George Clinton's Funktastic 1975

An incredible year of funk

In 1975, George Clinton’s vision for his two bands, the overdriven funk rock of Funkadelic and the soulful party funk of Parliament, solidified itself into a remarkable model for what a collective group should look, sound, and feel like. During that year Clinton’s groups released three albums that stood at the head of five years of incredible funk: music that is amongst the most influential of modern times. Much of the last 20-odd years of hip-hop and pop would not exist without the infectious and insane groove he created.

I want to delve into the three albums, discussing how his sound developed, building on what came before and creating a whole new sound (a “brand new funk”): The Parliafunkadelicment Thang.

Three funky records on my kitchen table

April 1975: Parliament - Chocolate City

Many of the tracks were written by Clinton, Bootsy Collins and new member Bernie Worrell, and they would go on to create some of the greatest funk music of the 1970s.

The album opens with Clinton’s great po…