After a decades-long career in music, Parliament-Funkadelic's George Clinton is fighting for his legacy
The influential bandleader joins Q’s Tom Power to reflect on his remarkable career
The terms "trailblazer" or "pioneer" might be overused, but when it comes to George Clinton, they're very apt.
Since the late '60s, the funk musician has led the iconic bands Funkadelic and Parliament. His P-Funk sound has also been a huge influence on artists like Prince, Snoop Dogg and Janelle Monáe.
Many listeners will know what a funk record sounds like, but what does "funk" actually mean?
"Funk is anything it needs to be to save your life," Clinton, 82, tells Q's Tom Power. "It can morph like a caterpillar to a butterfly — it can morph into everything. If you're funky, you can change your mind. You can do the best you can and then say, 'funk it.'"
And Clinton's influence hasn't only been felt in music, his show theatrics and unique fashion choices have also left their mark. He was in Toronto last week as a guest speaker at the sixth annual Flummunity Fest event, organised by Fluevog Shoes.
Evolving with the times
Clinton's musical career began in the mid-'50s, after forming a doo-wop group called The Parliaments in the back room of a barbershop in New Jersey.
He would then go on to be a songwriter at Motown, where he would generate some commercial success with his first big hit, I (Wanna) Testify by The Parliaments. In the late '60s, psychedelia emerged, pioneered by the likes of Jimi Hendrix and the Beatles.
"Music began to change: rock and roll, you know, psychedelic rock and roll became the thing," remembers Clinton. "Jimi Hendrix, who I knew as Jimmy James and the Blue Flames, they became the psychedelic thing… So we had to change from a doo-wop thing to the new era."
Hendrix, who died in 1970 at 27, is conventionally understood to be the best guitarist of all time, and is remembered for his high octane and noisy playing. Clinton knew the legend himself.
"[He was] a real quiet, real nice guy, real soft spoken," says Clinton. "Exceptionally quiet, but when he got on that guitar … you couldn't believe the difference of his personality on the guitar."
Love for Canada
Clinton's career has had a huge impact on American music. But, what many don't know is that some of his most iconic tracks were made in Canada.
For a few years, Clinton and other musicians settled in Mississauga, Ont., where they would form Funkadelic, hone their theatrical live show and record their album America Eats Its Young.
"That was part of the tour circuit we were on and [the audiences] were conducive to the funk-psychedelic," Clinton says.
By featuring heavily on Drake's latest album, For all the Dogs, Clinton's connection with Canada still continues.
"[Snoop Dogg] hooked me up with Drake and Drake being from Toronto, I could get by that — I could hear where he was coming from."
Keeping the legacy alive
Clinton seems more relevant than ever. Apart from Drake, his recent collaborations have included a feature on Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp a Butterfly, one of the most critically acclaimed music releases of recent decades.
Funk is anything it needs to be to save your life.- George Clinton
But since his career is so long, Clinton has struggled to retain the rights to his songs, an issue he said affects many Black musicians. He argues that they were handed over to other parties while he was newer to the industry and struggling with addictions.
Through various lawsuits, Clinton is determined to secure his legacy for his family.
"They're getting in the way of my kids and my grandkids," he says. "It's not accidental, it's the way it was designed.… We were the guinea pigs for that, as we grew up and learned. I just happened to stay around and my thing was I'm going to stay around till I understood and got it back."
The full interview with George Clinton is available on our podcast, Q with Tom Power. Listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.
Interview with George Clinton produced by Ben Edwards.
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