vendredi 19 juin 2026
Michael Jones - From B.T. Express to Kashif (The Arista Years & More.. (13 Disc Set) 2020
Kashif Saleem (born Michael Jones; December 26, 1956 – September 25, 2016)[1][2] was an American singer, songwriter, and record producer from New York City. As a teenager, Kashif joined the funk group B. T. Express.[3] He studied Islam and changed his name from Michael Jones to Kashif.[4] He later signed with Arista Records enjoying success as a solo artist.[5]
Together with Stevie Wonder, he was considered a pioneer in urban music thanks to his specific synthesizer technology approach and the introduction of MIDI in his production.
In 1974, Kashif was recruited as a keyboard player and vocalist to join the funk band B. T. Express,[5] whose credits included the hits "Express" and "Do It ('Til You're Satisfied)", among others. Seeking a more challenging musical assignment in 1978, Kashif exited B. T. Express and landed a job as a keyboardist for R&B musician Stephanie Mills.
In 1983, Kashif signed with Arista Records as a solo artist. Introduced to Arista by Milton Allen, the artist development director, his self-titled debut album Kashif (1983) spawned the hits "I Just Gotta Have You (Lover Turn Me On)", "Stone Love", "Help Yourself to My Love", "Say Something Love", and the instrumental track "The Mood".[4] With this release, Kashif was well received as an innovator in music, as R&B artists were only beginning to experiment with synthesizers and other electronic instruments. In 1984, his second album, Send Me Your Love resulted in two Grammy nominations, "Edgartown Groove", featuring Al Jarreau, and the instrumental "Call Me Tonight" along with the hits "Baby Don't Break Your Baby's Heart" and "Are You the Woman".
His other albums include Condition of the Heart (1985), Love Changes (1987) and Kashif (1989). On the Love Changes album, Exposé provided background vocals. 1989's Kashif included the cover of the Four Tops' hit "Ain't No Woman (Like the One I've Got)".[5] In 1989, Kashif also had a hit with the song "Personality" which was written by Nick Mundy and Gina "Go Go" Gomez.[8] It made it to no. 6 on the Cashbox Top R&B Singles chart,[8] holding the position for three weeks.
In 1981 Kashif wrote and produced the hit "I'm in Love" for Evelyn "Champagne" King,[5] which was a shift in sound from King's "Shame" to a minimalist becoming Kashif's signature sound. The song revitalized King's career and branded Kashif as one of the most sought-after producers of the day. Over the next ten years, he created hits including "So Fine" for Howard Johnson, "Love Come Down", "Betcha She Don't Love You", and "Back to Love", among many others.
In 1985, he received another Grammy nomination for another instrumental titled "The Movie Song". He also wrote and produced "Inside Love" for his musical idol, George Benson. It was during this time that he met and launched the career of then unknown Kenny G with "Hi How Ya Doin" and "Tribeca".[4]
In 1985, Kashif teamed up with then newcomer Whitney Houston. The result was the hit "You Give Good Love". Kashif also produced and was her duet partner on "Thinking About You",[5] a single track from Houston's 17-million selling (30 million until current day) debut album. The album became the bestselling debut album by a female artist. Kashif also produced "Where You Are" on Houston's second project, the result, a 15-million selling (25 million until current day) album titled Whitney.
In 1987, he produced "Love Changes", a chart topper in which Meli'sa Morgan was his duet partner and that name was taken from his bestselling album, which had the same name. The track also appears on Meli'sa Morgan's album Good Love. Also contained on that album was another duet that yielded yet another international hit, the song "Reservations For Two" with Dionne Warwick. Between 1987 and 1989, Kashif continued to churn out the hits for Jermaine Jackson, The Stylistics, Melba Moore, George Benson, Stacy Lattisaw, and many others.
Kashif died at age 59 of undetermined causes in Playa del Rey, California on September 25, 2016.
Lillo Thomas Collection
Lillo Thomas (born 1961)[2] is an American sprint runner and soul musician. He reached the peak of his success as a recording artist in the 1980s. His most famous songs include "Sexy Girl" and "I'm in Love."
Early in his life, Thomas was a competitive sprint runner. He retired from athletics in 1984 after a car accident in Brazil.[1][2]
Thomas then quickly established his musical career.[1] His first album, released in 1983 on Capitol Records, charted at #23 on the R&B Albums record charts.[3] Let Me Be Yours also launched his first solo hit, "(You're A) Good Girl", which peaked at #22 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks. Also a successful session vocalist, he worked with Evelyn "Champagne" King, Kashif, James Ingram, and George Benson, but developed a special relationship with Melba Moore.[1][4] He wrote the song "Mind Up Tonight" for her and joined her on tour in 1984 as her protégé. That same year, he released his second solo album, "All of You", which climbed to #9 on the R&B Albums chart and also reached #186 on the Billboard 200.[5]
In 1985, Thomas toured with comedian Eddie Murphy, but 1987 was the pinnacle of success for his music career when his album Lillo released to become #10 on the R&B Albums chart and launched his most successful single, "I'm in Love."[1] The song reached #2 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart. Two other singles charted, with "Downtown" reaching #11 and "Sexy Girl" at #9 on the same chart.[6]
Thomas returned to recording with a brand new single in 1993. "Out There Doing Wrong", was written, arranged and produced by Thomas and released on THG Music.[citation needed]
In 2010, he released his fourth album, Come and Get It.[1] In 2012, Thomas released his "Greatest Hits" album on the Fitingo Music Label. In 2024, Thomas provided vocals on the title track of Stetsasonic's album Here We Go Again.[7]
Thomas lives in Westchester with his wife Kim, a VP in the Beauty industry. He is also an accomplished painter.
jeudi 18 juin 2026
Gladys Knight & The Pips - Collection
Gladys Knight & the Pips were an American R&B, soul, and funk family music group from Atlanta, Georgia, that remained active on the music charts and performing circuit for more than three decades starting from the early 1950s.
Starting out as simply the Pips in 1952, derived from a cousin's nickname, the founding members were Gladys Knight, brother Merald "Bubba" Knight, sister Brenda Knight and cousins Eleanor Guest and William Guest. After a couple of years performing in talent shows, the group signed with Brunswick Records in 1957, recording a couple of singles that failed to chart. Brenda Knight and Eleanor Guest eventually left the group and were replaced by another cousin, Edward Patten, and a non-relative, Langston George in 1959. This lineup produced the group's first hit single, "Every Beat of My Heart". After the single was released on three different labels, they changed their name to Gladys Knight & the Pips in 1961. Langston George left the same year and Gladys Knight left in 1962 to start a family with musician Jimmy Newman. Knight rejoined in 1964 and this lineup continued until the group's disbandment in 1989.
The group reached commercial success after signing with Motown Records in 1966. After a year and a half, the group recorded the first hit single version of "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" in 1967, which led to several hit singles for Motown's Soul Records label, including "Nitty Gritty", "Friendship Train", "If I Were Your Woman", "I Don't Want to Do Wrong" and the Grammy-winning "Neither One of Us (Wants to Be the First to Say Goodbye)", before leaving the label for Buddah Records in 1973. At Buddah, they recorded the hits "Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me", "I've Got to Use My Imagination", "I Feel a Song (In My Heart)" and their Grammy-winning and number-one hit single, "Midnight Train to Georgia". In 1974, they recorded the soundtrack to the successful film Claudine with producer Curtis Mayfield, which included the songs "On and On", "The Makings of You" and "Make Yours a Happy Home". Contractual difficulties with their labels forced the group to record side projects from 1977 until 1980 when they signed with Columbia Records. Later hits included "Landlord", "Save the Overtime (For Me)" and the Grammy-winning single "Love Overboard". In 1989, the group disbanded with the Pips retiring and Knight embarking on a successful solo career.
Sharon Redd - The Prelude Box (16 Disc Set)
Redd was born on October 19, 1945, in Norfolk, Virginia, to Gene and Katherine Redd. Gene Redd was a producer and musical director at King Records, and her stepfather performed with Benny Goodman's orchestra.[1] Her brother Gene Redd Jr. was a songwriter and producer for Kool & the Gang and the band BMP.[5] Her half-sister Penny Ford is also a singer with two solo albums to her credit and known for her work as the main singer for Snap!, Soul II Soul, and the S.O.S. Band.[2]
She began her recording career with four singles in 1968 for the United Artists label, three written and all four produced by songwriter and record producer Bobby Susser. Susser chose the Hank Williams song "Half as Much" to be Redd's first single. Redd's vocals, against Susser's heavy-bass track, made her presence very quickly known to R&B radio stations.[6] Redd, as a budding actress, got a major break when she starred in an Australian production of the rock musical Hair.[1] She was among a troupe of young African American imports to the Sydney production, a group which notably included Marcia Hines. Redd appeared in the production from its June 6, 1969, premiere through 1971.[citation needed]
As Redd was becoming famous in Australia, she was interviewed by Barry Sloane on a 1971 episode of GTK.[citation needed] Her popular adverts for Amoco led to her own television special. Redd and Hair co-star Teddy Williams were asked to leave Australia by the Immigration Department in April 1971 for reasons they believed were race-motivated.[7][8] Aside from Hair, Redd also appeared in Ti-Jean and His Brothers and, in 1974, traveled to London to star in an American production of The Wedding of Iphigenia.[1] In 1977 Redd played the role of Sherrye in the U.S. sitcom television series Rhoda.[9][10] 1978 also saw Redd feature as a guest in the musical Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.[11]
In the mid-1970s, Bette Midler was looking to replace Merle Miller and Gail Kantor, both of whom had left after Midler's 1973 tour to pursue their own interests. Midler auditioned over 70 performers, but Redd landed the job, becoming one of Bette's Harlettes.[12] Aside from performing as a Harlette, Redd also provided backing vocals for Carol Douglas ("Burnin'" and "Night Fever") and Norman Connors ("You Are My Starship").[1] Having ended their association with Midler, Redd, Charlotte Crossley, & Ula Hedwig released an LP, Formerly of the Harlettes, in late 1977. In 1978, RCA Victor released "Love Insurance" on a 12-inch disco as Front Page with Sharon Redd. She was credited on that version.
In 1979, Redd recorded the disco hit "Love Insurance", released by Panorama Records under the name Front Page, her own vocals going uncredited. But she soon signed a recording contract with Prelude Records,[1] and Redd became the label's most successful artist. Her debut studio album, 1980's self-titled Sharon Redd, was closely followed by two more: Redd Hott (1982) and Love How You Feel (1983).[1] Redd had several charting songs on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart, including "Beat the Street", "In the Name of Love" and "Love How You Feel".[13]
After these releases, Redd returned to her successful career as a backing vocalist, most notably with the group Soirée, which also included among its members Luther Vandross and Jocelyn Brown.
In early 1992, she had a UK top 20 hit with a re-recorded version of "Can You Handle It", with "Tom's Diner" remixers DNA and appeared with the duo, singing live vocals, on BBC One's Top of the Pops on January 30.[14] Following the success of this new version of "Can You Handle It", she recorded a single entitled "All the Way to Love",[2] with L.A. Mix's Les Adams. This was to be her last solo recording and remains unreleased.
In the midst of mounting a comeback in the early 1990s, Redd died of pneumonia on May 1, 1992. Dance Music Report magazine reported that her death was AIDS-related.[15] The virus had weakened her immune system, which had become ineffective following the singer stepping on broken glass on stage.
In 1993, Redd's vocals featured on the duet track "Under Pressure", as found on her half-sister Penny Ford's self-titled album.
Despite not being as recognized as other stars, Redd was able to establish herself as a Diva on the disco scene in the late 70s and early 80s.[16] Redd was honored by the National AIDS Memorial, in an online exhibit to commemorate Black History Month along with other celebrities like Sylvester and Arthur Ashe.[17][18][19] In 2011, Redd was posthumously honored at the 2011 Divas Simply Singing music benefit. Her name was among the number of celebrities featured on a special made red quilt displayed during the event.
James (D-Train Williams) Collection
James Nelson Williams (born January 21, 1962),[1] known by the stage name D Train (stylized as D TRAIN),[2] is an American singer, songwriter, instrumentalist, producer and actor. He rose to fame in the early 1980s with the release of his first album "You're the One for Me" (working with songwriter/producer Hubert Eaves III initially as a duo, also called D Train), which spawned his first US Billboard Dance chart number-one hit, "You're the One for Me". His debut album (under the Prelude Records label) would also chart with the hits "Keep On" and the much covered Burt Bacharach hit "Walk on By". He would go on to work with Eaves producing hits on the follow-up albums Music and Something's on Your Mind before being signed to Columbia Records, producing the albums Miracles of the Heart and In Your Eyes. The two parted ways in 1988 and D Train went on to perform on his own label, releasing the album 701 Franklin Ave.
James Nelson Williams was born in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York.[4] He began singing at age 6 in the Washington Temple COGIC choir under the direction of Professors Henry and Irene Coston. He would later come under the direction of gospel singer Rev. Timothy Wright.[1] At 10 years old, a Jackson 5 performance he saw on the Ed Sullivan Show inspired him to begin studying jazz guitar. He attended Erasmus Hall High School and played defensive tackle on the high school football team. It was here that the earned the nickname D Train[5] after the well-known MTA Brooklyn subway line because, according to the team's captain, "When he hits you, it’s like being hit by a train".
While working on a project with his classmate, R&B singer Will Downing, D Train was introduced to musician/producer Hubert Eaves III. The duo broke out as an R&B/Dance group under the D Train name.
D Train was signed to Prelude Records and their debut hit single "You're the One for Me" was released in late 1981, which reached No. 1 on Billboard's Dance charts and remained there for 3 weeks. The single also charted at No. 13 on Billboard's R&B charts and No. 30 in the UK's Top 100.[6]
D Train's self-titled debut album was released in early 1982, but with the popularity of their first single, "You’re the One for Me" was adopted as the album's new title. The album produced their next hit single "Keep On", mixed by record producer François Kevorkian, which peaked at No. 2 on Billboard's Dance charts and No. 15 on Billboard's R&B charts. The album's third single, the much covered Burt Bacharach single "Walk on By", also charted in both the US and the album reached No. 16 on the Billboard R&B Album charts, No. 128 on the Pop Album charts and No. 72 on the UK Album charts.[6]
D Train's second album, Music, was released in 1983. They again enjoyed chart success in both the US and the UK with their first single "Music", which peaked at No. 12 on the Billboard Dance charts, No. 20 on Billboard's R&B charts and No. 23 on the UK's top 100 charts. The album's third single, "Keep Giving Me Love" again proved successful on both sides of the Atlantic, charting at No. 24 on the Billboard Dance, No. 55 on the R&B charts No. 65 on the UK's top 100.[6] The album peaked at No. 31 on the R&B Album charts.
The duo's third album, Something's on Your Mind, was released in 1984, becoming the final album the duo would release under the Prelude Records label. The title track for this album, released as the second single, became D Train's first Pop crossover success, peaking at No. 5 on the R&B charts and No. 79 on Billboard Hot 100. This album found the band branching out into new musical territory, incorporating elements of reggae and more adult-oriented R&B into their music. It included a cover of Carole King's "So Far Away."
In 1985, a remix of their debut single "You're the One for Me", featuring the work of Paul Hardcastle, was featured on a new Greatest Hits album released in the U.K.[7] This remixed version peaked at No. 15 on the UK's Top 100.[6] Meanwhile, in America, D Train entered Billboard's R&B charts again with the single "Just Another Night (Without Your Love)", which reached No. 59 and preceded an American Greatest Hits album released the following year.
In 1986, Williams was signed by Columbia Records and released Miracles of the Heart. Although he was still collaborating with Eaves at this time, this first album for Columbia was viewed as more of a "solo" effort for Williams. The album produced several hits, including the single "Misunderstanding", which rose to No. 10 on the Billboard R&B/Hip Hop charts.[9] The follow-up single, "Oh How I Love You (Girl)" went to No. 22 on the R&B/Hip Hop charts.[9] The album was No. 51 on Billboard's R&B Albums charts.[10]
D Train's next album, In Your Eyes was released in 1988. The title track from the album made it to No. 11 on the R&B/Hip Hop charts, while the follow-up single "Runner" failed to chart.[9] The album reached No. 46 on the R&B Album charts.[10]
Following the departure from Columbia and Eaves, D Train went on to pursue his own interests as a solo artist and songwriter. He would later write songs for other artists, among them were Vanessa Bell Armstrong and John P. Kee’s "Something on the Inside", Patti Austin's "I'll Be Waiting for You", George Duke's "Children of the Night" and "You Are the One in My Life" and Carl Anderson's "Children of a Lesser God".
In 2007, D Train released his sixth album 701 Franklin Ave. under his own label. The 14 track album was written and composed by himself. It included a rare live version of "Keep On".
D-Train Collection
D Train (alternatively D-Train) was an American post-disco R&B duo consisting of James D-Train Williams and Hubert Eaves III. Formally active between 1980 and 1985, D Train had multiple hits on the Billboard Dance and R&B charts, and the top 30 of the UK Singles Chart, during the first half of the 1980s.[1][2] Several of their hits have since been popularly used as samples in hip-hop songs since the 1990s.
The project was a collaborative effort between the band's namesake, James D-Train Williams, who was featured as the lead vocalist and songwriter, and Hubert Eaves III, a keyboardist, who performed the instrumentation on the recordings.[1] Hailing from Brooklyn, New York City, Williams himself was a R&B-dance producer as well. He and Eaves met during high school and began performing together. Eaves would spend most of the 1970s as a member of the R&B band Mtume. However, by the 1980s, he and Williams had teamed up again. The group named itself "D Train" after a nickname Williams had acquired in high school.[3]
D Train released its first single "You're the One for Me" in late 1981.[1] The track became an instant success, hitting number 1 on the US Hot Dance Club Play chart that year; it was remixed and re-released successfully several times since and was contemporaneously covered by Paul Hardcastle with vocalist Kevin Henry in the United Kingdom. The duo's self-titled debut album (which prominently featured the "You're the One for Me" title on the front cover, and the album became known by this name) followed in early 1982, and several additional singles from this effort were successful on both the R&B and Dance charts, although they were not as popular as the debut hit. Among these tracks were "Keep On", which reached number 2 on the Dance chart, and a cover version of the Burt Bacharach and Hal David-penned "Walk On By", which owed more to the Isaac Hayes version than to Dionne Warwick's original recording.
In 1983, the band released its follow-up album, Music.[1] The title track became another dance-floor anthem and nearly equaled the success of the group's debut single. Several other singles from the album were moderately successful.
In 1984, D Train had its only Billboard Hot 100 entry with "Something's on Your Mind," which climbed to number 79 and was later covered by Miles Davis on his album You're Under Arrest. The single also cracked the top five on the R&B chart, becoming the group's biggest hit in that market as well. The accompanying album, also titled Something's on Your Mind, found the band branching out into new musical territory, incorporating elements of reggae and more adult-oriented R&B into their music.[4] Williams himself played acoustic guitar on a cover of Carole King's "So Far Away".
A greatest hits album titled You're the One for Me - The Very Best Of was released in the U.K. in 1985.[5] An equivalent compilation was not released in the U.S. until the following year.[6][7] Featured on this compilation was a remixed version of "You're the One for Me" that charted in the U.K. that same year. This version was remixed by Paul Hardcastle, who had previously issued a cover version of the song and, by 1985, had become well known for his own hit "19". Despite this success, the group disbanded that same year.
Following the dissolution of the group, D Train continued on as a successful solo career. Although billed as a solo artist, however, he did continue to work with Eaves acting as a producer and key instrumentalist.
In 1986, D Train released his debut album, Miracles of the Heart, which featured a top ten R&B single, "Misunderstanding". The follow-up single, "Oh, How I Love You, Girl" also performed well in the R&B market.[1]
His second album, In Your Eyes followed in 1988. The title track narrowly missed the R&B top ten, and one other single was also released.
D Train's albums were eventually re-released on CDs by Unidisc Music,[9] which acquired Prelude Records and several other New York dance-music labels during the 1990s.[10]
The Roland Corporation M-DC1 sound expansion module, released in 1995, features a vocal patch, "Aaaah! (169)", that is a sample of Williams's vocals in his 1986 solo single "Misunderstanding". The snippet, taken from the start of the line "I don’t want to lose you", was apparently used without Williams's knowledge or permission, and his identity as the source went uncredited and unknown until 2022. "Aaaah! (169)" was reportedly first used in Playa's 1998 single "Cheers 2 U" and has since become one of the most recognizable samples in hip-hop, appearing in songs such as Nelly's 2002 single "Dilemma", Migos's "Add It Up" from their 2014 album No Label 2, and Travis Scott's 2015 single "3500", among many others.[11][12]
"You're the One for Me" has been remixed by Larry Levan and Shep Pettibone, and has also been sampled in "I Got Love" by DJ Kue, and "Girls" by the Prodigy from its album Always Outnumbered Never Outgunned.[13] The Notorious B.I.G.'s "Sky's the Limit" interpolates part of "Keep On".[14] Rapper Yo-Yo's "Iz It Still All Good" sampled "Something's on Your Mind," which featured Gerald LeVert, in 1998.[15]
D Train contributed to the Pokémon anime's "PokéRAP" on the 1999 soundtrack album Pokémon 2.B.A. Master.[16] In 1999, D Train did the backup vocal for "Eyes of a Child", a song written by Trey Parker and Performed by Michael McDonald for the film South Park Bigger Longer & Uncut. "You're the One for Me" appears in the 2013 video game Grand Theft Auto V, as one of the songs played by the in-game funk radio station Space 103.2.
Williams was hired as a DJ for Heart & Soul Channel 51 on the Sirius Satellite Radio service based in New York City from 2001 to 2008.[17] In 2007, his performances of "My Funny Valentine" and Hot Chocolate's "You Sexy Thing" appeared on the soundtrack of the film Perfect Stranger.
Parliament - Breakdown (The Discography 1970-2018) + Bonus Tracks (10 Albums)
Parliament was an American funk band formed in 1968 by George Clinton as a flagship act of his P-Funk collective. Evolving out of an earlier vocal group, Parliament became associated with a more commercial and less rock-oriented sound than its sister act Funkadelic. Their work incorporated Afrofuturist concepts, horn arrangements, synthesizer, and outlandish theatrics.[2] The band scored a number of Top 10 hits, including the million-selling 1976 single "Give Up the Funk (Tear the Roof off the Sucker)," and Top 40 albums such as Mothership Connection (1975).
Parliament was originally The Parliaments, a doo-wop vocal group based at a Plainfield, New Jersey, barbershop.[3] The group was formed in the late 1950s and included George Clinton, Ray Davis, Fuzzy Haskins, Calvin Simon, and Grady Thomas.[3] Clinton was the group leader and manager. The group scored a hit single in 1967 with "(I Wanna) Testify" (co-written by Clinton) on Revilot Records.[3] To capitalize on this chart success, Clinton formed a touring band, featuring teenage barbershop employee Billy Nelson on bass and his friend Eddie Hazel on guitar, with the line-up eventually rounded out by Tawl Ross on guitar, Tiki Fulwood on drums, and Mickey Atkins on organ.
During a contractual dispute with Revilot, Clinton temporarily lost the rights to the name "The Parliaments", and signed the ensemble to Westbound Records as Funkadelic, which Clinton positioned as a funk-rock band featuring the five touring musicians with the five Parliaments singers as uncredited guests.[3] With Funkadelic as a recording and touring entity in its own right, in 1970 Clinton relaunched the singing group, now known as Parliament, at first featuring the same ten members.[3] Clinton was now the leader of two different acts, Parliament and Funkadelic, which featured the same members,[3] but were marketed as creating two different types of funk.
The Parliament album titled Osmium was released on Invictus Records in 1970,[3] and was later reissued on CD with non-album tracks as both Rhenium and First Thangs. Osmium featured a mostly psychedelic soul sound that was more similar to the Funkadelic albums of the period, than to the later Parliament albums. The song "The Breakdown" was released separately as a single, and reached No. 30 on the R&B chart in 1971.[3] Due to continuing contractual problems and the fact that Funkadelic releases were more successful at the time, Clinton temporarily abandoned the name Parliament (which he revived in 1974).[3]
Following Osmium, the line-up of Parliament-Funkadelic began going through many changes and was expanded significantly, with the addition of important members such as keyboardist Bernie Worrell in 1970, singer/guitarist Garry Shider in 1971, and bassist Bootsy Collins (recruited from the James Brown backing band) in 1972. Dozens of singers and musicians would contribute to future Parliament-Funkadelic releases. Clinton relaunched Parliament in 1974 and signed the act to Casablanca Records.[3] Parliament, now augmented by the Horny Horns (also recruited from James Brown's band) was positioned as a smoother R&B-based funk ensemble with intricate horn and vocal arrangements, and as a counterpoint to the guitar-based funk-rock of Funkadelic.[3] By this point, Parliament and Funkadelic were touring as a combined entity known as Parliament-Funkadelic or simply P-Funk (which also became the catch-all term for George Clinton's rapidly growing stable of funk artists).[3]
The album Up for the Down Stroke was released in 1974, with Chocolate City following in 1975.[3] Both performed strongly on the Billboard R&B album chart and were moderately successful on the pop chart. Parliament began its period of greatest mainstream success with the concept album Mothership Connection (1975), the lyrics of which launched much of the P-Funk mythology. The subsequent albums The Clones of Dr. Funkenstein (1976), Funkentelechy vs. the Placebo Syndrome (1977), and Motor Booty Affair (1978) all reached high on both the R&B and Pop charts, while Funkadelic was also experiencing significant mainstream success. Parliament scored the No. 1 R&B singles "Flash Light" in 1977 and "Aqua Boogie" in 1978.
The rapidly expanding ensemble of musicians and singers in the Parliament-Funkadelic enterprise, as well as Clinton's problematic management practices, began to take their toll by the late 1970s.[3] Original Parliaments members Fuzzy Haskins, Calvin Simon, and Grady Thomas, who had been with Clinton since the barbershop days in the late 1950s, departed acrimoniously in 1977, after disputes over Clinton's management. Other important group members like singer/guitarist Glenn Goins and drummer Jerome Brailey left Parliament-Funkadelic in 1978 after disputes over Clinton's management. Two further Parliament albums, Gloryhallastoopid (1979) and Trombipulation (1980) were less successful than the albums from the group's prime 1975-1978 period.
In the early 1980s, with legal difficulties arising from the multiple names used by multiple groups, as well as a shakeup at Casablanca Records, George Clinton dissolved Parliament and Funkadelic as recording and touring entities.[3] However, many of the musicians in later versions of the two groups remained employed by Clinton. Clinton continued to release new albums regularly, sometimes under his own name and sometimes under the name George Clinton & the P-Funk All-Stars. The P-Funk All-Stars continued to record and tour into the 1990s and 2000s, and regularly perform classic Parliament songs.
Parliament reformed in January 2018 and released the song "I'm Gon Make U Sick O'Me", which features the rapper Scarface.[4] This was the first new Parliament release in 38 years. Clinton also announced the title of a new Parliament album, Medicaid Fraud Dogg, which was released on May 22, 2018.[5] Most of the 23 tracks on the album were written by Clinton in collaboration with his son, Tracey Lewis. Guest musicians on the album include former long-time James Brown collaborators Fred Wesley and Alfred "Pee Wee" Ellis.
Funkadelic - Free Your Mind.... (The Anthology 1970-2014) 15Cd's
Funkadelic was an American funk rock band formed in Plainfield, New Jersey, in 1968 and active until 1982. As one of the two flagship groups of George Clinton's P-Funk collective, they helped pioneer the funk music culture of the 1970s.[1][5] Funkadelic initially formed as a backing band for Clinton's vocal group the Parliaments (later the full-fledged band Parliament), but eventually pursued a heavier, psychedelic rock-oriented sound in their own recordings.[5] They released acclaimed albums such as Maggot Brain (1971) and One Nation Under a Groove (1978).
The group that would become Funkadelic was formed by George Clinton in 1964, as the unnamed backing section for his doo wop group the Parliaments[6] while on tour. The band originally consisted of musicians Frankie Boyce, Richard Boyce, and Langston Booth plus the five members of the Parliaments on vocals. Boyce, Boyce, and Booth enlisted in the Army in 1966, and Clinton recruited bassist Billy Bass Nelson and guitarist Eddie Hazel in 1967, then added guitarist Tawl Ross and drummer Tiki Fulwood. The name "Funkadelic" was coined by Nelson after the band relocated to Detroit. By 1968, because of a dispute with Revilot, the record company that owned the Parliaments' name, the ensemble began playing under the name Funkadelic.
As Funkadelic, the group signed to Westbound in 1968. Around this time, the group's music evolved from soul and doo wop into a harder guitar-driven mix of psychedelic rock, soul and funk, much influenced by the popular musical (and political) movements of the time. Jimi Hendrix, Sly Stone, the MC5, and Vanilla Fudge were major inspirations.[8] This style later evolved into a tighter guitar and horns-based funk (circa 1971–75), which subsequently, during the height of Parliament-Funkadelic success (circa 1976–81), added elements of R&B and electronic music, with fewer psychedelic rock elements. The band made their first live television performance on Say Brother on October 7, 1969. They played a jam with songs "Into My Own Thing" (Sly and the Family Stone cover), "What Is Soul?", "(I Wanna) Testify", "I Was Made to Love Her" (Stevie Wonder cover), "Friday Night, August 14th" and "Music for My Mother".
The group's self-titled debut album, Funkadelic, was released in 1970. The credits listed organist Mickey Atkins plus Clinton, Fulwood, Hazel, Nelson, and Ross. The recording also included the rest of Parliament's singers (still uncredited because of contractual concerns), several uncredited session musicians then employed by Motown, as well as Ray Monette (of Rare Earth) and future P-Funk mainstay Bernie Worrell.
Bernie Worrell was officially credited starting with Funkadelic's second album, Free Your Mind... and Your Ass Will Follow (1970), thus beginning a long working relationship between Worrell and Clinton. The album Maggot Brain followed in 1971. The first three Funkadelic albums displayed strong psychedelic influences (not least in terms of production) and limited commercial potential, despite containing many songs that stayed in the band's setlist for several years and would influence many future funk, rock, and hip hop artists.
After the release of Maggot Brain, the Funkadelic lineup expanded greatly. Tawl Ross was unavailable after experiencing either a bad LSD trip or a speed overdose, while Billy Bass Nelson and Eddie Hazel quit due to financial concerns. From this point, many more musicians and singers would be added during Funkadelic's (and Parliament's) history, including the recruitment of several members of James Brown's backing band, the JB's, in 1972 – most notably Bootsy Collins and the Horny Horns. Bootsy and his brother Catfish Collins were recruited by Clinton to replace the departed Nelson and Hazel. Bootsy in particular became a major contributor to the P-Funk sound. In 1972, this new line-up released the politically charged double album America Eats Its Young. The lineup stabilized a bit with the album Cosmic Slop in 1973, featuring major contributions from recently added singer-guitarist Garry Shider. After first leaving the band, Eddie Hazel spent a year in jail after assaulting an airline flight attendant and air marshal while under the influence of PCP,[9][10] then he returned to make major contributions to the album Standing on the Verge of Getting It On (1974). Hazel only contributed to P-Funk sporadically thereafter.
George Clinton revived Parliament in 1974 and signed them to Casablanca Records. Parliament and Funkadelic featured mostly the same stable of personnel but operated concurrently under two names. At first, Parliament was designated as a more mainstream funk ensemble dominated by soulful vocals and horn arrangements, while Funkadelic was designated as a more experimental and freestyle guitar-based funk band. The ensemble usually toured under the combined name Parliament-Funkadelic or simply P-Funk (which also became the catch-all term for George Clinton's rapidly growing stable of funk artists). In 1975, Funkadelic released its most successful album yet, Let's Take It to the Stage, which nearly cracked the R&B top ten and the Billboard 100.
Later in 1975 Michael Hampton, a teen guitar prodigy, replaced Hazel as the premier lead guitarist in Parliament-Funkadelic, and was a major contributor to the next several Funkadelic albums. Funkadelic left Westbound in 1976 and moved to Warner Brothers. Their first album for Warner was Hardcore Jollies released in 1976. Just before leaving Westbound, Clinton provided that label with a collection of recently recorded outtakes, which Westbound released as the album Tales of Kidd Funkadelic. That album did significantly better commercially than Hardcore Jollies and included "Undisco Kidd", an R&B Top 30 single. In 1977, Westbound capitalized further by releasing the anthology The Best of the Early Years.
As Parliament began achieving significant mainstream success in the 1975–1978 period, Funkadelic recorded and released its most successful and influential album, One Nation Under a Groove in 1978, adding former Ohio Players keyboardist Walter "Junie" Morrison and reflecting a more melodic dance-based sound. The title track spent six weeks at number one on the R&B chart, around the time that Parliament was enjoying the number one R&B singles "Flash Light" and "Aqua Boogie". Uncle Jam Wants You in 1979 continued Funkadelic's new more electronic sound production. The album contains the fifteen-minute "(Not Just) Knee Deep" featuring former Spinners lead singer Philippé Wynne, an edited version of which topped the R&B charts. The final official Funkadelic album, The Electric Spanking of War Babies, was released in 1981. The release was originally a double-album project, but it was reduced to a single disc under pressure from Warner Brothers. Some of the deleted tracks would appear on future P-Funk releases, most notably the 1982 hit single "Atomic Dog" which appeared on the first George Clinton solo album.
Meanwhile, the album Connections & Disconnections (re-issued on CD as Who's a Funkadelic) was released under the name Funkadelic in 1981. The album was recorded by former Funkadelic members and original Parliaments Fuzzy Haskins, Calvin Simon, and Grady Thomas, who had left P-Funk in 1977 after disagreements with George Clinton's management practices. This LP, notable for its heavy use of Thomas "Pae-dog" McEvoy's jazz horn, contains the track called "You'll Like It Too", which became a very popular breakbeat source for the hip hop community in the 1980s. Former band member drummer Jerome Brailey released the album Mutiny on the Mamaship, by his new band Mutiny.
In the early 1980s, with legal difficulties arising from the multiple names used by multiple groups, as well as a shakeup at Parliament's record label, George Clinton dissolved Parliament and Funkadelic as recording and touring entities. However, many of the musicians in later versions of the two groups remained employed by Clinton. Clinton continued to release new albums regularly, sometimes under his own name and sometimes under the name George Clinton & the P-Funk All-Stars. In the mid-1980s, the penultimate Funkadelic studio album By Way of the Drum was recorded by Clinton with P-Funk personnel and many electronic devices. The album was rejected by its record label and did not see official release in America until it appeared as a reissue in 2007. It features a cover of "Sunshine Of Your Love" by Cream. The album did not receive any publicity but still received favorable reviews.
Clinton continued his P-Funk collective in the 1990s and 2000s, with a revolving stable of musicians, some of whom remain from the classic lineups of Funkadelic and Parliament. The rock-oriented sound of Funkadelic has diminished, as Clinton has moved towards more of an R&B and hip hop sound. In 1997 the group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.[12]
Filmmaker Yvonne Smith of New York City-based Brazen Hussy productions produced Parliament-Funkadelic: One Nation Under a Groove, a full-length documentary about the groundbreaking group, which aired on PBS in 2005.[13] As of 2008, Clinton was at work on a new Funkadelic album for his new record label. In November 2008, Westbound Records released Toys, a collection of Funkadelic outtakes and demos from the Free Your Mind and America Eats Its Young era. Critical reception of the album has generally been positive. In April 2013, the band released their first single in over 25 years when they released "The Naz". The song is a collaboration with Sly Stone and tells the story of Jesus Christ. The B-side to the song is "Nuclear Dog" which is guitar solo by P-Funk guitarist Dewayne "Blackbyrd" McKnight.
Funkadelic had a major influence on a large number of hip-hop artists, and the genre of hip-hop as a whole.[14] In particular, Dr. Dre references Funkadelic's sound as a major influence on his music, especially his G-funk sound.[15] Funkadelic's 1979 release "(Not Just) Knee Deep" in particular was sampled extensively by G-Funk artists, including placements on Dr. Dre's The Chronic, Snoop Dogg's Doggystyle, MC Hammer's Street Fighter OST, De La Soul's Me Myself and I and Tupac's All Eyez on Me.
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