Because for whatever reason they never stop touring, George Clinton and Parliament-Funkadelic are returning to D.C. for a show at the 9:30 Club Saturday, September 24th. Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997, Clinton and Parliament-Funkadelic helped to define the sound of funk in the 1970s and have continued to exert a strong musical influence in subsequent decades.
Building off of the work of artists like James Brown and Sly Stone, Clinton created his own style of funk music, called p-funk, with his two bands, Parliament and Funkadelic. The former explored the freedom and creativity of funk and R&B, while the latter fused funk with a psychedelic rock sound that has been compared to Jimi Hendrix. Despite these dual musical styles, both bands have always had many of the same members, and for touring purposes eventually fused into Parliament-Funkadelic.
Regardless of the specifics of the name or the specific definition of a musical style, George Clinton and Parliament-Funkadelic and p-funk have had tremendous influence on a wide range of bands. Clinton produced the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ album Freaky Styley and worked with Tupac Shakur on the song “Can’t C Me.” He even appeared on the song “Wesley’s Theory” from Kendrick Lamar’s hugely popular To Pimp a Butterfly.
To have such a dynamic musical influence while still actively playing music is an accomplishment in and of itself. With any luck, George Clinton and Parliament-Funkadelic will take their tremendous musical history and talent and show it off at the 9:30 Club this weekend.
Tickets are available here.
