...lets hear the arguments for and against these two kings.
For me the choice is easy.Sly & the Family Stone do it for me,always have.G.P Parliment Funkadelic just dont impress me on the same level.Its not something I can explain,just whats in my heart.Take Parliments funkiest jam"Onenationunderagroove" its bad and all of that but compare it to"Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)" and Family Stone cross the line first n pick up a win.Your opinions???

since i can't see the music of 2day existin without either respective crews, what i'd like 2 see is larry and bootsie jammin 2getha on bass....maaan the hardcore jollies that they took to the stage would have a riot goin on and really tear the roof off the mothasucka 'cause everybody in their bands is a star... and that's not just knee deep 'cause i'm dreamin of the way all the sexy bodies would move 2 the electric spankin of all us war babies...ahhh the joys of hot fun in the summer time and yes its a family affiar....

Since there is no either/or to be made for me I'll take both.

Oh, I like strawberries AND grapes too...whowouldathunkit?

Not a fair choice at all!

Supernova said:

same here

psykosoul said:

Ditto!

I got to be honest here and admit my funktastic failures. I never really got into the whole George Clinton thing (maybe i made a fatal mistake early on, since my first purchase was The (goddam) Cinderella theory).

I spin Fresh, Stand, There's a riot...all the time. Thankyou...i think is a bit overrated. Just a funky bass line with compilation lyrics. But like - Running Away, Babies makin' babies, If you want me to stay and all that - just fucking love Sly's albums.

Though i bought some cheap-ass CD with early Sly stuff on (I assume). Horrible do-wop thing going on. Songs like You're my only love, Heavenly angel, You've forgotten me... You guys know these tracks?

TheFrog said:

If you wanna know the real reason George is the shit. It'd be in your best interest to start with 3 best of compilations:

1 cd containing the best of Parliament and 2 cds of Funkadelic: one for the Westbound years and one for the Warner Bros. years.

psykosoul said:

Funkadelic is like listening to the Beastie Boys.
A whole bunch of talent with different ideas on how they should bet there.
So they all lose eachother during the song,come togheter at the end.Weak direction.

crazyhorse said:

Blasphemous

crazyhorse said:

Sounds like You want your funk real tight. The Parliament/ Funkadelic thang is much freer and looser...But Sly's solo stuff is even murkier....

Sly and P-Funk are both great. They actually came around the same time. But Sly made his impact first. P-Funk was already doing that before Sly. Most aren't aware of this.


Sly and The Family Stone opened for P-Funk on their Earth Tour. It was the shit. Also Santana and Hugh Maskela were opening acts for The Funk Mob.


Why do we have to choose? Both are the shit! Wish Sly could have recorded longer though.

I'd have 2 say George Clinton! although Sly is cool too.

Very tough,But gotta go with DR Funkenstein and crew.

crazyhorse said:

Without a doubt, Parliament Funkadelic reign supreme as Kings of the FUNK.

Sly and the Family Stone are a 'circus' act in comparison 2 what the Funk mob brought 2 the genre.

crazyhorse said:

Beasties kick ass, what u talkin' boy?

YODAHENDRIX said:

Yeah they got some bad shit for sure,but what word am I looking for? They" clown" to much ,breaks up the momentum of whats going on.

What I think many of you have missed is when Sly Stone got the family toghether it was 1967.And there was no precedent for him to follow.I mean jammin" Don't Call Me Nigger, Whitey" in 1967.A stage mixed with black n white straight tearin it up.I'm sorry but saying they didnt bring much is completely upside down.I dig Clinton,I just dig Sly more.Go buy the stone two disc set and remember what the late 60's were like.Aside from the fact Sly's music is arranged and just plain better

1 Underdog
2 I Cannot Make It
3 Dance To The Music
4 Are You Ready?
5 Fun
6 M'lady
7 Life
8 Love City
9 Stand!
10 Don't Call Me Nigger, Whitey
11 I Want To Take You Higher
12 Somebody's Watching You
13 Sing A Simple Song
14 Everyday People
15 You Can Make It If You Try
16 Hot Fun In The Summertime
17 Everybody Is A Star
18 Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)
Disc 2
1 Family Affair
2 Luv N' Haight
3 Poet
4 (You Caught Me) Smilin'
5 Runnin' Away
6 Brave & Strong
7 Just Like A Baby
8 Thank You For Talkin' To Me, Africa
9 In Time
10 If You Want Me To Stay
11 Frisky
12 Skin I'm In
13 Babies Makin' Babies
14 If It Were Left Up To Me
15 Time For Livin'
16 Loose Booty
17 I Get High On You

crazyhorse said:

Sure, I think most people here are aware of that. And I'm not trying to nitpick, but that's a 1969 song to be exact.


Like all art, it's subjective.

Supernova said:

You really need to check out not only Sly but the entire P-Funk catalog to be really educated on their music and catalog. Seek out the Parliament lps and Funkadelic. Bootsy's Rubber Band, Parlet, The Brides Of Funkenstein, Eddie Hazel, Ruth Copeland etc.

You can find stuff with the Parliaments dating back to 1956. You don't know the music are history.

Thumparello said:

Say what? I never advocated one over the other, own both PFunk (and some of their offshoot's) material, Sly & Company's material, and am well aware The Parliments started out in the '50s.

I think both music groups are cool. I can still do the loose booty

purplebutterfly2 said:

LOL...what exactly is the loose booty?

can't possibly choose, they're both great in their own ways.

They are all part of the same family. Sly was a huge inluence on George and most funk and R&B,not to mention Sly became a member of Funkadelic later on. Check the credits on the album The Electric Spanking Of War Babies.

Supernova said:

Sorry I meant this for the person who originally started this post. oops!

Thumparello said:

Ahh. I see.

Thumparello said:

Yeah I understand and have heard most of there work.My older sister was a funkadelic disciple.There music was doo-wop,and didnt even get funky until Sly was already on the scene doing his thing.And the fact remains that Sly brought alot to the table.Parliments new sound came after.There was no precedent for "Sly & the Family Stone."Instead of trying to find the correct wording to get my point accross the first time.Here's a quote from the music industry.

"Back in 1967, when the interracial, mixed-gender combo burst onto the scene with their debut album, the burgeoning rock & roll subculture was, as always, hungry for fresh kicks and different sounds. But no one was quite prepared for the magical, multi-faceted musical mix Sly and company served up. Their music was an inspired blend of rock, soul, pop, jazz, and an emerging genre soon to be dubbed funk. It packed a powerful, joyous wallop, delivering all the things one hoped to find in music: The thrill of the new, the excitement of the unexpected, a galvanizing groove, and lyrics that actually said something." SONY MUSIC
.