Parliament was originally The Parliaments, a doo-wop group based out of George Clinton's Plainfield, New Jersey barber shop. The name was soon abandoned due to legal issues with Revilot and Atlantic Records, and most of the same people recorded under the name Funkadelic, which consisted of The Parliaments' backing musicians. Billy "Bass" Nelson is credited with creating the name Funkadelic. He also switched from 6-string guitar to bass, creating room for his childhood friend Eddie Hazel to join the group. Soon, Parliament was created in addition to Funkadelic and the two bands consisted of essentially the same people, though both released albums under their respective names.
The legal problems with the name "The Parliaments" were resolved in 1970, and Clinton signed all of Funkadelic to Invictus Records under the name Parliament, releasing Osmium ("The Breakdown" reached #30 on the R&B charts in 1971) but the name Parliament was then abandoned for some time, as Funkadelic was much more successful.
In the early 1970s, Bernie Worrell, Bootsy Collins and Catfish Collins joined Funkadelic, which released five albums by 1974. With only moderate success, Funkadelic signed with Casablanca Records as Parliament, releasing "Up for the Down Stroke" (off the album of the same name) which reached #10 on the R&B charts but peaked at #63 Pop. The song was the biggest hit of P Funk's career. 1975 saw the release of Chocolate City, which also enjoyed moderate success; the title track reached #24.
With the ensuing albums, Parliament became one of the most respected bands on the 1970s, and are now recognized as one of the forefathers of funk music. Of particular interest are the spacey themes of Starchild, Sir Nose and other recurring characters from multiple albums.
Of particular note is the landmark album Mothership Connection, an amalgam of many '70s themes and the tight "popular" funk sound which was both more commercially viable (particularly in the black community) and more readily emulated by the numerous artists capitalizing on the popularity of funk's mainstream cousin: disco. Artists such as the BeeGees, the Commodores and Kool and the Gang repackaged many of Parliament's innovations into radio-ready pop hits and upon the mass acceptance of disco culture as portrayed in Saturday Night Fever, millions of suburban Americans were able to boogie-oogie-oogie safely protected from exposure to the urban dance scene's multi-ethnic, sexually diverse and cocaine-fueled celebration.
In the early 1980s, with legal difficulties arising from the multiple names used by multiple groups, as well as a shakeup at Casablanca Records, George Clinton dissolved Parliament and Funkadelic as recording and touring entities. Parliament/Funkadelic morphed into P-Funk. New audiences were fueled in the '90s due to extensive sampling by hip hop DJs and producers, including beats used in The Chronic and Cypress Hill's debut album.
A variety of bands evolved in their own right out of the main two bands - they included Bootsy's Rubber Band, The Brides of Funkenstein, Parlet, Mutiny, The Horny Horns, and Quazar.
George Clinton subsequently worked with the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Reformed in January 2018, the first new Parliament release in 38 years was "I'm Gon Make U Sick O'Me", which features the rapper Scarface. A new Parliament album, Medicaid Fraud Dogg, was released in May 2018.
Ride on
Parliament Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Uhh, uhh, doin' the ride on
Put a hump in your back
Shake your sacroiliac
And ride on
Let's take a ride
Ride on
Mama do the ride on
Ride on
Ride on
Baby do the ride on
Mama do the ride on
Ride on
Doin' the ride on
Ooh, oww doin' the ride on
Ride on
Baby do the ride on
Mama do the ride on
Ride on
Ride on
Baby do the ride on
Mama do the ride on
Ride on
It ain't what you know, it's what you feel
Don't worry about being right, just be for real
We're gonna do it to the max, when we do it
We're gonna do it, do it good, when we do it
Put a hump in your back
Shake your sacroiliac
And ride on
Let's take a ride
Ride on
Baby do the ride on
Mama do the ride on
Ride on
It ain't what you know, it's what you feel
Don't worry about being right, just be for real
We're gonna do it to the max, when we do it
We're gonna do it, do it good, when we do it
Put a hump in your back
Shake your sacroiliac
And ride on
Let's take a ride
Ride on
Baby do the ride on
Mama do the ride on
Ride on
Ride on
Baby do the ride on
Mama do the ride on
Ride on
Ride on (put a hump in your back)
Baby do the ride on (shake your sacroiliac)
Mama do the ride on (let's take a ride)
Ride on
Ride on (It ain't what ya know)
Baby do the ride on (it's what ya feel)
Mama do the ride on (Don't worry about being right just be for real)
Ride on
Ride on
Baby do the ride on
Mama do the ride on
Ride on
The lyrics of Parliament's song 'Ride On' are a call to action and an invitation to let loose and get down with one’s bad self. Describing a dance move, the song urges listeners to "put a hump in your back/shake your sacroiliac/and ride on." The repetition of the catchy phrase "doin' the ride on" and the insistent beat of the funk music, complete with hard-hitting drums and driving bass, make it clear that it is time to let go of inhibitions and "do it to the max."
The lyrics suggest that the point of the dance isn't to impress anyone or to be "right" in one's movements; rather, it is about feeling the music and being "for real." The song embodies the ethos of funk music, which values spontaneity, rhythm, and raw emotion over technical virtuosity. The call-and-response vocals emphasize the communal nature of the music, and the invitation for everyone to "[take] a ride" underscores the importance of banding together and experiencing the joy of music collectively.
Overall, 'Ride On' is a song that celebrates the power of funk to bring people together, to inspire joy and abandon, and to get people moving. The song is a testament to the transformative power of music and how it can be used to unite people across differences to create moments of joy and catharsis.
Line by Line Meaning
Ooh, doin' the ride on
We are doing the Ride On dance move
Uhh, uhh, doin' the ride on
We are fully committed to this dance move
Put a hump in your back
Arch your back in a seductive way
Shake your sacroiliac
Move your hips in a sensual manner
And ride on
Continue the dance move
Let's take a ride
Let's enjoy this dance together
Ride on
Continue the dance move
Baby do the ride on
Young people should join us in this dance move
Mama do the ride on
Older people should join us in this dance move
It ain't what you know, it's what you feel
Don't worry about rules, just do what feels right
Don't worry about being right, just be for real
Don't be afraid to be yourself and express yourself freely
We're gonna do it to the max, when we do it
We're going all out with this dance move
We're gonna do it, do it good, when we do it
We're going to perform this dance move to the best of our ability
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Micheal Stevenson, Dequantes Devontay Lamar, Paris Alexandria Jones, Keenon Daquan Ray Jackson, Brian Collins, Jamie Sanderson, Olubowale Akintimehin
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@jody808
i always loved this bass groove, blew me away when i first heard it
@kevgamble
Right on, and it still blows me away each time!
@ernesthardison3610
BOOTSY!
@ROCKNROLLFAN
That riff on the wah wah petal is intoxicating.....
@rockerstorockerstorockers7284
Woah...That bassline has got to be one of the greatest EVER unleashed on the human race!!
@peopleunite78
Bootsy
@Tubulous123
"EVER" (y)
@brianbatie6650
Agreed, but the title track was also up there!
@ernesthardison3610
@@peopleunite78 right on!
@willgibbs7754
The space bass was first heard!