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.
Rita Bewitched
GEORGE CLINTON Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
On the telephone
Rita´s bewitched, it´s true
´Cause when I answered
She told me she was on her way over
And it wouldn´t take long
My dear Rita babe
By the fence I duck and hide
Girl you oughta stay home
My car sittin´ right out back
I was supposed to be gone
(x2)
She done come cut ´em on
Uponst her broomstick riding low
Next time you catch me on a Thursday
When I´m not at home with friends
Who don´t want to meet you
My dear Rita babe
´Cause girl when I´m with you
I cry out loud, scream stark raving mad
Baby ooh yeah, oooh yeah
What I want to say
Is never quite take for granted
That I might be afraid
Abracadabra my foot
Well is gonna be good?
(x2)
I´m not afraid of your flame
But don´t let it burn my thang
Uponst her broomstick ridin´ low
Rita is bewitched
Look out, Rita´s bewitched
She get down make me itch
She got me marching
Rita don´t wanna be alone
She´s got me dreaming
She´s gonna be receiving my body
Right down to the bone
Wee Gee board cannot express
What I find in each breath
She blows down my back
Or in her heart she gives when
I know she won´t take it back
Abracadabras, hocus-pocus, alakazam
So frightful, seems unreal
She knows she got hex appeal
What I wanna say
Is never quite taken for granted
That I might be afraid
Rita´s bewitched look out
Rita´s bewitched
Rita
She´s got me burnin´
(x2)
One hundred and ninety degrees
Go tell your mama
Before it´s too late
Rita´s gonna burn the mother down
Crystal ball, cannot recall
Past events and time we spent
On her basement floor
Or in a ´57 Chevy
Down by the seashore
Rita is bewitched
Look out...
Rita is bewitched
Look out
That old Black Magic
Got me in her spell
Nothin´ but a witch
Give me an itch
In "Rita Bewitched," George Clinton sings about being enamored with a bewitching woman named Rita. The song describes how she tries to call him and come over, but he hides from her instead. Despite his reservations, he can't resist her spell and is drawn to her. He compares her to a witch on a broomstick and says she has "hex appeal." He acknowledges that he is afraid of her power, but he can't help being drawn in.
The lyrics of the song suggest that Rita is not just a woman, but a symbol of something more powerful and mysterious. She represents the allure of the unknown and the danger of giving in to temptation. The song's title uses the word "bewitched," which implies that there is some kind of magic or enchantment at play. This suggests that the attraction to Rita is not just a physical attraction, but a psychological one as well.
Line by Line Meaning
She tried to call us
Rita attempted to contact us
On the telephone
Through the device used for voice communication
Rita´s bewitched, it´s true
Rita is under the influence of magic
´Cause when I answered
At the moment when I responded
She told me she was on her way over
She communicated her plan to visit me
And it wouldn´t take long
It would not require much time
My dear Rita babe
My affectionate address to Rita
By the fence I duck and hide
I take shelter near the fence
Wasting my time around
Spending my time without purpose nearby
Girl you oughta stay home
You should remain at home
My car sittin´ right out back
My automobile is parked nearby
I was supposed to be gone (x2)
I was scheduled to be absent
She done come cut ´em on
She has appeared and aroused me
Uponst her broomstick riding low
Seated on her broomstick, she travels at low altitude
Next time you catch me on a Thursday
If you happen to find me on a Thursday
When I´m not at home with friends
When I am not accompanied by my acquaintances at my residence
Who don´t want to meet you
Those who are not interested in encountering you
´Cause girl when I´m with you
Since when I am with you
I cry out loud, scream stark raving mad
I express my emotion by wailing and yelling insanely
Baby ooh yeah, oooh yeah
An affectionate address to someone followed by an expression of agreement
What I want to say
The message I attempt to convey
Is never quite take for granted
Should not be completely assumed to be true
That I might be afraid
I may feel afraid
Abracadabra my foot
An expression used to dismiss an idea or suggestion
Well is gonna be good? (x2)
A rhetorical question regarding an enjoyable outcome
I´m not afraid of your flame
I am not scared of your passion
But don´t let it burn my thang
However, you should not destroy my possessions
Uponst her broomstick ridin´ low
Seated on her broomstick, she travels at low altitude
Rita is bewitched
Rita is under the influence of magic
Look out, Rita´s bewitched
Beware, Rita is under the influence of magic
She get down make me itch
She causes me to feel aroused
She got me marching
She manipulates me into following along
Rita don´t wanna be alone
Rita desires company
She´s got me dreaming
She causes me to fantasize
She´s gonna be receiving my body
She is going to engage in sexual activity with me
Right down to the bone
Extremely thorough and complete
Wee Gee board cannot express
A device for communicating with spirits cannot convey
What I find in each breath
What I discover with each inhalation
She blows down my back
She causes a sensation at the back of my body
Or in her heart she gives when
Or when she passionately expresses herself
I know she won´t take it back
I am confident that she will not revert her decision
Abracadabras, hocus-pocus, alakazam
Expressions used to represent magic
So frightful, seems unreal
Terrifying, appears to be imaginary
She knows she got hex appeal
She acknowledges that she has a bewitching charm
What I wanna say
The message I attempt to convey
Is never quite taken for granted
Should not be completely assumed to be true
That I might be afraid
I may feel afraid
Rita´s bewitched look out
Beware, Rita is under the influence of magic
Rita´s bewitched
Rita is under the influence of magic
She´s got me burnin´ (x2)
She ignites my passion for her
One hundred and ninety degrees
An expression used to describe extreme hotness and burning passion
Go tell your mama
An exclamation commanding someone to inform their mother of the situation
Before it´s too late
Prior to when the opportunity is missed
Rita´s gonna burn the mother down
Rita will destroy everything involved in the situation
Crystal ball, cannot recall
A tool used for predicting future events cannot recollect
Past events and time we spent
Things that occurred previously and the duration of our interactions
On her basement floor
In the basement level of her residence
Or in a ´57 Chevy
Or inside a 1957 model Chevrolet vehicle
Down by the seashore
Near the coast of the sea
That old Black Magic
The mystical power of sorcery
Got me in her spell
She has entrapped me with her magic
Nothin´ but a witch
She is nothing but a practitioner of magic
Give me an itch
She causes me to feel an irritating desire or urge
Contributed by Jacob T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Anthony Rivers
It's never too late to funk, so let's get started 5 4 3 2 1 fun at a time. Is that Eddie Murphy on background singing.
dell Black
😆. I can't say for sure but I believe that's Mr. Clinton himself. Anything's possible tho
Anthony Rivers
George Clinton son Treylewd and his band incorporated thang gang!