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.
Get Your Funk On
George Clinton Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴
Do not attempt to adjust your radio, there is nothing wrong
We have taken control as to bring you this special show
We will return it to you as soon as you are grooving
Welcome to station W E F you N K, better known as We-Funk
Or deeper still, the Mothership Connection
Home of the extraterrestrial brothers
Coming you directly from the Mothership
Top of the chocolate milky way, 500,000 kilowatts of P.Funk power
So kick back, dig, while we do it to you in your eardrums
And me? I'm known as Lollipop Man
Alias, The Long Haired Sucker, my motto is
Make my funk the P.Funk, I want my funk uncut
Make my funk the P.Funk, I wants to get funked up
I want the bomb, I want the P.Funk, I want my funk uncut
Make my funk the P.Funk, I wants to get funked up
Yeah, W E F you N K, y'all now this is what I want you all to do
If you got faults, defects or shortcomings you know
Like arthritis, rheumatism or migraines
Whatever part of your body it is, I want you to lay it on your radio
Let the vibes flow through, funk not only moves, it can remove, dig?
The desired effect is what you get
When you improve your Interplanetary Funksmanship
Sir Lollipop Man, chocolate coated, freaky and habit forming
Doin' it to you in 3-D, so groovy that I dig me
Once upon a time called, 'Now'
Somebody say, "Is there funk after the death?"
I say, "Is Seven Up?", yeah, P.Funk
Make my funk the P.Funk, I want my funk uncut
Make my funk the P.Funk, I wants to get funked up
I want the bomb, I want the P.Funk, I want my funk uncut
Make my funk the P.Funk, I wants to get funked up
Make my funk the P.Funk, I want my funk uncut
Make my funk the P.Funk, I wants to get funked up
I want the bomb, I want the P.Funk, don't want my funk stepped on
Make my funk the P.Funk before I take it home
Yeah, I dig, let me put my sunglasses on
That's the law around here, you got to wear your sunglasses
So you can feel cool, gangster lean, y'all should dig my sunroof top
Well, alright, hey I was diggin' on y'all funk for a while
Sounds like it got a three on it though to me
Then I was down South and I heard some funk
With some main ingredients like
Doobie Brothers, Blue Magic, David Bowie
It was cool, but can you imagine Doobie-in' your funk?
W E F you N K, We-Funk
Make my funk the P.Funk, I want my funk uncut
Make my funk the P.Funk, I wants to get funked up
I want the bomb, I want the P.Funk, don't want my funk stepped on
Make my funk the P.Funk before I take it home
Gettin' deep
Once upon a time called 'Right Now'
Ain't it funky now?
Far around
Hey, doin' it to you in the ear hole
Make my funk the P.Funk, I want my funk uncut
Make my funk the P.Funk, I wants to get funked up
I want the bomb, I want the P.Funk, don't want my funk stepped on
Make my funk the P.Funk before I take it home
Yeah
We're not leavin' y'all, I want you all to stay tuned for Starchild
Make my funk the P.Funk, I want my funk uncut
Make my funk the P.Funk, I wants to get funked up
I want the bomb, I want the P.Funk, don't want my funk stepped on
Make my funk the P.Funk before I take it home
Don't stop, get down
Talk, blow your horn
Pee you
Wants to get funked up
Well alright
Make my funk the P.Funk, I want my funk uncut
Make my funk the P.Funk, I wants to get funked up
I want the bomb, I want the P.Funk, I want my funk uncut
Make my funk the P.Funk, I wants to get funked up
Welcome to station W E F you N K, better known as
We-Funk or deeper still, the Mothership Connection
Home of the extra terrestrial brothers
Dealers of funky music, P.Funk, uncut funk, the bomb
Lollipop Man here, alias, the Long Haired Sucker
Chocolate coated, freaky and habit forming
Coming to you in 3-D, so groovy that I dig me
Yeah, yeah, P.Funk
Make my funk the P.Funk, I want my funk uncut
Make my funk the P.Funk, I wants to get funked up
I want the bomb, I want the P.Funk, don't want my funk stepped on
Make my funk the P.Funk before I take it home
The lyrics of "We Want The Funk" by George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic are a manifesto for the power and importance of funk music. The song starts with an introduction by Sir Lollipop Man, who welcomes the listeners to "station W E F you N K," otherwise known as We-Funk or the Mothership Connection. His message is simple: funk is the genre that can provide a transformative experience for everyone. The song emphasizes the uncut nature of funk, positioning it as a raw, unfiltered form of music that appeals to listeners both physically and emotionally.
The song continues with a call to arms for all listeners to lay their bodies on their radios, letting the music flow through them and remove any physical or emotional ailments they may be experiencing. This idea reflects the belief that funk music has the power to heal and transform listeners, both mentally and physically. Sir Lollipop Man urges listeners to "improve your Interplanetary Funksmanship," emphasizing the otherworldly nature of the genre and the ways in which it can transport us to new dimensions of experience.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA/AMCOS
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