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.
Break My Heart
George Clinton Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Keep bringing me down
You always break my heart
Keep bringing me down, down
You always break my heart
Keep bringing me down
You always break my heart
Keep bringing me down, down, down
Out of seeing me unhappy
Do you?
You always break my heart
Keep bringing me down
You always break my heart
Keep bringing me down, down
You always break my heart
Keep bringing me down
You always break my heart
Keep bringing me down, down, down
You get a kick out of kicking me?
Do you get a kick out of kicking me down?
You always break my heart
Keep bringing me down
You always break my heart
Keep bringing me down, down
You always break my heart
Keep bringing me down
You always break my heart
Keep bringing me down, down, down
You get a kick out of kicking me
Well?
You get a kick out of kicking me down
You get a kick out of kicking me
You get a kick out of kicking me down
Do you really get a thrill
When you cause me depression in your ear
You always break my heart
Keep bringing me down
You always break my heart
Keep bringing me down, down
You always break my heart
Keep bringing me down
You always break my heart
Keep bringing me down, down, down
I never knew that you
Would do
Such bad things to me
Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh
Oh oh oh oh oh oh
You get a kick out of kicking me
You get a kick out of kicking me down
You get a kick out of kicking me
You get a kick out of kicking me down
You always break my heart
Keep bringing me down
You always break my heart
Keep bringing me down, down
You always break my heart
Keep bringing me down
You always break my heart
Keep bringing me down, down, down
You get a kick out of kicking me down
You get a kick out of kicking me down
You get a kick out of kicking me down
You get a kick out of kicking me down
I never knew that you
Would do
Such bad things to me
You get a kick out of kicking me down
You get a kick out of kicking me down
You get a kick out of kicking me down
You get a kick out of kicking me down
In George Clinton's song "Break My Heart", he sings about a toxic relationship with someone who constantly brings him down and breaks his heart. The lyrics convey feelings of disappointment and frustration with someone who seems to take pleasure in causing him emotional pain. The repetition of the phrase "You always break my heart, keep bringing me down" highlights the cyclical nature of their relationship, where the singer keeps getting hurt despite his efforts to make things work.
Clinton's use of the question "Do you get a kick out of kicking me down?" speaks to the underlying issue of power dynamics in their relationship. The person who is constantly causing him pain seems to enjoy having the upper hand in their dynamic, and the singer is left feeling helpless and vulnerable. The line "I never knew that you would do such bad things to me" suggests a sense of betrayal - the singer may have trusted this person only to realize later that they were not who he thought they were.
Overall, "Break My Heart" is a powerful commentary on the emotional toll of toxic relationships. Clinton's use of repetition and visceral imagery make the song feel raw and honest, resonating with listeners who may have experienced similar dynamics in their own lives.
Line by Line Meaning
You always break my heart
You constantly cause me emotional pain and heartbreak
Keep bringing me down
You consistently bring me to a lower emotional state
You don't really get a kick
Out of seeing me unhappy
Do you?
You don't enjoy seeing me unhappy, do you?
You get a kick out of kicking me?
Do you enjoy causing me pain?
Do you really get a thrill
When you cause me depression in your ear
Do you truly feel excitement when you make me feel depressed and sad?
I never knew that you
Would do
Such bad things to me
I never suspected that you would cause me so much pain and heartbreak
Contributed by Gabriella J. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
bmw575
this is and will always be my jam
Horace Jones
Will always bump ya dig!!! My teenage years yeahhhh๐ฎ
Noneya Beeysnass
This funk jam don't break my heart! Gettem George Clinton!
Leandro Salada
Amazing!
kevin meraz
this the oldschool lowrider jams we cruise to, mann good times
Johnny Nelson
This is actually Jimmy G and the tack heads, it was released in 1985..Jimmy G ( Jimmy Giles) was George Clinton's younger brother> I had the pleasure of jamming with him in the south side projects of Greensboro NC, in some lady's kitchen..we moved all the furniture to have room.....we were broke...but we shole wuz FUNKY!
Jerold Barr
Sampled into Techno too - "I never knew you'd do bad things to me" decades ago - luv'd this jam's bassline.
B Lambert
Love this song - thanks for clarifying its origins/artists
EVA BLUNT420
@James Keaton TRUE LEGEND IN MY EYES ACCORDING TO WHAT MY EARS TELL ME EVERYTIME I HEAR THIS SONG..EVERY REAL LOVER OF TRUE REAL FUNK & SOUL MUSIC LIKE THIS BADASS HISTORICAL HEAVY DUTY SONG YOU GUYS MADE SHOULD BE THANKING YOU FOR THIS SONG & REQUESTING IT & GIVING YOU THE CREDIT & ACKNOWLEDGE MENT YOU DESERVE FOR YOUR MUSIC ESPECIALLY THIS ONE OF A KIND GOLDEN CLASSIC..JUS WANT TO TAKE A MINUTE TO SAY THANK YOU FOR THIS SONG & WE WOULD ALL LOOSE OUR F***N MINDS IF YOU EVER CAME OUT HERE TO PERFORM LIVE RAW FUNK LIKE THIS..THUS IZ OUR S**T ..SO THANK YOU FOR CREATING THE FUNK & SHARING IT WITH ALL OF US & PLZ DON EVER STOP CREATING & PERFORMING FOR US FUNK LOVERZ
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EVA BLUNT420
WTH WOW THATS SUM REALLY KOOL INFO TO KNO..THANX FOR SCHOOLING US & FOR SUCH A KOOL BACKGROUND STORY ABOUT THIS SONG & THE HISTORY BEHIND IT
LOL GOOD SHIT..LUV IT!!
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