122-464: The P-Funk Earth Tour was a concert tour by Parliament-Funkadelic in 1976–1977, featuring absurd costumes, lavish staging and special effects, and music from both the Parliament and Funkadelic repertoires. The P-Funk Earth Tour was ambitious from the start. Casablanca Records executive Neil Bogart gave George Clinton a $ 275,000 budget for production, the largest amount ever allocated for
244-599: A I–vi–ii–V -loop chord progression in those hit songs ; composers of doo-wop songs varied this slightly but significantly to the chord progression I–vi–IV–V , so influential that it is sometimes referred to as the ' 50s progression . This characteristic harmonic layout was combined with the AABA chorus form typical for Tin Pan Alley songs. Hit songs by black groups such as the Ink Spots (" If I Didn't Care ", one of
366-456: A Black music act to tour. Clinton hired Jules Fischer as set designer , who had previously worked on tours for The Rolling Stones , KISS , and other rock bands. Both the show's music and production elements were extensively rehearsed at an aircraft hangar in Newburgh, New York . The show required seven trucks to transport its equipment and scenery. With a broad range of themes embodied in
488-601: A Detroit vocal harmony group called the Matadors, met the producer Berry Gordy , who was beginning to take up new styles, including doo-wop. Gordy wanted to promote a black style of music that would appeal to both the black and white markets, performed by black musicians with roots in gospel, R&B, or doo-wop. He sought artists who understood that the music had to be updated to appeal to a broader audience and attain greater commercial success. Early recordings by Gordy's Tamla Records , founded several months before he established
610-510: A cappella arrangements, used wordless onomatopoeia to mimic musical instruments. For instance, " Count Every Star " by the Ravens (1950) includes vocalizations imitating the "doomph, doomph" plucking of a double bass . The Orioles helped develop the doo-wop sound with their hits " It's Too Soon to Know " (1948) and " Crying in the Chapel " (1953). Although the musical style originated in
732-478: A distributor in marketing the group on an independent label. They cut six sides, one of which was a doo-wop ballad written by Chessler called " It's Too Soon to Know ". It reached no. 1 on Billboard's national Most-Played Juke Box Race Records chart, and, in a first for a doo-wop song, the record crossed over to the mainstream pop chart, where it reached no. 13. The Du Droppers formed in Harlem in 1952. Members of
854-768: A friendly rivalry with local doo wop group Sammy Campbell and the Del-Larks, who featured bass vocalist Raymond Davis. Thomas persuaded Davis to take over as bass vocalist in the Parliaments, which enabled Thomas to move to baritone. Thomas (along with Worrell) is responsible for the addition of drummer Jerome Brailey. After Thomas, Haskins, and Simon left P-Funk in 1977, Thomas formed his own band called The Shady Bunch. Word of Thomas's drummer, Dennis Chambers , and bassist Rodney "Skeet" Curtis got back to Clinton, and Chambers and Curtis were invited, and joined Parliament-Funkadelic. After Thomas' brief return to The P-Funk Allstars in
976-556: A helpful guide, they need not all be present in a given song for aficionados to consider it doo-wop, and the list does not include the aforementioned typical doo-wop chord progressions. Bill Kenny , lead singer of the Ink Spots, is often credited with introducing the "top and bottom" vocal arrangement featuring a high tenor singing the intro and a bass spoken chorus. The Mills Brothers, who were famous in part because in their vocals they sometimes mimicked instruments, were an additional influence on street vocal harmony groups, who, singing
1098-407: A high tenor singing over the chords of the blended mid-range voices and a strong bass voice. Their lead singer, Sonny Til , had a soft, high-pitched tenor, and like the rest of the group, was still a teenager at the time. His style reflected the optimism of young black Americans in the postmigration era. The sound they helped develop, later called '"doo-wop", eventually became a "sonic bridge" to reach
1220-607: A hit single in 1967 with " (I Wanna) Testify " while Clinton began commuting to Detroit as a songwriter and producer for Motown Records . The West End of Plainfield, New Jersey , was once home to the Silk Palace, a barbershop at 216 Plainfield Avenue owned in part by Clinton, staffed by various members of Parliament-Funkadelic and known as the "hangout for all the local singers and musicians" in Plainfield's 1950s and 1960s doo-wop, soul, rock and proto-funk music scene. By
1342-763: A major outlet for doo-wop performers to be discovered by record company talent scouts. In 1951, Robinson started Robin Records, which later became Red Robin Records , and began recording doo-wop; he recorded the Ravens, the Mello-Moods, and many other doo-wop vocal groups. He used the tiny shop to launch a series of record labels which released many hits in the US. Robinson founded or co-founded Red Robin Records, Whirlin' Disc Records, Fury Records, Everlast Records, Fire Records and Enjoy Records. Arthur Godfrey 's long-running (1946–1958) morning radio show on CBS, Talent Scouts ,
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#17327824377301464-458: A mix of former Parliament-Funkadelic members as well as guests and new musicians. As the 1980s continued, P-Funk did not meet with great commercial success as the band continued to produce albums under the name of George Clinton as solo artist. P-Funk retired from touring from 1984 until 1989, except for extremely sporadic performances and TV appearances. It was at this time that hip hop music began to extensively sample P-Funk music, so remnants of
1586-648: A model for success. The Swallows began in the late 1940s as a group of Baltimore teenagers calling themselves the Oakaleers. One of the members lived across the street from Sonny Til, who went on to lead the Orioles, and their success inspired the Oakaleers to rename themselves the Swallows. Their song "Will You Be Mine", released in 1951, reached number 9 on the US Billboard R&;B chart. In 1952,
1708-545: A native of South Carolina, was an independent record producer and songwriter in Harlem who helped popularize doo-wop music in the 1950s. He got into the music business in 1946 when he opened "Bobby's Record Shop" (later "Bobby's Happy House") on the corner of 125th Street and Eighth Avenue , near the Apollo Theater , a noted venue for African-American performers. The Apollo held talent contests in which audience members indicated their favorites with applause. These were
1830-528: A new band, Quazar , featuring his younger brother Kevin Goins. Shortly after his departure, Goins died from Hodgkin's lymphoma at age 24. Jerome "Bigfoot" Brailey (drums and percussion; born August 20, 1950). Brailey was the most prominent drummer in the Parliament-Funkadelic collective during their period of greatest success in the mid-to-late 1970s. Brailey (and bandmate Glenn Goins) left
1952-503: A part in developing the vocal potential of the doo-wop groups, but Chicago doo-wop was "created and nourished" on the street corners of the city's lower-class neighborhoods. The Chicago doo-wop groups, like those in New York, started singing on street corners and practiced their harmonies in tiled bathrooms, hallways, and subways, but because they came originally from the deep South, the home of gospel and blues music, their doo-wop sound
2074-399: A recording of a late 1976 concert as Mothership Connection: Live From Houston , attributed to George Clinton and Parliament-Funkadelic . Parliament-Funkadelic Parliament-Funkadelic (abbreviated as P-Funk ) is an American music collective of rotating musicians headed by George Clinton , primarily consisting of the funk bands Parliament and Funkadelic , both active since
2196-433: A simple beat with little or no instrumentation . Lyrics are simple, usually about love, sung by a lead vocal over background vocals, and often featuring, in the bridge , a melodramatically heartfelt recitative addressed to the beloved. Harmonic singing of nonsense syllables (such as "doo-wop") is a common characteristic of these songs. Gaining popularity in the 1950s, doo-wop was "artistically and commercially viable" until
2318-562: A single "Parrty – Part I" (#71 pop singles) with Maceo & the Macks that year. In 1975, Parker and some of Brown's band members, including Fred Wesley, left to join George Clinton's band Parliament-Funkadelic. Walter "Junie" Morrison (keyboards, multi-instrumentalist, vocals, songwriter, arranger, producer; born June 28, 1954 – January 21, 2017 ). Junie Morrison joined P-Funk in early 1978 as musical director after having success in
2440-523: A swing-like off-beat , while using the "doo-wop" syllables as a substitute for drums and a bass vocalist as a substitute for a bass instrument. Doo-wop's characteristic vocal style was influenced by groups such as the Mills Brothers, whose close four-part harmony derived from the vocal harmonies of the earlier barbershop quartet . The Four Knights ' "Take Me Right Back to the Track" (1945),
2562-421: A white teen audience. In 1948, Jubilee Records signed the Orioles to a contract, following which they appeared on Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scout radio show. The song they performed, "It's Too Soon to Know", often cited as the first doo-wop song, went to number 1 on Billboard' s "Race Records" chart, and number 13 on the pop charts, a crossover first for a black group. This was followed in 1953 by "Crying in
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#17327824377302684-651: The Cats and the Fiddle 's song "I Miss You So" (1939), and the Triangle Quartette's even earlier record "Doodlin' Back" (1929) prefigured doo-wop's rhythm and blues sound long before doo-wop became popular. In The Complete Book of Doo-Wop , co-authors Gribin and Schiff (who also wrote Doo-Wop, the Forgotten Third of Rock 'n' Roll ), identify five features of doo-wop music: While these features provide
2806-674: The Mothership . These concepts came to be known as the P-Funk mythology . By the late 1970s, several key members departed acrimoniously over disagreements with Clinton and his management style. Original Parliaments members Fuzzy Haskins, Calvin Simon, and Grady Thomas departed in 1977 after becoming disillusioned with the influx of new members, and later recorded an album under the name Funkadelic. Other members departed and formed new funk bands that detached themselves from P-Funk and even criticized
2928-781: The Motown Record Corporation in January 1959, were of either blues or doo-wop performances. " Bad Girl ", a 1959 doo-wop single by Robinson's group, the Miracles , was the first single released (and the only one released by this group) on the Motown label—all previous singles from the company (and all those following from the group) were released on the Tamla label. Issued locally on the Motown Records label, it
3050-602: The Oakland Coliseum . The tour drew to a close in mid-1977; its expenses were as high as its innovation level and it was losing money steadily; indeed one tour assistant's job was "to tell the musicians why they weren't getting paid." Nevertheless, the tour served as valuable publicity and marketing for "the P-Funk brand", making reference to the greater Parliament-Funkadelic-Clinton enterprise of acts, records, side projects, spin-offs, andso forth. In 1986, Capitol issued
3172-477: The P-Funk All Stars , who went on to record Urban Dancefloor Guerillas in 1983. The P-Funk All Stars included many of the same members as the late-1970s version of the Parliament-Funkadelic collective, and was so named because of various legal issues concerning use of the names Parliament and Funkadelic after 1980. The name P-Funk All Stars is still in use to the current day, and group has included
3294-682: The Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles. They, along with Bruce Tate and Curtis Williams, recorded the song "Earth Angel" (produced by Dootsie Williams), which rose to number one on the R&;B charts in 1954. Most of the Los Angeles doo-wop groups came out of the Fremont, Belmont , and Jefferson high schools. All of them were influenced by the Robins , a successful R&B group of the late 1940s and
3416-559: The White House . I figured another place you wouldn't think black people would be was in outer space. I was a big fan of Star Trek , so we did a thing with a pimp sitting in a spaceship shaped like a Cadillac , and we did all these James Brown -type grooves, but with street talk and ghetto slang." Like Sun Ra , Clinton wanted to see black people in space. George Clinton (band leader, vocals, songwriter, producer; born July 22, 1941). George Clinton has been, since its inception,
3538-470: The best selling singles worldwide of all time, and "Address Unknown") and the Mills Brothers (" Paper Doll ", " You Always Hurt the One You Love " and "Glow Worm") were generally slow songs in swing time with simple instrumentation. Doo-wop street singers generally performed without instrumentation, but made their musical style distinctive, whether using fast or slow tempos , by keeping time with
3660-470: The "50 Greatest Bands of All Time". Besides their innovation in the entire genre of funk music , George Clinton and P-Funk are still heard often today, especially in hip-hop sampling. The Red Hot Chili Peppers video for their 2006 single " Dani California " featured a tribute to Parliament-Funkadelic. Parliament-Funkadelic's musical influence can also be heard in rhythm and blues , soul , electronica , gospel , jazz , and new wave . Parliament-Funkadelic
3782-548: The 1950s doo-wop groups, and the Flamingos, who had national hits as well. In 1945, Joe Von Battle opened Joe's Record Shop at 3530 Hastings Street in Detroit; the store had the largest selection of rhythm and blues records in the city, according to a 1954 Billboard business survey. Battle, a migrant from Macon, Georgia, established his shop as the first black-owned business in the area, which remained primarily Jewish up to
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3904-401: The 1950s to its a capella vocals; the romantic style of the doo-wop groups appealed to them, as it was reminiscent of the traditional ballads and harmonies of Mexican folk music. In 1960, Art Laboe released one of the first oldies compilations, Memories of El Monte , on his record label, Original Sound . The record was a collection of classic doo-wop songs by bands that used to play at
4026-929: The 1950s who formed in San Francisco, or by other groups including the Flairs , the Flamingos (not the Chicago group) and the Hollywood Flames . Many other Los Angeles doo-wop groups of the time were recorded by Dootsie Williams' Dootone Records and by John Dolphin's Central Avenue record store, Dolphin's of Hollywood. These included the Calvanes, the Crescendos, the Cuff Linx, the Cubans, the Dootones,
4148-534: The 1960s. Their eclectic style has drawn on psychedelia , outlandish fashion, and surreal humor. They have released albums such as Maggot Brain (1971), Mothership Connection (1975), and One Nation Under a Groove (1978) to critical praise, and scored charting hits with singles such as " Tear the Roof Off the Sucker " (1975) and " Flash Light " (1978). Overall, the collective achieved thirteen top ten hits in
4270-434: The 1975–1979 period, both Parliament and Funkadelic achieved several high-charting albums and singles on both the R&B and Pop charts. Many members of the collective began to branch out into side bands and solo projects under George Clinton's tutelage, including Bootsy's Rubber Band , Parlet , and The Brides of Funkenstein , while longtime members like Eddie Hazel recorded solo albums with songwriting and studio help from
4392-501: The American R&;B music charts between 1967 and 1983, including six number one hits. Their work has had an influential effect on subsequent funk, post-punk , hip-hop , and techno artists of the 1980s and 1990s, while their collective mythology has helped pioneer Afrofuturism . The collective's origins date back to the doo-wop group the Parliaments , formed by Clinton during the late 1950s in suburban New Jersey . By
4514-757: The Belmonts, and "Barbara Ann" by the Regents. Johnny Maestro, the Italian American lead singer of the interracial Bronx group the Crests, was the lead on the hit " Sixteen Candles ". Maestro said that he became interested in R&B vocal group harmony listening to the Flamingos, the Harptones , and the Moonglows on Alan Freed 's radio show on WINS in New York. Freed's various radio and stage shows had
4636-588: The Bronx . Judy Craig , fourteen years old, was the lead singer, singing with Patricia Bennett and Barbara Lee, both thirteen. In 1962, the girls met songwriter Ronnie Mack at the after-school center; Mack suggested they add Sylvia Peterson, who had sung with Little Jimmy & the Tops , to the group. The group was named the Chiffons when recording and releasing their first single, " He's So Fine ". Written by Mack, it
4758-475: The Bronx, who attended the Catholic St. Anthony of Padua School in the Bronx , where they were trained to sing Gregorian Chants . Their first recording was "He's Gone" (1958), which made them the first pop rock girl group to chart. Their second single, "Maybe" hit the charts, No. 15 on Billboard ' s Hot 100. In 1960, the Chiffons began as a trio of schoolmates at James Monroe High School in
4880-677: The Bronx; his mother was from North Carolina. Crier was a founding member of a doo-wop group called the Five Chimes, one of several different groups with that name, and sang bass with the Halos and the Mellows . Many years later he observed that there was a shift in the music sung on the streets from gospel to secular rhythm and blues between 1950 and 1952. New York was also the capital of Italian doo-wop, and all its boroughs were home to groups that made successful records. The Crests were from
5002-496: The Chapel", their biggest hit, which went to number 1 on the R&B chart and number 11 on the pop chart. The Orioles were perhaps the first of the many doo-wop groups who named themselves after birds. The sexual innuendo in the Orioles' songs was less disguised than in the vocal group music of the swing era. Their stage choreography was also more sexually explicit, and their songs were simpler and more emotionally direct. This new approach to sex in their performances did not target
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5124-676: The Elegants , the Mystics , the Duprees , Johnny Maestro & the Crests , and the Regents . Some doo-wop groups were racially mixed. Puerto Rican Herman Santiago , originally slated to be the lead singer of the Teenagers , wrote the lyrics and the music for a song to be called "Why Do Birds Sing So Gay?", but whether because he was ill or because producer George Goldner thought that newcomer Frankie Lymon 's voice would be better in
5246-464: The Flamingos ' "I Only Have Eyes for You", and the Jive Five " My True Story ". Teenagers who could not afford musical instruments formed groups that sang songs a cappella , performing at high school dances and other social occasions. They rehearsed on street corners and apartment stoops, as well as under bridges, in high school washrooms, and in hallways and other places with echoes: these were
5368-552: The Impalas , whose " Sorry (I Ran All the Way Home) " was a hit in 1959. Chico Torres was a member of the Crests, whose lead singer, Johhny Mastrangelo, would later gain fame under the name Johnny Maestro. Female doo-wop singers were much less common than males in the early days of doo-wop. Lillian Leach , lead singer of the Mellows from 1953 to 1958, helped pave the way for other women in doo-wop, soul and R&B . Margo Sylvia
5490-885: The Jaguars, the Jewels, the Meadowlarks , the Silks, the Squires, the Titans, and the Up-Fronts. A few groups, such as the Platters and Rex Middleton's Hi-Fis, had crossover success. The Jaguars, from Fremont High School, was one of the first interracial vocal groups; it consisted of two African Americans, a Mexican American, and a Polish-Italian American. Doo-wop was popular with California Mexican Americans, who were attracted in
5612-968: The Lower East Side in Manhattan; Dion and the Belmonts, the Regents, and Nino and the Ebb Tides were from the Bronx; the Elegants from Staten Island; the Capris from Queens; the Mystics, the Neons, the Classics, and Vito & the Salutations from Brooklyn. Although Italians were a much smaller proportion of the Bronx's population in the 1950s than Jews and the Irish, only they had significant influence as rock 'n' roll singers. Young people of other ethnicities were listening to rock 'n' roll, but it
5734-474: The P-Funk All Stars for ten years. Cordell "Boogie" Mosson (bass, guitar, drums; October 16, 1952 – April 18, 2013). Mosson joined Funkadelic in 1972 along with his friend and previous United Soul bandmate Garry Shider. Mosson was the primary bassist for Funkadelic starting in 1972 and Parliament starting a few years after Bootsy Collins began to focus on his solo career. Since the late 1970s, Mosson most frequently played rhythm guitar and continued to tour with
5856-406: The P-Funk All Stars until his death. Ray "Stingray" Davis (vocals; March 29, 1940 – July 5, 2005). Davis was the bass singer and a member of The Parliaments. His distinctive voice can be heard on " Give Up the Funk (Tear the Roof off the Sucker) " and on George Clinton's solo hit single " Atomic Dog ". Aside from Clinton, he was the only original member of the Parliaments not to leave in 1977. In
5978-415: The P-Funk All Stars, leaving the collective in 2015. Glenn Goins (vocals, guitar; January 2, 1954 – July 29, 1978). Glenn Goins was recruited into Parliament-Funkadelic in 1975 and was an important contributor, and like bandmate Garry Shider, was known for his "gospel" singing and guitar style. In 1978, Goins and bandmate Jerome Brailey departed acrimoniously, and immediately began recording and producing
6100-410: The P-Funk All Stars. In the early 1980s, George Clinton continued to record while battling with financial problems and well-publicized drug problems. The remaining members of Parliament-Funkadelic recorded the 1982 hit album Computer Games , which was released as a George Clinton solo album. Included on this release was the much-sampled #1 hit single " Atomic Dog ". The following year, Clinton formed
6222-446: The Parliament-Funkadelic collective. Eddie Hazel (guitar, vocals, songwriter; April 10, 1950 – December 23, 1992). Eddie Hazel was the original lead guitarist for Funkadelic and was a major force on the first several albums by that group. His Hendrix -inspired style has become very influential. After the early 1970s, he contributed sporadically to various Parliament-Funkadelic projects. A key early Funkadelic song that captured both
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#17327824377306344-469: The Swallows released "Beside You", their second national hit, which peaked at number 10 on the R&B chart. Some Baltimore doo-wop groups were connected with street gangs, and a few members were active in both scenes, such as Johnny Page of the Marylanders . As in all the major urban centers of the US, many of the teen gangs had their own street corner vocal groups in which they took great pride and which they supported fiercely. Competitive music and dance
6466-399: The United States after World War II was the most popular form of rhythm and blues music among black teenagers, especially those living in the large urban centers of the East Coast , in Chicago, and in Detroit. Among the first groups to perform songs in the vocal harmony group tradition were the Orioles , the Five Keys , and the Spaniels ; they specialized in romantic ballads that appealed to
6588-415: The aim of getting signed to a record deal. The city of Chicago was outranked as a recording center in the United States only by New York City in the early years of the music recording industry . During the late 1940s and early 1950s, independent record labels gained control of the black record market from the major companies, and Chicago rose as one of the main centers for rhythm and blues music. This music
6710-635: The band in 1981, but continued to contribute to P-Funk studio albums and occasionally appear live with Parliament-Funkadelic as a special guest. William "Bootsy" Collins (bass guitar, vocals, drums, songwriter, producer; born October 26, 1951). Bootsy Collins was a major songwriter, rhythm arranger, and bassist for Parliament-Funkadelic during the 1970s and was a major influence in the band's sound during that time. His style of bass playing has become especially influential. Collins later focused his attention on his own Bootsy's Rubber Band but continues to make occasional contributions to studio albums by members of
6832-435: The band relocated to Detroit, their guitar-based, raw funk sound, with its heavy psychedelic rock influences, inspired "Billy Bass" Nelson, who coined the name " Funkadelic ". Clinton signed Funkadelic to Westbound Records , and the five Parliaments singers were credited as "guests" while the five musicians were listed as the main group members. The debut album Funkadelic was released in 1970. Meanwhile, Clinton regained
6954-466: The band were experienced gospel singers in ensembles dating to the 1940s, and were one of the oldest groups to record during the era. Among the Du Droppers' most enduring songs are "I Wanna Know" and "I Found Out (What You Do When You Go Round There)", which both reached number three on the Billboard R&B charts in 1953. Frankie Lymon, lead vocalist of the Teenagers , was the first black teen idol who appealed to both black and white audiences. He
7076-493: The band's unique sound and Hazel's talent was the ten-minute guitar solo " Maggot Brain " from the 1971 Funkadelic album of the same title . Maceo Parker (saxophone; born February 14, 1943). Maceo joined James Brown 's band with brother Melvin Parker in 1964. In 1970, Parker, his brother Melvin, and a few of Brown's band members left to establish the band Maceo & All the King's Men, which toured for two years. In January 1973, Parker rejoined with James Brown. He also charted
7198-411: The children and grandchildren of the original members. In May 1997, George Clinton and 15 other members of Parliament-Funkadelic were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame , the largest band yet inducted. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked Parliament-Funkadelic #56 on their list of the " 100 Greatest Artists of All Time ". In February 2002, Spin ranked Parliament-Funkadelic #6 on their list of
7320-533: The collective acrimoniously, forming his own band Mutiny , in which he criticized George Clinton's management style. Ramon "Tiki" Fulwood (drums, vocals; May 23, 1944 – October 29, 1979). Tiki Fulwood was the original drummer for Funkadelic. He originally quit the band in 1971 but reappeared on several Parliament-Funkadelic releases during the remainder of the 1970s. After also working briefly for Miles Davis , Fulwood died of cancer in 1979. "Billy Bass" Nelson (bass, guitar; born January 28, 1951). Billy Nelson
7442-558: The collective's multiple projects and touring under names such as George Clinton and the P-Funk All-Stars . In the 1990s, their sound became the chief inspiration for the West Coast hip hop subgenre G-funk . Prominent collective members have included bassist Bootsy Collins (who formed the spinoff group Bootsy's Rubber Band), keyboardist Bernie Worrell , guitarists Eddie "Maggot Brain" Hazel , Michael Hampton , and Garry "Diaper Man" Shider , and horn players Fred Wesley and Maceo Parker . Some former members of Parliament perform under
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#17327824377307564-401: The collective, such as Quazar (formed by guitarist Glenn Goins ) and Mutiny (formed by drummer Jerome Brailey ). Due to financial difficulties and the collapse of Casablanca Records (Parliament's label), Clinton dissolved Parliament and Funkadelic as separate entities. Many members of the collective continued to work for Clinton, first on his solo albums and later as Parliament-Funkadelic or
7686-403: The collective. The Parliament albums of this period had become concept albums with themes from science fiction and afro-futurism , elaborate political and sociological themes, and an evolving storyline with recurring fictional characters. Parliament-Funkadelic stage shows (particularly the P-Funk Earth Tour of 1976) were expanded to include imagery from science fiction and a stage prop known as
7808-585: The constraints of the built environment , to live in certain parts of New York City of the early 1950s. They identified with their own wards, street blocks and streets. Being effectively locked out of mainstream white society increased their social cohesion and encouraged creativity within the context of African American culture. Young singers formed groups and rehearsed their songs in public spaces: on street corners, apartment stoops, and subway platforms, in bowling alleys, school bathrooms, and pool halls, as well as at playgrounds and under bridges. Bobby Robinson ,
7930-447: The dances Laboe organized at Legion Stadium in El Monte, California , beginning in 1955. It included songs by local bands such as the Heartbeats and the Medallions . Laboe had become a celebrity in the Los Angeles area as a disc jockey for radio station KPOP , playing doo-wop and rhythm and blues broadcast from the parking lot of Scriverner's Drive-In on Sunset Boulevard . In 1962, Frank Zappa , with his friend Ray Collins, wrote
8052-417: The doo-wop song " Memories of El Monte ". This was one of the first songs written by Zappa, who had been listening to Laboe's compilation of doo-wop singles . Zappa took the song to Laboe, who recruited the lead vocalist of the Penguins, Cleve Duncan, for a new iteration of the group, recorded it, and released it as a single on his record label. Early doo-wop music, dating from the late 1940s and early 1950s,
8174-474: The doo-wop style during the late 1950s. Doo-wop groups also formed on the west coast of the United States, especially in California, where the scene was centered in Los Angeles. Independent record labels owned by black entrepreneurs such as Dootsie Williams and John Dolphin recorded these groups, most of which had formed in high schools. One such group, the Penguins, included Cleveland "Cleve" Duncan and Dexter Tisby, former classmates at Fremont High School in
8296-489: The driving force behind the development of the P-Funk sound, having led the collective since forming The Parliaments as a doo-wop group in the late 1950s. The funk sound, socially conscious lyrics, and P-Funk mythology developed primarily by Clinton have been especially influential for later R&B, hip hop, and rock music. Bernie Worrell (keyboards, vocals, songwriter, arranger; producer; April 19, 1944 – June 24, 2016). Bernie Worrell officially joined Funkadelic after
8418-413: The early Ohio Players and as a solo artist. Though primarily a keyboardist, Junie composed or co-wrote several of the band's hits at the height of their popularity and served as a lead vocalist, producer, and arranger on many songs for the collective. Morrison stopped touring with the band after 1981, but contributed to many subsequent albums. During his time with P-funk, some of his work was credited under
8540-509: The early 1960s and continued to influence performers in other genres. Doo-wop has complex musical, social, and commercial origins. Doo-wop's style is a mixture of precedents in composition, orchestration, and vocals that figured in American popular music created by songwriters and vocal groups, both black and white, from the 1930s to the 1940s. Such composers as Rodgers and Hart (in their 1934 song " Blue Moon "), and Hoagy Carmichael and Frank Loesser (in their 1938 " Heart and Soul ") used
8662-460: The eighties, Davis recorded and toured with George Clinton and the P-Funk Allstars in support of "Atomic Dog" and with Zapp in support of "I Can Make You Dance", but his vocal range made him an obvious choice as replacement bass vocalist for Melvin Franklin in the Temptations . Davis left the Temptations in 1995 (after being diagnosed with cancer), but continued to perform with former P-Funk members Fuzzy Haskins, Calvin Simon, and Grady Thomas under
8784-488: The film PCU . The 1996 album T.A.P.O.A.F.O.M. (The Awesome Power of a Fully Operational Mothership), released under the name George Clinton & the P-Funk All Stars, served as a reunion album featuring contributions from the band's most noteworthy songwriters from the earlier eras, such as Bootsy Collins, Bernie Worrell, and Junie Morrison . It would be ten years before another album would be released. In
8906-529: The group had solidified into the five-man lineup of Clinton, Ray "Stingray" Davis , Clarence "Fuzzy" Haskins , Calvin Simon and Grady Thomas . Later, the group rehearsed in a barbershop in Plainfield, New Jersey co-owned by Clinton and entertained the customers. After having performed for almost ten years, the Parliaments had added a rhythm section in 1964 -- for tours and background work -- consisting of guitarist Frankie Boyce, his brother Richard on bass, and drummer Langston Booth; The Parliaments finally achieved
9028-609: The group was signed as the Teenagers with Lymon as lead singer. The song quickly charted as the number one R&B song in the United States and reached number six on the pop chart in 1956, becoming the number one pop hit in the United Kingdom as well. The Willows , an influential street corner group from Harlem, were a model for many of the New York City doo-wop acts that rose after them. Their biggest hit
9150-440: The intervening time, successive tours would slowly restore some of the broken ties between the original band members, together with an accumulation of new talent. On July 23, 1999, George Clinton and Parliament-Funkadelic, including noteworthy former members Bootsy and Catfish Collins and Bernie Worrell, performed on stage at Woodstock '99 . The collective continued to tour sporadically in to the 2000s, with participation from some of
9272-602: The late 1940s and was very popular in the 1950s, the term "doo-wop" itself did not appear in print until 1961, when it was used in reference to the Marcels ' song, "Blue Moon", in The Chicago Defender , just as the style's vogue was nearing its end. Though the name was attributed to radio disc jockey Gus Gossert, he did not accept credit, stating that "doo-wop" was already in use in California to categorize
9394-517: The late 1940s. Young aspiring performers would gather there in hopes of being discovered by the leading independent record company owners who courted Battle to promote and sell records, as well as to find new talent at his shop and studio. Battle's record labels included JVB, Von, Battle, Gone, and Viceroy; he also had subsidiary arrangements with labels such as King and Deluxe. He supplied Syd Nathan with many blues and doo-wop masters recorded in his primitive back-of-the-store studio from 1948 to 1954. As
9516-617: The late 1950s and early 1960s, many Italian-American groups had national hits: Dion and the Belmonts scored with " I Wonder Why ", " Teenager in Love ", and " Where or When "; the Capris made their name in 1960 with " There's a Moon Out Tonight "; Randy & the Rainbows , who charted with their Top 10 1963 single "Denise" . Other Italian-American doo-wop groups were the Earls , the Chimes ,
9638-418: The late 1960s, Clinton had assembled a touring band to back up the Parliaments, the first stable lineup of which included Billy Bass Nelson (bass), Eddie Hazel (lead guitarist), Tawl Ross (guitarist), Tiki Fulwood (drums), and Mickey Atkins (keyboards). After a contractual dispute in which Clinton temporarily lost the rights to the name "The Parliaments", Clinton brought the backing musicians forward. When
9760-404: The late 1960s, Clinton had gained experience as a producer-writer for Motown Records and, inspired by artists such as Jimi Hendrix , Sly Stone , and Frank Zappa , he relocated to Detroit and enlisted musicians from his New Jersey days in his own two sister bands Parliament and Funkadelic; the first would go on to develop a commercially successful style of science fiction –inspired funk, while
9882-624: The latest hits in hopes that the store owners' connections with record companies and distributors might land them an audition. A King Records talent scout discovered the Swallows as they were rehearsing in Goldstick's record store. Sam Azrael's Super Music Store and Shaw's shoeshine parlor were also favored hangouts for Baltimore vocal groups; Jerry Wexler and Ahmet Ertegun auditioned the Cardinals at Azrael's. Some groups cut demos at local studios and played them for recording producers , with
10004-499: The lead, Santiago's original version was not recorded. To suit his tenor voice Lymon made a few alterations to the melody, and consequently the Teenagers recorded the song known as " Why Do Fools Fall in Love? ". Racially integrated groups with both black and white performers included the Del-Vikings , who had major hits in 1957 with " Come Go With Me " and " Whispering Bells ", the Crests, whose " 16 Candles " appeared in 1958, and
10126-442: The lyrics. Particularly productive doo-wop groups were formed by young Italian-American men who, like their black counterparts, lived in rough neighborhoods (e.g., the Bronx and Brooklyn), learned their basic musical craft singing in church, and would gain experience in the new style by singing on street corners. New York was the capital of Italian doo-wop, and all its boroughs were home to groups that made successful records. By
10248-540: The music were still heard regularly, now among fans of hip hop. By 1993, most of the Parliament and Funkadelic back catalog had been reissued. The same year saw the return of a reconstituted P-Funk All Stars, with the re-release of Urban Dancefloor Guerrillas under the title Hydraulic Funk , and a new hip hop influenced album Dope Dogs . In 1994, the group toured with the Lollapalooza festival and appeared in
10370-584: The music. "Doo-wop" is itself a nonsense expression. In the Delta Rhythm Boys ' 1945 recording, "Just A-Sittin' And A-Rockin", it is heard in the backing vocal . It is heard later in the Clovers ' 1953 release "Good Lovin'" (Atlantic Records 1000), and in the chorus of Carlyle Dundee & the Dundees' 1954 song "Never" (Space Records 201). The first hit record with "doo-wop" being harmonized in
10492-602: The name " Original P ". Sixteen members of Parliament-Funkadelic were inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997. In 2019, the group was given the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award . The P-Funk story began in 1956 in Newark, New Jersey, with a doo-wop group formed by fifteen-year-old George Clinton . This was The Parliaments , a name inspired by Parliament cigarettes . By the early 1960s,
10614-457: The name J.S. Theracon. Garry "Diaperman" Shider (vocals, guitar; July 24, 1953 – June 16, 2010). As a child, Garry Shider was a customer at the barbershop where The Parliaments rehearsed and performed, and after some time with his own group United Soul, he was recruited by George Clinton into Funkadelic in 1972. Shider became a frequent lead vocalist on several Parliament and Funkadelic albums and along with his "gospel" vocal and guitar style,
10736-476: The name Original P. Clarence "Fuzzy" Haskins (vocals, guitar, drums; June 8, 1941 - March 17, 2023). Haskins was a member and first tenor of The Parliaments. In addition to writing, playing drums and guitar, Haskins is known for his "gospel" singing style. He left P-Funk in 1977. In the 1990s, he formed Original P with the other Parliaments (Davis, Thomas and Simon), and retired in 2011. Calvin Simon (vocals, percussion; May 22, 1942 – January 6, 2022). Simon
10858-624: The nineties, Thomas cofounded Original P with original Parliaments (Davis, Haskins, and Simon). Thomas is the leader of Original P . Doo-wop Doo-wop (also spelled doowop and doo wop ) is a subgenre of rhythm and blues music that originated in African-American communities during the 1940s, mainly in the large cities of the United States, including New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Chicago, Baltimore, Newark, Detroit, Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles. It features vocal group harmony that carries an engaging melodic line to
10980-637: The nonsense phrase as vocalized by the bass singers, who provided rhythmic movement for a cappella songs. Soon, other doo-wop groups entered the pop charts , particularly in 1955, which saw such cross-over doo-wop hits as " Sincerely " by the Moonglows , " Earth Angel " by the Penguins , the Cadillacs' "Gloria", the Heartbeats' "A Thousand Miles Away", Shep & the Limelites' " Daddy's Home ",
11102-430: The only spaces with suitable acoustics available to them. Thus they developed a form of group harmony based in the harmonies and emotive phrasing of black spirituals and gospel music. Doo-wop music allowed these youths not only a means of entertaining themselves and others, but also a way of expressing their values and worldviews in a repressive white-dominated society, often through the use of innuendo and hidden messages in
11224-464: The pivotal recording mogul in the Detroit area, Battle was an important player in the independent label network. Jack and Devora Brown, a Jewish couple, founded Fortune Records in 1946 and recorded a variety of eccentric artists and sounds; in the mid-1950s they became champions of Detroit rhythm and blues, including the music of local doo-wop groups. Fortune's premier act was the Diablos , featuring
11346-400: The popular music of African Americans, treated it as their own, and were an appreciative audience for black doo-wop groups. Similarities in language idioms, masculine norms, and public comportment made it possible for African American and Italian American young men to mingle easily when societal expectations did not interfere. These cultural commonalities allowed Italian Americans to appreciate
11468-660: The refrain was the Turbans ' 1955 hit, "When You Dance" (Herald Records H-458). The Rainbows embellished the phrase as "do wop de wadda" in their 1955 "Mary Lee" (on Red Robin Records ; also a Washington, D.C. regional hit on Pilgrim 703); and in their 1956 national hit, " In the Still of the Night ", the Five Satins sang across the bridge with a plaintive "doo-wop, doo-wah". The vocal harmony group tradition that developed in
11590-537: The release of their first album and became an integral member of the Parliament-Funkadelic collective thereafter. His classical training on piano and innovative use of synthesizers has proven to be extremely influential, particularly his pioneering use of the Moog synthesizer , which replaced the conventional electric bass on songs like " Flash Light " and " Aqua Boogie ". He was responsible for many P-Funk rhythm and (with trombonist Fred Wesley) horn arrangements. Worrell left
11712-606: The relentless assault on personal inhibition [that] resembled nothing so much as a Space Age Mardi Gras." The New York Times described the tour as featuring "superbly silly, lavish costumes" and an "opulent Baroque ... stage show". The tour began in April 1976 in Nashville . The 1977 live album Live: P-Funk Earth Tour was recorded at two early 1977 concerts, January 19 at the Los Angeles Forum and January 21 at
11834-416: The rights to the name "The Parliaments" and initiated another new entity, now known as Parliament , with the same five singers and five musicians but this time as a smoother R&B-based funk ensemble that Clinton positioned as a counterpoint to the more rock-oriented Funkadelic. Parliament recorded Osmium for Invictus Records in 1970, and after a hiatus in which Clinton focused on Funkadelic, Parliament
11956-593: The second pursued a heavier sound which blended funk with psychedelic rock . The name "Parliament-Funkadelic" became the catch-all term for the dozens of related musicians recording and touring different projects in Clinton's orbit, including the female vocal spinoff groups the Brides of Funkenstein and Parlet . Financial and label issues slowed the collective's recorded output in the 1980s while Clinton and other members began solo careers, with Clinton also consolidating
12078-542: The sexual fantasies of teenagers in the late 1940s and early 1950s. The nonsense string of syllables, "doo doo doo doo-wop", from which the name of the genre was later derived, is used repeatedly in the song "Just A Sittin' And A Rockin", recorded by the Delta Rhythm Boys in December 1945. By the mid-1950s, vocal harmony groups had transformed the smooth delivery of ballads into a performance style incorporating
12200-663: The show's production, culminating in the Afrofuturist landing of the P-Funk Mothership , author Rickey Vincent states that the P-Funk Earth Tour "drew from the ribald, uncensored entirety of the Black tradition in mind-blowing ways no one had yet even attempted." Rolling Stone viewed the tour as embracing Clinton's "semiserious funk mythology" with "[a] mixture of tribal funk, elaborate stage props and
12322-426: The singing of black doo-woppers in deterritorialized spaces, whether on the radio, on records, at live concerts, or in street performances. Dozens of neighborhood Italian groups formed, some of which recorded songs at Cousins Records, a record shop turned label, on Fordham Road. Italian American groups from the Bronx released a steady stream of doo-wop songs, including "Teenager In Love" and "I Wonder Why" by Dion and
12444-531: The so-called " Chitlin Circuit ", which served as a school of the performing arts for blacks who had migrated from the deep South , and even more so for their offspring. In the late 1940s, the Orioles rose from the streets and made a profound impression on young chitlin' circuit audiences in Baltimore. The group, formed in 1947, sang simple ballads in rhythm and blues harmony, with the standard arrangement of
12566-567: The soaring tenor of lead vocalist Nolan Strong, a native of Alabama. The group's most notable hit was " The Wind ". Strong, like other R&B and doo-wop tenors of the time, was profoundly influenced by Clyde McPhatter , lead singer of the Dominoes and later of the Drifters. Strong himself made a lasting impression on the young Smokey Robinson , who went out of his way to attend Diablo shows. In late 1957, seventeen-year-old Robinson, fronting
12688-579: The success of two teen groups from the Bronx, the Chantels and the Bobbettes . The six girls in the Bobettes, aged eleven to fifteen, wrote and recorded "Mr. Lee", a novelty tune about a schoolteacher that was a national hit. The Chantels were the second African-American girl group to enjoy nationwide success in the US. The group was established in the early 1950s by five students, all of them born in
12810-511: The white teen audience at first—when the Orioles took the stage, they were appealing directly to a young black audience, with Sonny Til using his entire body to convey the emotion in the lyrics of their songs. He became a teen sex symbol for black girls, who reacted by screaming and throwing pieces of clothing onto the stage when he sang. Other young male vocalists of the era took note and adjusted their own acts accordingly. The Orioles were soon displaced by newer groups who imitated these pioneers as
12932-643: Was " Church Bells May Ring ", featuring Neil Sedaka , then a member of the Linc-Tones , on chimes . It reached number 11 on the US R&;B chart in 1956. Although they never had a national chart hit, the Solitaires , best known for their 1957 hit single " Walking Along ", were one of the most popular vocal groups in New York in the late 1950s. The heyday of the girl group era began in 1957 with
13054-425: Was Italian Americans who established themselves in performing and recording the music. While relationships between Italian Americans and African Americans in the Bronx were sometimes fraught, there were many instances of collaboration between them. Italian Americans kept African Americans out of their neighborhoods with racial boundary policing and fought against them in turf wars and gang battles , yet they adopted
13176-467: Was a New York venue from which some doo-wop groups gained national exposure. In 1948, the Orioles, then known as the Vibra-Nairs, went to the city with Deborah Chessler , their manager and main songwriter, and appeared on the show. They won only third place, but Godfrey invited them back twice. Chessler leveraged a few demo recordings the group had cut, along with the recent radio exposure, to interest
13298-685: Was a part of African American street culture, and with the success of some local groups, competition increased, leading to territorial rivalries among performers. Pennsylvania Avenue served as a boundary between East and West Baltimore, with the East producing the Swallows and the Cardinals and the Blentones , while the West was home to the Orioles and the Four Buddies . Baltimore vocal groups gathered at neighborhood record stores, where they practiced
13420-450: Was a teenage employee at George Clinton's barbershop in the 1960s and was the first musician hired to back The Parliaments in the band that would eventually become Funkadelic. Nelson then brought his friend Eddie Hazel into the band and coined the name "Funkadelic" when Clinton moved the collective to Detroit. Nelson quit Funkadelic in 1971 but contributed to P-Funk releases sporadically for the next few years. Starting in 1994, he toured with
13542-467: Was a vital source for the youth music called rock 'n' roll. In the mid-1950s, a number of rhythm and blues acts performing in the vocal ensemble style later known as doo-wop began to cross over from the R&B charts to mainstream rock 'n' roll. The Chicago record companies took note of this trend and scouted for vocal groups from the city that they could sign to their labels. The record labels , record distributors, and nightclub owners of Chicago all had
13664-651: Was almost always a cappella ; instrumental accompaniment was added when the songs were recorded. The large numbers of blacks who had migrated to New York City as part of the Great Migration came mostly from Georgia, Florida, and the Carolinas. In the 1940s black youths in the city began to sing the rhythm and blues styling that came to be known as doo-wop. Many of these groups were found in Harlem . Blacks were forced by legal and social segregation, as well as by
13786-473: Was an original member of The Parliaments, before leaving in 1977. In the nineties, he formed Original P with the other Parliaments (Davis, Thomas and Haskins), and retired in 2005. He was the owner of a record label. "Shady Grady" Thomas (vocals; born January 5, 1941). In the late 1950s, Thomas started as bass vocalist for The Parliaments. When Parliament members moved from Newark to Plainfield, New Jersey to "conk" hair at The Silk Palace, The Parliaments began
13908-502: Was born in Harlem, where he began singing doo-wop songs with his friends on the streets. He joined a group, the Premiers, and helped members Herman Santiago and Jimmy Merchant rewrite a song they had composed to create " Why Do Fools Fall In Love ", which won the group an audition with Gee Records . Santiago was too sick to sing lead on the day of the audition, consequently Lymon sang the lead on "Why Do Fools Fall in Love" instead, and
14030-751: Was especially popular in the Northeast industrial corridor from New York to Philadelphia, and New York City was the world capital of doo-wop. There, African American groups such as the Ravens, the Drifters, the Dominoes, the Charts , and the so-called "bird groups", such as the Crows, the Sparrows, the Larks, and the Wrens , melded rhythm and blues with the gospel music they had grown up singing in church. Street singing
14152-531: Was inducted into the Michigan Rock and Roll Legends Hall of Fame in 2013. In December 2018, the Recording Academy announced that Clinton and Parliament-Funkadelic would be given Lifetime Achievement Awards . The awards were presented on May 11, 2019. About the album Mothership Connection , Clinton said "We had put black people in situations nobody ever thought they would be in, like
14274-482: Was licensed to and released nationally by Chess Records because the fledgling Motown Record Corporation did not, at that time, have national distribution. "Bad Girl" was the group's first national chart hit, reaching number 93 on the Billboard Hot 100. Written by Miracles lead singer Smokey Robinson and Motown Records' president Berry Gordy, "Bad Girl" was the first of several of the Miracles' songs performed in
14396-628: Was more influenced by gospel and blues. Vee-Jay Records and Chess Records were the main labels recording doo-wop groups in Chicago. Vee-Jay signed the Dells , the El Dorados , the Magnificents , and the Spaniels, all of whom achieved national chart hits in the mid-1950s. Chess signed the Moonglows, who had the most commercial success (seven Top 40 R&B hits, six of those Top Ten ) of
14518-442: Was most recognized for wearing his trademark hotel-towel "diaper". Michael "Kidd Funkadelic" Hampton (guitar; born November 15, 1956). Mike Hampton has been the lead guitarist for P-Funk since 1973, when he was recruited at age 17 to replace Eddie Hazel, after an impromptu performance of Hazel's signature song "Maggot Brain". Hampton is known for his advancement of rock and heavy metal guitar used by Parliament-Funkadelic and later
14640-522: Was released on the Laurie Records label in 1963. "He's So Fine" hit No. 1 in the US, selling over one million copies. Public School 99, which sponsored evening talent shows, and Morris High School were centers of musical creativity in the Bronx during the doo-wop era. Arthur Crier, a leading figure in the doo-wop scene in the Morrissania neighborhood, was born in Harlem and raised in
14762-675: Was signed to Casablanca Records and released its debut for that label Up for the Down Stroke in 1974. The two bands began to tour together under the collective name "Parliament-Funkadelic". By this time, the original ten-member lineup of Parliament-Funkadelic had begun to splinter, but many others joined for various album releases by either band, leading to a collective with a fluid and rapidly expanding membership. Notable members to join during this period include keyboardist Bernie Worrell , bassist Bootsy Collins , guitarist Garry Shider , bassist Cordell Mosson , and The Horny Horns . In
14884-583: Was the lead singer for the Tune Weavers . Like other urban centers in the US during the late 1940s and early 1950s, Baltimore developed its own vocal group tradition. The city produced rhythm and blues innovators such as the Cardinals , the Orioles , and the Swallows . The Royal Theatre in Baltimore and the Howard in Washington, D.C. were among the most prestigious venues for black performers on
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