Funkadelic

George Clinton, P-Funk frontman turned 80 this week.

For a while it was two bands - Parliament and Funkadelic, or maybe two facets of the same group.

Funkadelic - and Parliament on their first album, Osmium (1970) - played a looser, rock-based, ragged, funky soul. Parliament, from 1974 on played a tighter, straight, polished funk.

What follows here, is a selection from the early Funkadelic albums on Westbound. I put it together some years ago while looking for songs that reminded me of peak period Sly and the Family Stone. There really isn't much out there that sounds like this.

Missing are some of the songs with the nastier lyrics. That way I can maybe get away with playing it while Wife is in the car without having to answer the question: Honey...what are we listening to?

There are a few albums that are missing from the streaming service. The first, Osmium, was released in July of 1970. It sounds a lot like Funkadelic and Free Your Mind ...And Your Ass Will Follow, which were released earlier in the year.

Also unavailable on the service are two late '70's LP's - Hardcore Jollies (1976) and One Nation Under a Groove (1978) - that the band released on Warner Bros.

Happy Birthday, George! I hope you found a way to enjoy yourself.

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Yes, There's Gas in the Car

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Birthday Greetings, Bottle of Wine

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