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Funkadelic was an American funk rock band formed in Plainfield, New Jersey in 1968 and active until 1982. As one of the two flagship groups of George Clinton's P-Funk, they helped pioneer the funk music culture of the 1970s.John, Bush. . AllMusic. Funkadelic initially formed as a backing band for Clinton's vocal group the Parliaments (later the full-fledged band Parliament), but eventually pursued a heavier, psychedelic rock-oriented sound in their own recordings. They released acclaimed albums such as Maggot Brain (1971) and One Nation Under a Groove (1978).
The group's self-titled debut album, Funkadelic, was released in 1970. The credits listed organist Mickey Atkins plus Clinton, Fulwood, Hazel, Nelson, and Ross. The recording also included the rest of Parliament's singers (still uncredited because of contractual concerns), several uncredited session musicians then employed by Motown, as well as Ray Monette (of Rare Earth) and future P-Funk mainstay Bernie Worrell.
Bernie Worrell was officially credited starting with Funkadelic's second album, Free Your Mind... and Your Ass Will Follow (1970), thus beginning a long working relationship between Worrell and Clinton. The album Maggot Brain followed in 1971. The first three Funkadelic albums displayed strong psychedelic influences (not least in terms of production) and limited commercial potential, despite containing many songs that stayed in the band's setlist for several years and would influence many future funk, rock, and hip hop artists.
After the release of Maggot Brain, the Funkadelic lineup expanded greatly. Tawl Ross was unavailable after experiencing either a bad LSD trip or a speed overdose, while Billy Bass Nelson and Eddie Hazel quit due to financial concerns. From this point, many more musicians and singers would be added during Funkadelic's (and Parliament's) history, including the recruitment of several members of James Brown's backing band, the JB's, in 1972 – most notably Bootsy Collins and the Horny Horns. Bootsy and his brother Catfish Collins were recruited by Clinton to replace the departed Nelson and Hazel. Bootsy in particular became a major contributor to the P-Funk sound. In 1972, this new line-up released the politically charged double album America Eats Its Young. The lineup stabilized a bit with the album Cosmic Slop in 1973, featuring major contributions from recently added singer-guitarist Garry Shider. After first leaving the band, Eddie Hazel spent a year in jail after assaulting an airline flight attendant and air marshal while under the influence of PCP,Green, Tony. Up for the Downstroke: The Guitar Legacy of Parliament Funkadelic. Guitar Player. then he returned to make major contributions to the album Standing on the Verge of Getting It On (1974). Hazel only contributed to P-Funk sporadically thereafter.Sullivan, James. Twisted Tales: P-Funk's Eddie Hazel Is the New Hendrix, for Better or Worse . Spinner.com.
Later in 1975 Michael Hampton, a teen guitar prodigy, replaced Hazel as the premier lead guitarist in Parliament-Funkadelic, and was a major contributor to the next several Funkadelic albums. Funkadelic left Westbound in 1976 and moved to Warner Brothers. Their first album for Warner was Hardcore Jollies released in 1976. Just before leaving Westbound, Clinton provided that label with a collection of recently recorded outtakes, which Westbound released as the album Tales of Kidd Funkadelic. That album did significantly better commercially than Hardcore Jollies and included "Undisco Kidd", an R&B Top 30 single. In 1977, Westbound capitalized further by releasing the anthology The Best of the Early Years.
Meanwhile, the album Connections & Disconnections (re-issued on CD as Who's a Funkadelic) was released under the name Funkadelic in 1981. The album was recorded by former Funkadelic members and original Parliaments Fuzzy Haskins, Calvin Simon, and Grady Thomas, who had left P-Funk in 1977 after disagreements with George Clinton's management practices. This LP, notable for its heavy use of Thomas "Pae-dog" McEvoy's jazz French horn, contains the track called "You'll Like It Too", which became a very popular breakbeat source for the hip hop community in the 1980s. Former band member drummer Jerome Brailey released the album Mutiny on the Mamaship, by his new band Mutiny.
Filmmaker Yvonne Smith of New York City-based Brazen Hussy productions produced Parliament-Funkadelic: One Nation Under a Groove, a full-length documentary about the groundbreaking group, which aired on PBS in 2005. Parliament Funkadelic: One Nation Under a Groove. The Film. Public Broadcasting Service. As of 2008, Clinton was at work on a new Funkadelic album for his new record label. In November 2008, Westbound Records released Toys, a collection of Funkadelic outtakes and demos from the Free Your Mind and America Eats Its Young era. Critical reception of the album has generally been positive. In April 2013, the band released their first single in over 25 years when they released "The Naz". The song is a collaboration with Sly Stone and tells the story of Jesus Christ. The B-side to the song is "Nuclear Dog" which is guitar solo by P-Funk guitarist Dewayne "Blackbyrd" McKnight.
Funkadelic had a major influence on a large number of hip-hop artists, and the genre of hip-hop as a whole.Touré. "Prime Funk: Four Classic Funkadelic Reissues Demand that You Pledge Groovallegiance to the Band's Late-Seventies Heyday." Rolling Stone, October 3, 2002: 106. ProQuest. In particular, Dr. Dre references Funkadelic's sound as a major influence on his music, especially his G-funk sound.Williams, Justin A. "Dr. Dre." Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. Oxford University Press Funkadelic's 1979 release "(Not Just) Knee Deep" in particular was sampled extensively by G-Funk artists, including placements on Dr. Dre's The Chronic, Snoop Dogg's Doggystyle, MC Hammer's Street Fighter OST, De La Soul's Me Myself and I and Tupac's All Eyez on Me.
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