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.
Hard As Steel
George Clinton Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Or play her like PlayDough
Cuz she gon' say "No"
She like it hard
Hard as a rock
Hard as steel and still getting harder
Her shit's got a heavy metal hard-on
Eardrum bashin' sounds come crashin' down
From the dance band on the band stand
To the dance floor
Encore
Hard up for more
And when she's through
off with the dude she gave the back stage pass to
No itsy-bitsy, pee-wee penis type of pecker poker pusher ever penetrating the pussy
She like em' hung, young
A yard of tongue
Always giving a five for a job well done
Rock
We rockin' up a rock star's shit
You can miss her with the faking-the-funk kind of pop star shit
She ain't wit' it
Rockin you between a funk and a hard place
In between the place you are and the place you wish to be placed
Funk 'em just to see the look on their face
Left to right face
About face...and etcetera!
Hump, bump, chump with a pump that's hard to keep up with-
Rock hard-
If it ain't as hard as its gonna get-
*Shit*...
-Put your foot on the rock-
-Let me see whatcha got-
-If it's somethin' hard-
-A few inches to a yard-
The lyrics of "Hard As Steel" by George Clinton are a celebration of feminine power and sexuality. The singer of the song is an independent and empowered woman who demands strong, hard sexual experiences. She is unapologetically herself and won't conform to society's expectations or stereotypes about women. The lyrics celebrate her confidence, strength, and power, both in and out of the bedroom.
The metaphor of "Hard As Steel" is pervasive throughout the song, representing the physical and emotional strength of the singer. Her "shit" or personality is "hard as a rock" and "Hard as steel and still getting harder," highlighting her resilience and determination. The lyrics also depict the hard-driving and energetic sounds of the music, with "eardrum bashing sounds" and a "dance band on the bandstand." The song emphasizes the pleasure and agency of women in their sexual experiences, with the singer enjoying hung, young partners who are skilled in their sexual prowess.
Overall, "Hard As Steel" is a powerful anthem that celebrates female empowerment and sexuality in a way that is often absent from mainstream media. The song speaks to the resilience, strength, and power of a woman who knows what she wants and won't compromise her desires.
Line by Line Meaning
You can't Silly Putty mold her in the pot
She's not easily influenced, like clay that can be molded into different shapes
Or play her like PlayDough
She's not like children's playdough that can be shaped and molded
Cuz she gon' say "No"
She's not a pushover and will assert herself when she needs to say no
She like it hard
She enjoys strong, intense sensations
Hard as a rock
She desires a partner who is physically hard and strong
Hard as steel and still getting harder
She desires a partner who is strong, resilient and getting even stronger
Her shit's got a heavy metal hard-on
Her sexuality is potent and intense, like heavy metal music
Pussy posse pumped to get its throb on
She's excited and eager to engage in sexual activity
Eardrum bashin' sounds come crashin' down
The music is intense and powerful, like a physical force crashing down on the listener
From the dance band on the band stand
The music is being played by an amplified band on a raised stage
To the dance floor
The music is being danced to on the lower level of the venue
Encore
The audience is calling for more of the music
Hard up for more
The audience is excited and eager for more of the music
And when she's through
Once she's finished with a sexual partner
off with the dude she gave the back stage pass to
She's ready to move on to other sexual partners
No itsy-bitsy, pee-wee penis type of pecker poker pusher ever penetrating the pussy
She only desires partners with large penises, not small and ineffective ones
She like em' hung, young
She desires partners who are well-endowed and youthful
A yard of tongue
She desires skilled and enthusiastic oral sex
Always giving a five for a job well done
She rewards her partners who perform well sexually
Rock
She prefers rock music over pop music
We rockin' up a rock star's shit
She's enjoying and participating in the rock music lifestyle
You can miss her with the faking-the-funk kind of pop star shit
She dislikes and avoids fake and insincere pop music artists
She ain't wit' it
She's not interested in that kind of music and lifestyle
Rockin you between a funk and a hard place
She's enjoying the combination of rock music and intense sexual sensations
In between the place you are and the place you wish to be placed
She's in a transitional phase between where she is now and where she wants to be
Funk 'em just to see the look on their face
She delights in making others uncomfortable or surprised
Left to right face
She's making people turn their heads in surprise or admiration
About face...and etcetera!
She's enjoying and participating in the wildness and unpredictability of the rock and roll lifestyle
Hump, bump, chump with a pump that's hard to keep up with-
She desires a partner who can perform sexually at a high level for a long time
Rock hard-
She desires a partner whose erection is firm and strong
If it ain't as hard as its gonna get-
If the partner's erection is not as firm or strong as she would prefer
*Shit*...
She's disappointed or frustrated with the sexual performance
-Put your foot on the rock-
Get ready to rock
-Let me see whatcha got-
She's eager and excited to see what the partner can do sexually
-If it's somethin' hard-
She desires a partner who has a strong and firm erection
-A few inches to a yard-
She desires a partner who is well-endowed and can perform sexually at a high level
Contributed by Thomas R. Suggest a correction in the comments below.