Parliament-Funkadelic

USA, 1968–1981

American band led by George Clinton, the guitar-led half of his Parliament-Funkadelic operation. Maggot Brain and 'One Nation Under a Groove' combine psychedelic rock guitar with funk rhythm, and are heavily sampled in hip-hop.

MusicRoots documents 6 artists who influenced Parliament-Funkadelic and 10 artists Parliament-Funkadelic influenced in turn. Every connection cites a published source.

Who influenced Parliament-Funkadelic?

• The Temptations — Before Funkadelic, Clinton wrote and produced for The Temptations at Motown — direct professional experience that shaped his approach to vocal harmony.
• Jimi Hendrix — Clinton named Hendrix the direct model for joining heavy psychedelic guitar with the Black musical tradition.
• James Brown — James Brown was the funk rhythmic foundation on which Clinton built Funkadelic's psychedelic superstructure.
• The Mothers of Invention — Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention were the model of conceptual freedom and satirical madness for Funkadelic's aesthetic.
• Sly and the Family Stone — Sly Stone was Clinton's model of psychedelic funk and of a racially integrated band.
• Frank Zappa — The model of conceptual freedom and satirical madness behind Funkadelic's aesthetic.

Which artists did Parliament-Funkadelic influence?

• Bill Laswell — Detroit, where he grew up. The bass sits where Funkadelic put it — carrying the song rather than following the drums.
• Prince — George Clinton's P-Funk shaped Prince's grooves — and later his post-Revolution touring-band lineups.
• Red Hot Chili Peppers — P-Funk is the Chili Peppers' bedrock — they were such fans that they recruited George Clinton to produce their second album, Freaky Styley (1985).
• Talking Heads — P-Funk filled the Talking Heads record collection — Byrne named 'Funkadelic, and P-Funk, that whole world', the polyrhythmic funk that flowered on Remain in Light.
• Juan Atkins — Detroit's P-Funk inheritance is the other half of techno's founding formula — the funk beneath Atkins's machines.
• N.W.A — P-Funk was foundational to N.W.A's sound — they heavily sampled Parliament-Funkadelic's basslines and psychedelic riffs.
• Dr. Dre — Dre's G-funk production is built on Parliament-Funkadelic samples and interpolations — the slow, synth-and-bass P-Funk sound was the template for The Chronic.
• Newcleus — Alongside Kraftwerk, P-Funk (Funkadelic/Parliament) was the group's other main influence.
• Commodores — Funkadelic's P-Funk is part of the funk lineage feeding the Commodores' heavier grooves.
• OutKast — OutKast's early sound sat between Parliament-Funkadelic's jamming and A Tribe Called Quest's beats.