“Funk is anything you need it to be, to save your life. It’s the DNA of Black music. It’s the gospel without the church. It’s the blues without the pain.” - George Clinton

George Clinton, the colorful and visionary bandleader behind Parliament-Funkadelic and the godfather of P-Funk, was born July 22, 1941, in Kannapolis, North Carolina, and raised in Plainfield, New Jersey.

His musical roots famously sprouted in a local barbershop, where he formed a doo-wop group called The Parliaments in the late 1950s.

After scoring a modest R&B hit in 1967 with “(I Wanna) Testify,” Clinton began to change with the times into something weirder and more cosmic.

Melding Motown, James Brown, Jimi Hendrix, and the new psychedelic magic of the late ’60s, he helped create a unique sound that was both other worldly and so damn funky you just had to dance to it.

“I saw P-Funk as a service industry. We were in the business of liberating asses. If your ass was locked up, we were there to funk it free," Clinton said in his 2014 memoir Brothas Be, Yo Like George, Ain’t That Funkin’ Kinda Hard on You?

In the 1970s, George indulged his creativity between two groups—Parliament and Funkadelic—utilizing a rotating cast of dazzling dressed musicians to build a trippy universe that made Motown look a century older and mustier than it was.

Parliament blended brassy grooves with sci-fi production, while Funkadelic plugged in hard-rocking guitars with surrealistic lyrics.

Classic albums like Mothership Connection and Maggot Brain not only pushed the envelope of funky dance music, but created a template by which DJs, producers and rappers would sample from for decades.

1975's “Give Up the Funk (Tear the Roof Off the Sucker)” by Parliament has been sampled or referenced in Public Enemy’s “Bring the Noise” (1987), Salt-N-Pepa’s “Shake Your Thang” (1988), LL Cool J’s “Nitro” (1989), EPMD’s “Underground” (1990), Dr. Dre’s “Let Me Ride” (1992), Snoop Dogg’s “Who Am I (What’s My Name?)” (1993), MC Breed’s “Gotta Get Mine” featuring 2Pac (1993), Tupac Shakur’s “Can U Get Away” (1995), and Xzibit’s “Paparazzi (Remix)” (1996).

This all went down as Clinton, often decked in robes, technicolor dreadlocks, crazy glasses, and wild boots, became the psychedelic funk shaman who would find himself on the first Lollapalooza tour, producing the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and being the living inspiration for Snoop Dogg's early solo hits.

P-Funk, short for "Parliament-Funkadelic" or "Pure Funk," became the umbrella term for George's universe. This includes the P-Funk All Stars, Bootsy’s Rubber Band, the Brides of Funkenstein, and other side projects.

Speaking of Bootsy -- there is no funk without bass. The flamboyant, goofy-goggled showman helped craft George's vision with bouncy grooves, a cartoonish voice, and endlessly far-out costumes.

But more importantly, while sharpening his skills as James Brown’s bassist in the original JB’s, Bootsy learned about the priceless gift of The One and then taught it to George, who sent that sucker to space.

Today is George's 84th birthday and he's still on the road with P-Funk. This weekend he's in Eugene Oregon, in August he hits the east coast. September he will be in Australia and then a three night residency in Honolulu at the Blue Note.

Get your tickets on George's website. And make sure to come back to The One.

George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic 2025

July 25 – The Cuthbert Amphitheater, Eugene, OR
August 22 – Palladium Times Square, New York, NY
August 23 – Wind Creek Event Center, Bethlehem, PA
August 24 – Nevermore Hall, Baltimore, MD
September 17 – Miami Marketta, Gold Coast, QLD
September 18 – Fortitude Music Hall, Brisbane, QLD
September 20 – Palais Theatre, St Kilda (Melbourne), VIC
September 21 – Enmore Theatre, Newtown (Sydney), NSW
September 25 – Blue Note Hawaii, Honolulu, HI
September 26 – Blue Note Hawaii, Honolulu, HI
September 27 – Blue Note Hawaii, Honolulu, HI