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.
Side Effects
Parliament Lyrics
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But never lettin' her know that I found out
Lurkin' here, creepin' there
People giving me those funny stares
Makes time, bitter on occasion
Her side effects are really amazing
Mouth shake, funny lies
Love to talk such phony jive
Oh, the side effect
Of the love she put on me (Oh, it's incorrect)
Cause it's taken the love out of me
The side effect
She's lovin' me like she said she would
Oh, it's disrespect
She's robbin' me of my manhood
The side effect
In a love that's ?
Should have been a dude the way she's playin'
Girl's got a hold on me
I can't disconnect
And I never want to break free
How can a love feel so good
Oww, and at the same time, make me ill
She's like a miracle drug that makes you feel better
And at the same time she's a no-good pill
The side effect
Like the fun that we've got goin'
Oh, it's incorrect
Seems to me I'm floatin'
The side effect
Oh, this thing that's got me reelin'
Shows me disrespect
And she's got no real feelin'
The side effect
In a love there's lots of pain
She should have been a dude the way she's playin'
The side effect
I can't disconnect
I never want to break free
How can can a love be so good
Oh, but at the same time make you ill
She was the miracle drug that made me feel better
But at the same time she's a no-good pill
The side effect
Of the love you put on me
Is incorrect
Cause it's taken the love outta me
The side effect
Lovin' me like she said she would
Oh it's disrespect
Robbing me of my manhood
The side effect
In a love there's ???
Should've been a dude the way she's playing
The side effects
I can't disconnect
The side effect
Oh, is incorrect
In Parliament's song Side Effects, the singer is discussing the consequences of being in love with someone who is not good for them in any way. The lyrics depict a love that has negative side effects, much like a drug. The singer is cautious about showing that they know too much about their partner's actions, and they feel like people are staring at them. The love they have for their partner comes with a heavy price - it takes away their manhood and makes them feel ill even though it feels so good. The singer is trapped in this love, unable to break free despite the negative side effects it has on them.
The lyrics suggest that the singer is aware of their partner's phony lies and manipulations, yet they are unable to disconnect from this toxic love. The side effects not only affect the singer but also seem to show a lack of respect from their partner towards them. The singer feels robbed of their masculinity and is left feeling bitter at times. This song sheds light on the fact that sometimes love can have negative side effects, and staying in a toxic relationship in the name of love is not worth it.
Line by Line Meaning
Catch me duckin' in and out
I'm sneaking around, trying not to be noticed
But never lettin' her know that I found out
I know something she doesn't, but I'm keeping it to myself
Lurkin' here, creepin' there
I'm hiding around corners and trying to stay hidden
People giving me those funny stares
Others are noticing my suspicious behavior
Makes time, bitter on occasion
Sometimes things seem awful because of my behavior
Her side effects are really amazing
The way she affects me is incredibly powerful
Mouth shake, funny lies
She talks in a way that's hard to believe
Love to talk such phony jive
She enjoys using fake language
Oh, the side effect
The outcome of her effect on me
Of the love she put on me (Oh, it's incorrect)
The way she treats me is wrong
Cause it's taken the love out of me
I don't feel the love that I used to
She's lovin' me like she said she would
She is showing me affection as she promised
Oh, it's disrespect
But the way she's treating me is not respectful
She's robbin' me of my manhood
She's making me feel less like a man
In a love that's ?
In a relationship that's
Should have been a dude the way she's playin'
She's acting more like a man than a woman
Girl's got a hold on me
She has a strong grip on me
I can't disconnect
I can't seem to get away from her
And I never want to break free
Despite how I feel, I don't want to leave her
How can a love feel so good
Her love feels amazing
Oww, and at the same time, make me ill
But it's also harming me
She's like a miracle drug that makes you feel better
Being with her feels like a miracle cure
And at the same time she's a no-good pill
But at the same time, she's doing me harm
Like the fun that we've got goin'
We have a lot of fun together
Seems to me I'm floatin'
I feel like I'm drifting along without a care
Oh, this thing that's got me reelin'
But this relationship is making me reel
Shows me disrespect
Her behavior is not respectful
And she's got no real feelin'
She doesn't really care about me
In a love there's lots of pain
Being in a relationship can be difficult and painful
The side effect
The outcome of her effect on me
I can't disconnect
I can't seem to get away from her
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Anneva Louise Hilson, George Jr. Clinton, William Earl Collins
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind