordinates? I do if you don't). I'm sure he'd give you great insight as to where net radio is going and a good interview.