Funkadelic – Band History, Members, Albums, Articles & Official Merch
Funkadelic is 1/2 of the legendary Parliament-Funkadelic collective, the revolutionary funk empire created by George Clinton in the late 1960s (or mid-1950s, depending on how you want to look at it).
The band blended psychedelic rock and deep soul grooves with a magical stage show (or occasionally no stage show at all). The shows and albums featured rich surreal Afrofuturist, ancient Egyptian, Alien Motherships and so much more as the group helped define the sound of modern funk, ultimately influencing generations of artists in hip-hop, rock, and R & B.
While Funkadelic leaned heavily into guitars and psychedelic experimentation, its sister band Parliament delivered horn-driven dance-floor funk and the famous Mothership stage shows of the 1970s. Together they formed the expansive P-Funk universe, a rotating collective that included musicians like Bootsy Collins, Bernie Worrell, Eddie Hazel, and dozens of other performers.
The band released classic albums like Maggot Brain, One Nation Under a Groove, and Mothership Connection. Parliament-Funkadelic pushed funk music into mad new territory by mixing science-fiction mythology with social commentary, copious amounts of drugs, and some of the greatest musicians of the era.
The funky, funky result was a catalog that reshaped American music, gave birth to hip hop, and became one of the most sampled and influential bodies of work in popular culture.
Bluescentric is proud to work directly with the George Clinton estate to design and manufacture authentic PFUNK merchandise, and we wanted to help take you on a journey through the history of Funkadelic, the band’s members, their albums, the P-Funk universe, and officially licensed Funkadelic merchandise.
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Funkadelic Band T Shirts | Funkadelic Long Sleeve Shirts | Funkadelic Hoodies & Outerwear | Women’s Funkadelic T Shirts | Funkadelic Ringer T Shirts | Funkadelic Baseball Tees | Big & Tall Funkadelic Shirts
“George Clinton and Funkadelic were the masters of the universe. They were the ones who showed us that you could be as wild and as crazy as you wanted to be, but the music had to be solid.”
— Rick James
Frequently Asked Questions about Parliament Funkadelic
Funkadelic Articles & Trivia: Learn about Funkadelic
Discover interesting stories behind Parliament Funkadelic members, album cover art, song facts and histories, and legendary behind the scenes Funkadelic fables. These are longer-form articles about the Funkiest topics that deserve more than a trivia one-liner.
“Funkadelic took the psychedelic rock of Jimi Hendrix and the soul of James Brown and put them in a blender. They created a whole new language for music.”
— Flea from Red Hot Chili Peppers
Parliament Funkadelic Discography
One interesting thing about George Clinton’s various musical projects is that there were a LOT of them. And at one point, Clinton had basically a musical empire akin to Motown, with numerous musical acts under his direct guidance. And Parliament had roots back to the 50s, before it morphed partially into Funkadelic, then Parliament-Funkadelic and PFunk, etc. so the band has nearly fifty years of acid-fueled history. This makes the discography very interesting in nature! In fact… the PFunk Family has an official record keeper! So Bluescentric’s list of important albums includes Funkadelic, Parliament-Funkadelic, and the various spin-off projects.
Funkadelic Albums (1968–1981)
The psychedelic rock side of the P-Funk empire.
1968 — Funkadelic
1969 — Free Your Mind… and Your Ass Will Follow
1970 — Maggot Brain
1971 — Funkadelic (often called Osmium depending on release)
1972 — America Eats Its Young
1973 — Cosmic Slop
1974 — Standing on the Verge of Getting It On
1975 — Let’s Take It to the Stage
1976 — Tales of Kidd Funkadelic
1976 — Hardcore Jollies
1977 — One Nation Under a Groove
1978 — Uncle Jam Wants You
1979 — Electric Spanking of War Babies
1981 — The Electric Spanking of War Babies (final Warner era release)
Parliament Albums (1970–1980)
The horn-driven funk band behind the Mothership stage shows.
1970 — Osmium
1974 — Up for the Down Stroke
1975 — Chocolate City
1976 — Mothership Connection
1977 — The Clones of Dr. Funkenstein
1978 — Funkentelechy vs. the Placebo Syndrome
1979 — Gloryhallastoopid (Pin the Tail on the Funky)
1980 — Trombipulation
The Parliaments (Pre-P-Funk Era)
Before the psychedelic era, George Clinton’s group was a doo-wop vocal act out of Plainfield, New Jersey!
Major singles:
1967 — (I Wanna) Testify
1967 — Good Old Music
The band did not release a full LP during this period, though later compilations exist.
P-Funk All Stars / George Clinton Albums
After the Parliament/Funkadelic era, the collective continued through new projects.
1983 — Urban Dancefloor Guerrillas (P-Funk All Stars)
George Clinton solo albums:
1982 — Computer Games
1983 — You Shouldn’t-Nuf Bit Fish
1985 — Some of My Best Jokes Are Friends
1986 — R&B Skeletons in the Closet
Important Spin-Off Albums (P-Funk Universe)
The P-Funk collective also produced major records under side projects.
Bootsy’s Rubber Band
1976 — Stretchin’ Out in Bootsy’s Rubber Band
1977 — Ahh… The Name Is Bootsy, Baby!
1978 — Bootsy? Player of the Year
Parlet
1978 — Pleasure Principle
1979 — Invasion of the Booty Snatchers
1980 — Play Me or Trade Me
Brides of Funkenstein
1978 — Funk or Walk
1979 — Never Buy Texas from a Cowboy
Eddie Hazel
1977 — Game, Dames and Guitar Thangs
Bernie Worrell
1978 — All the Woo in the World
“The first time I heard Funkadelic, it changed my life. It was like hearing the future and the past at the same time. They were the ultimate rock and roll band, they just happened to play funk.”
— Ice-T
Featured Funkadelic T-Shirts & Merch
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Funkadelic “Can You Get to That?” T-Shirt – Lightweight Vintage Style
Price range: $34.97 through $38.97 This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product page -
Graphic Funkadelic Maggot Brain T-Shirt – Lightweight Vintage Style
Price range: $34.97 through $38.97 This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product page -
Retro George Clinton Atomic Dog Ringer T-Shirt
Price range: $39.97 through $42.97 This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product page
Parliament Funkadelic Band Members
Parliament-Funkadelic Band Members
Here’s the deal! There’s well over a hundred people who were various members of the various Parliament, Funkadelic, PFunk bands and projects, and the list gets needlessly complicated very quickly. So what we’ve done below is list out the most notable members of the PFunk eras, by the bands.
Founders & P-Funk Architects
These musicians formed the core creative engine behind Parliament-Funkadelic
George Clinton – vocals, songwriter, producer, bandleader
Bootsy Collins – bass, vocals
Catfish Collins – guitar
Bernie Worrell – keyboards, synthesizers
Eddie Hazel – guitar
Garry Shider – guitar, vocals
Michael Hampton – guitar
Billy Bass Nelson – bass
Tawl Ross – guitar
Early Parliaments (1950s–1960s Doo-Wop Era)
Before the psychedelic funk era, The Parliaments were a barbershop-style vocal group.
George Clinton – lead vocals
Ray Davis – bass vocals
Fuzzy Haskins – vocals
Calvin Simon – vocals
Grady Thomas – vocals
These five singers recorded the 1967 hit “(I Wanna) Testify.”
Classic Funkadelic (1968–1975)
The psychedelic rock-funk band that produced albums like Maggot Brain.
Eddie Hazel – lead guitar
Tiki Fulwood – drums
Billy Bass Nelson – bass
Bernie Worrell – keyboards
Tawl Ross – guitar
Gary “Mudbone” Cooper – vocals
Later additions included:
Michael Hampton – guitar
Garry Shider – guitar
Classic Parliament (Mothership Era, 1974–1980)
The stage show and big-band funk sound that defined Parliament.
George Clinton – vocals
Bootsy Collins – bass
Bernie Worrell – keyboards
Garry Shider – guitar
Michael Hampton – guitar
Glenn Goins – guitar, vocals
Jerome Brailey – drums
The Horny Horns
This was the legendary horn section that powered many Parliament recordings.
Maceo Parker – saxophone
Fred Wesley – trombone
Rick Gardner – trumpet
Richard “Kush” Griffith – trumpet
Parlet & Female Vocalists
Parlet was the P-Funk female vocal trio.
Jeanette Washington – vocals
Debbie Wright – vocals
Malli Mallia Franklin – vocals
Other P-Funk singers:
Dawn Silva – vocals
Lynn Mabry – vocals
Later P-Funk All-Stars & Touring Members
From the 1980s onward, George Clinton led a rotating P-Funk collective. Notable members include:
Blackbyrd McKnight – guitar
DeWayne McKnight – guitar
Lonnie Motley – drums
Greg Thomas – saxophone
Notable Associated P-Funk Artists
These musicians were part of the extended P-Funk universe.
Junie Morrison – keyboards, vocals
Cordell Mosson – bass
Walter Morrison – bass, vocals
“Everything I do is a tribute to George Clinton and what they did with Funkadelic. They gave us the blueprints for the Mothership.”
— Snoop Dogg
Funkadelic Trivia & Quotes
Notable Funkadelic Live Videos
Mike Judge's Tales from the Tour Bus in George Clinton & Funkadelic
The guy behind King of the Hill and Office Space is a dedicated music fan and made two seasons of this amazing passion project. This complete episode showcases the wild, wild ride of George Clinton and Funkadelic, narrated by basically Hank Hill. This is a wild ride of funk music, acid, empires and motherships, and highly worth a watch.
A full concert of Parliament-Funkadelic from November 6th, 1978 at Capitol Theatre in Passaic, New Jersey
This is the band’s 2005 Live 8 reunion in London's Hyde Park. It was notable as the last time Roger Waters, David Gilmour, Nick Mason, and Richard Wright performed together live.
Funkadelic Live playing Cosmic Slop on Halloween
The band was live in Houston 1976, recorded on Halloween Day! George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic in their ’70s ultra-prime, in the era of their Mothership Connection & The Clones Of Dr. Funkenstein… Bootsy Collins and Sly Stone come in at about an hour and 7 minutes.
Vintage Funkadelic Band Shirts
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XLT Pink Floyd Animals Vinyl Label T-Shirt – Men’s Big & Tall
Price range: $38.97 through $40.97 This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product page -
Pink Floyd Animals Vinyl Label T-Shirt – Lightweight Vintage Style
Price range: $34.97 through $38.97 This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product page -
Pink Floyd Animals Vinyl Label V-Neck T Shirt – Women’s
Price range: $36.97 through $38.97 This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product page
