George Edward Clinton (born July 22, 1941) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and music group leader. His Parliament-Funkadelic group (which mostly recorded under the different band names Parliament and Funkadelic) created a unique and diverse style of funk music in the 1970s. This style included ideas from Afrofuturism, unusual clothing styles, psychedelic music, and imaginative humor. He began his solo music career in 1982 with the album Computer Games and later influenced 1990s hip-hop and G-funk.

Clinton is considered, along with James Brown and Sly Stone, one of the leading creators of funk music. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997, along with 15 other members of Parliament-Funkadelic. In 2019, he and Parliament-Funkadelic received Grammy Lifetime Achievement Awards.

Early life

George Edward Clinton was born in Kannapolis, North Carolina. He grew up in Plainfield, New Jersey, and as of 2024, he has lived in Tallahassee, Florida, for thirty years. During his teenage years, Clinton created a doo-wop group named the Parliaments, which was inspired by Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers. He worked at a barbershop in Plainfield, New Jersey, where he straightened hair.

The West End of Plainfield once had a barbershop located at 216 Plainfield Avenue called "Silk Palace." Clinton owned part of this barbershop, and it was staffed by members of Parliament-Funkadelic. The barbershop was a popular place for local singers and musicians in Plainfield during the 1950s and 1960s, when the area was known for its doo-wop, soul, rock, and proto-funk music scenes.

Career

In the 1960s, George Clinton worked as a songwriter for Motown. His early work did not sell well, but he had one successful song called "(I Wanna) Testify" in 1967. He also helped create and produce many songs for independent Detroit soul music labels. Later, the group known as the Parliaments changed their name to Parliament and Funkadelic in the 1970s and became very successful. These bands combined musical styles from artists like Jimi Hendrix, Sly and the Family Stone, Frank Zappa, and James Brown. Clinton and Parliament-Funkadelic had a major influence on Black music during the 1970s, with over 40 R&B hit songs (including three number one songs) and three platinum albums.

From 1971 to late 1973, Clinton and some band members lived in Toronto. During this time, they improved their live performances and recorded an album called America Eats Its Young, which was their first album to include Bootsy Collins.

In the 1980s, Clinton faced legal problems after PolyGram bought Casablanca Records, the label that owned Parliament. He released several solo albums, but all included musicians from P-Funk. This period was difficult for Clinton because of financial issues caused by disputes over song rights, especially with Bridgeport Music, which he claimed unfairly took ownership of his recordings.

In 1982, Clinton signed with Capitol Records as both a solo artist and as the P-Funk All-Stars. He released an album called Computer Games under his own name that year. The song "Loopzilla" reached the Top 20 on the R&B charts, and "Atomic Dog" became number one on the R&B charts and number 101 on the pop charts. Over the next four years, Clinton released three more studio albums, a live album called Mothership Connection (Live from the Summit, Houston, Texas), and had three R&B Top 30 singles: "Nubian Nut," "Last Dance," and "Do Fries Go with That Shake?"

Clinton is also known for producing most of the albums he performs on. He has worked with artists like Bootsy Collins and Red Hot Chili Peppers. In 1985, he produced the Red Hot Chili Peppers' album Freaky Styley because the band admired his work and funk music. He wrote the vocals and lyrics for the title track, which was originally meant to be an instrumental. The album did not sell well at first. In 1987, Clinton wrote the theme song for The Tracey Ullman Show, called "You're Thinking Right."

During the mid-1980s, many hip-hop and rap artists used Clinton's music as inspiration. His songs with Parliament-Funkadelic were often sampled by rap producers. Clinton said, "Sure, sample my stuff… A better time to get paid than when you're my age. You know what to do with money. You don't buy as much or drugs with it – you just buy some." In 1989, he released an album called The Cinderella Theory on Prince's record label, Paisley Park.

Clinton continued working with Paisley Park, releasing Hey, Man, Smell My Finger in 1993. In 1994, he contributed to tracks on Primal Scream's album Give Out But Don't Give Up. In 1995, he sang "Mind Games" on a John Lennon tribute album called Working Class Hero. He later signed with Sony 550 and released T.A.P.O.A.F.O.M. (The Awesome Power of a Fully Operational Mothership) in 1996.

Clinton appeared in movies like Graffiti Bridge (1990), House Party (1990), PCU (1994), Good Burger (1997), and The Breaks (1999). In 1994, he hosted the anthology film Cosmic Slop. In 1997, he appeared as himself on the Cartoon Network show Space Ghost Coast to Coast. He also voiced the character Funktipus, the DJ of the funk radio station Bounce FM, in the video game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (2004), where his song "Loopzilla" also appeared.

Rapper Dr. Dre used many of Clinton's beats to create G-funk music. Clinton also worked with artists like Tupac Shakur on "Can't C Me" from All Eyez on Me, Ice Cube on "Bop Gun (One Nation)" from Lethal Injection, Outkast on "Synthesizer" from Aquemini, Redman on "J.U.M.P." from Malpractice, Souls of Mischief on "Mama Knows Best" from Trilogy: Conflict, Climax, Resolution, Killah Priest on "Come With Me" from Priesthood, and the Wu-Tang Clan on "Wolves" from 8 Diagrams.

Clinton started a record label called The C Kunspyruhzy in 2003. He appeared in How I Met Your Mother on CBS in 2006 and on the intro to Snoop Dogg's album Tha Blue Carpet Treatment in 2007. He was a judge for the 5th annual Independent Music Awards and released a solo album, George Clinton and His Gangsters of Love, in 2008. The album included guest appearances from artists like Sly Stone, El DeBarge, Red Hot Chili Peppers, RZA, Carlos Santana, and gospel singer Kim Burrell. In 2009, he received the Urban Icon Award from Broadcast Music Incorporated and was inducted into the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame.

In 2010, Clinton voiced a character version of himself in T-Pain's Freaknik: The Musical. In 2012, he received an Honorary Doctorate of Music from Berklee College of Music and performed with the college's P-Funk Ensemble. In 2013, he appeared on Odd Future's Loiter Squad. In 2015, he performed at the Glastonbury Festival with Mark Ronson, Mary J. Blige, and Grandmaster Flash, and appeared on Kendrick Lamar's song "Wesley's Theory" from To Pimp a Butterfly. In 2017, he appeared on FishCenter Live.

Clinton and Parliament-Funkadelic were scheduled to headline the Treefort Music Fest in 2018. A new Parliament album, Medicaid Fraud Dogg, was released in 2018. Clinton announced he would retire from touring in 2019 but said the band would continue. He mentioned creating a hologram for the band to perform in Las Vegas. In 2018, the Recording Academy announced Clinton and Parliament-Funkadelic would be honored for their contributions to music.

Personal life

Clinton married Stephanie Lynn Clinton in 1990. In February 2013, after 22 years of marriage, he asked for a divorce. He is now married to Carlon Thompson-Clinton, who has worked with him for more than 10 years as his manager.

On February 1, 2010, Clinton’s 50-year-old son, George Clinton Jr., was found dead in his home in Florida. Police said he died from natural causes and had been dead for several days before being discovered.

Clinton was made an honorary member of Omega Psi Phi on July 30, 2020. He also received an honorary doctorate of humane letters from Clinton College in Rock Hill, South Carolina, on May 3, 2024.

Clinton claims to have seen Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena. In an interview with Last Podcast on the Left, he said he and Collins were driving to his home from a studio when they saw flying metallic objects. One of the objects struck their car. He described the object as "like mercury" and said he could not explain the sighting because "we weren’t even high."

Books

Clinton, George, and Ben Greenman (2014). Brothas Be, Yo Like George, Ain't That Funkin' Kinda Hard on You? New York: Atria Books. ISBN 978-1-4767-5107-8.