He was born in Kannapolis, North Carolina, grew up in Plainfield, New Jersey, and currently resides in Tallahassee, Florida. In Plainfield, he ran a barber salon, where he straightened hair, and soon formed a doo wop group, inspired by Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers, called The Parliaments. Despite initial commercial failures, The Parliaments eventually found success under the names Parliament and Funkadelic in the seventies (see also P-Funk). This article focuses on Clinton's solo efforts after 1981.
Beginning in the early 1980's, Clinton recorded several nominal "solo" albums, although all of these records featured contributions from P-Funk's core musicians. The primary reason for recording under his own name was legal difficulties, due to the complex copyright and trademark issues surrounding the name "Parliament" (primarily) and Polygram's purchase of his former label (as part of Parliament), Casablanca Records. In 1982, Clinton signed to Capitol Records as a solo artist and as the P-Funk All-Stars, releasing Computer Games that same year. "Loopzilla" hit the Top 20 R&B charts, followed by "Atomic Dog," which reached #1 R&B, but peaked at #101 on the pop chart. In the next four years, Clinton released three more studio albums (You Shouldn't-Nuf Bit Fish, Some of My Best Jokes Are Friends and R&B Skeletons in the Closet) as well as a live album, Mothership Connection (Live from the Summit, Houston, Texas) and charting three singles in the R&B Top 30, "Nubian Nut," "Last Dance," and "Do Fries Go with that Shake." This period of Clinton's career was marred by multiple legal problems (resulting in financial difficulties) due to complex royalty and copyright issues. In 1985 he was recruited by the Red Hot Chili Peppers to produce their album Freaky Styley, because the bandmembers were huge fans of George Clinton and Funk in general. Though Clinton's popularity had waned by the mid 1980s, he experienced something of a resurgence in the early 1990s, as many rappers cited him as an influence and began sampling his songs. Alongside James Brown, George Clinton is considered to be one of the most sampled musicians ever.
In 1989, Clinton released The Cinderella Theory on Paisley Park, Prince's record label. This was followed by Hey Man... Smell my Finger. Clinton then signed with Sony 550 and released T.A.P.O.A.F.O.M. (The Awesome Power Of A Fully Operational Mothership) in 1996, having reunited with several old members of Parliament and Funkadelic.
In the 1990s, Clinton appeared in films such as Graffiti Bridge (1990), Good Burger (1997) and PCU (1994). Most recently he appeared as the voice of The Funktipus, the DJ of the Bounce FM station in the 2004 video game, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. Rapper Dr. Dre sampled most of his beats to create his G-Funk music era.
"You're Thinking Right" - the theme song for The Tracey Ullman Show, was written by Clinton.
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This is not the soundtrack composer George S. Clinton who did Mortal Kombat etc.
Hey Good Lookin'
GEORGE CLINTON Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
If I balk.
If there's a pause in my talk.
You got me tongue tied, girl.
Hey good lookin'.
Pardon me if I flip.
If I trip.
If my composure sort of slips.
Please don't fret if I freak.
The sight of you got me geeked.
Hey good lookin'.
Oh, forgive me if I stare.
You must be made aware.
I've buggin' about your beauty, baby ba ba.
And I bet ya!
Hey good lookin'.
You got me gawkin', balkin', trippin', flippin', buggin', frettin', freakin'.
Goin' ga-ga-goo-ga.
Yeah you got me geeked.
What are you doin'.
You know you look marvelous.
Good lookin', good lookin'.
Good lookin' look good to me.
You look good to me.
Good lookin' look good to me.
You look good to me.
You got me gawkin', balkin', trippin', flippin', buggin', frettin', freakin'.
Good lookin' look good to me.
You look good to me.
Excuse me if I gawk, if I balk.
If there's a pause in my talk.
Hey good lookin'.
Not one to intellectualize.
But then you come to realize.
That it's hard to verbalize.
What it is you visualize, baby.
Pardon me if I trip.
If I flip.
If my composure sort of slips.
Hey good lookin'.
Hey good lookin' look good to me.
You look good to me.
Please don't fret.
Hey good lookin' look good to me.
You look good to me.
Please don't fret if I freak.
The sight of you got me geeked.
Hey good lookin' look good to me.
You look good to me.
Hey good lookin'.
Tell me what you got cookin'.
Hey good lookin' look good to me.
You look good to me'.
Hey good lookin'.
Tell me what you got cookin'.
Hey good lookin' look good to me.
You look good to me.
You got me gawkin', balkin', trippin', flippin', buggin', frettin', freakin'.
Goin' ga-ga-goo-ga.
Yeah you got me geeked.
Hey good lookin' look good to me.
You look good to me.
Hey good lookin' look good to me.
You look good to me.
You're a sight for sore eyes, girl.
And you're lookin' so good to me.
You know you look marvelous!
Pardon me if I trip.
If I flip.
If my composure sort of slips.
Please don't fret if I freak.
The sight of you got me geeked.
Well, well, well, pardon me if I trip.
If I flip.
If my composure sort of slips.
Oh, forgive me if I stare.
But you must be made aware.
Cos' I've been buggin' about your beauty, baby ba-ba.
That's what I'm talkin' about.
Sing!
You got me gawkin', balkin', trippin', flippin', buggin', frettin', freakin'.
Goin' ga-ga-goo-ga.
Yeah you got me geeked.
Like in the way you walk.
And when you talk, girl.
Forgive me if I stare.
But you must be made aware.
I've buggin' about your beauty, baby ba ba.
Forgive me if I stare.
But you must be made aware.
I've buggin' about your beauty baby ba ba.
You got me gawkin', balkin', trippin', flippin', buggin, frettin', freakin'.
Goin' ga-ga-goo-ga.
Yeah you got me geeked.
You got me gawkin', balkin, trippin', flippin', buggin, frettin', freakin'.
Goin' ga-ga-goo-ga.
Yeah you got me geeked.
So fine.
You know you look marvelous!
Not one to intellectualize.
But then you come to realize.
That it's hard to verbalize.
What it is you see.
Not one to intellectualize.
But then you come to realize.
It's hard to verbalize.
What it is you see.
Please don't freat if I freak.
The sight of you gets me geeked!...
The lyrics of George Clinton's "Hey Good Lookin'" are about being struck by someone's physical appearance and being at a loss for words. The singer repeatedly apologizes for his lack of control and focus when in the presence of the "good lookin'" woman. He reels with the need to express himself in ways that feel inadequate to the task of capturing her beauty. The song is a simple package of praise and unabashed admiration. The singer accepts his own difficulty and revels in his awe, saying things like "you know you look marvelous!" and "you're a sight for sore eyes, girl." The chorus is an accumulation of verbal spirals, as the singer tries on different expressions of his awe: "You got me gawkin', balkin', trippin', flippin', buggin', frettin', freakin'. Goin' ga-ga-goo-ga. Yeah you got me geeked."
Line by Line Meaning
Excuse me if I gawk.
I'm sorry if I stare at you for too long.
If I balk.
If I hesitate or stumble in my actions.
If there's a pause in my talk.
If I stop talking suddenly.
You got me tongue tied, girl.
I'm speechless because of you, girl.
Hey good lookin'.
Hello good-looking person.
Pardon me if I flip.
Excuse me if I become overly excited or agitated.
If I trip.
If I stumble or falter in my motions.
If my composure sort of slips.
If I lose my cool or control of my emotions.
Hey good lookin'.
Hello good-looking person.
Please don't fret if I freak.
Don't worry if I get too excited or nervous.
The sight of you got me geeked.
I'm really excited and energized because of you.
Hey good lookin'.
Hello good-looking person.
Oh, forgive me if I stare.
Sorry if I look at you for a long time without blinking.
You must be made aware.
I need to let you know.
I've buggin' about your beauty, baby ba ba.
I've been thinking a lot about your beauty, baby.
And I bet ya!
I'm sure of it!
Hey good lookin'.
Hello good-looking person.
You got me gawkin', balkin', trippin', flippin', buggin', frettin', freakin'.
You make me feel nervous, excited, and overwhelmed.
Goin' ga-ga-goo-ga.
Going crazy over you.
Yeah you got me geeked.
Yes, you've got me excited and energized.
What are you doin'.
What are you doing to me?
You know you look marvelous.
You know you look great.
Good lookin', good lookin'.
You're really good-looking.
Good lookin' look good to me.
You look really good to me.
You look good to me.
You look great to me.
Good lookin' look good to me.
You look really good to me.
You look good to me.
You look great to me.
Excuse me if I gawk, if I balk.
I'm sorry if I stare too long or hesitate.
Not one to intellectualize.
I'm not one to overthink things.
But then you come to realize.
But then you realize.
That it's hard to verbalize.
That it's hard to put into words.
What it is you visualize, baby.
What I imagine about you, baby.
Pardon me if I trip.
Excuse me if I stumble or lose my balance.
Please don't fret.
Don't worry about it.
The sight of you got me geeked.
I'm really excited because of you.
Hey good lookin'.
Hello good-looking person.
Tell me what you got cookin'.
What are you doing or planning?
Hey good lookin' look good to me.
You look really good to me, good-looking.
You got me gawkin', balkin', trippin', flippin', buggin', frettin', freakin'.
You make me feel nervous, excited, and overwhelmed.
You're a sight for sore eyes, girl.
You're very beautiful, girl.
And you're lookin' so good to me.
And you're looking great to me.
You know you look marvelous!
You know you look great!
Well, well, well, pardon me if I trip.
Sorry if I stumble or lose my balance.
But you must be made aware.
But I need to let you know.
Cos' I've been buggin' about your beauty, baby ba-ba.
Because I've been thinking a lot about your beauty, baby.
That's what I'm talkin' about.
That's what I mean.
Sing!
Sing along!
You got me gawkin', balkin', trippin', flippin', buggin', frettin', freakin'.
You make me feel nervous, excited, and overwhelmed.
Going ga-ga-goo-ga.
Going crazy over you.
Like in the way you walk.
I like the way you walk.
And when you talk, girl.
And when you talk, girl.
You got me gawkin', balkin', trippin', flippin', buggin', frettin', freakin'.
You make me feel nervous, excited, and overwhelmed.
So fine.
So amazing.
Not one to intellectualize.
I'm not one to overthink things.
But then you come to realize.
But then you realize.
It's hard to verbalize.
That it's hard to put into words.
What it is you see.
What I see about you.
Please don't freat if I freak.
Don't worry if I get too excited or nervous.
The sight of you gets me geeked!...
The sight of you gets me excited and energized.
Writer(s): Garry Shider, GeorgeClinton Jr, Stephen Washington
Contributed by Isaac N. Suggest a correction in the comments below.