George Clinton Biography

George Clinton is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and bandleader deemed as one of the original inventors of funk music. His Parliament-Funkadelic collective led to the development of the influential and mixed form of funk during the 1970s which later generated Afrofuturism, psychedelia, outlandish fashion, and surreal humor. In 1982, he debuted his solo career with the Computer Games album which would later influence 1990s hip-hop and G-funk.

George Clinton Career

As a teen, Clinton worked at a barbershop in Plainfield, New Jersey where he straightened hair. At the time, he started a doo-wop group called the Parliaments after drawing inspiration from Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers. Clinton partly owned a barbershop on 216 Plainfield Avenue called “Silk Palace. The barbershop had several members of Parliament-Funkadelic and was known as a hangout spot for all the local singers and musicians in Plainfield’s 1950s and 1960s doo-wop, soul, rock, and proto-funk music scene.

Clinton alongside James Brown and Sly Stone is deemed as one of the original inventors of funk music. In 1997, he served as an inductee of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame alongside 15 other members of Parliament-Funkadelic. In 2019, he and Parliament-Funkadelic received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

1960s to 2000;

Briefly, during the 1960s, Clinton worked as a staff songwriter for Motown. In the 80s, he started receiving legal problems after PolyGram acquired Parliament’s label, Casablanca Records. He recorded several solo albums even though they had feature contributions from P-Funk’s core musicians. As a result of legal problems, he has financial difficulties because of copyright and royalty issues significantly with  Bridgeport Music. According to Clinton, Bridgeport Music obtained the copyrights to many of his recordings unscrupulously.

In 1982, Clinton signed with  Capitol Records under two names; as a solo artist and as the P-Funk All-Stars. That same year, he released Computer Games under his name. His single, “Loopzilla,” reached the Top 20 on the R&B charts succeeded by “Atomic Dog” which hit 1 R&B and #101 on the pop chart. Clinton released three more studio albums in the next 4 years; You Shouldn’t-Nuf Bit Fish, Some of My Best Jokes Are Friends, and R&B Skeletons in the Closet. Also, he released the Mothership Connection live album. “Nubian Nut,” “Last Dance,” and “Do Fries Go with That Shake?” charted in the R&B Top 30.

In 1989, he issued The Cinderella Theory on Paisley Park, Prince’s record label. He continued working with Paisley Park and released Hey, Man, Smell My Finger in 1993. The following year, he worked as a contributor to various tracks on Primal Scream’s studio album, Give Out But Don’t Give Up. In 1995, he sang “Mind Games” on John Lennon’s tribute, Working Class Hero. Next, he signed with Sony 550 and in 1996, published T.A.P.O.A.F.O.M. (The Awesome Power of a Fully Operational Mothership). In 1999, he worked with Fred Durst and  Lil’ Kim on  Methods of Mayhem’s single “Get Naked.”

Films and TV Shows

Aside from music, Clinton appeared in several films like House Party, Graffiti Bridge, Good Burger, PCU, and The Breaks. In 1994, he hosted Cosmic Slop and in 1997 made a guest appearance in Cartoon Network’s Space Ghost Coast to Coast. Further, he voiced the Funktipus, a DJ of Bounce FM, a funk radio station. In the 2004 video game, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. Additionally, his song, “Loopzilla” appeared in the game. 

Music Producing

As a music producer, he’s significantly known for performing on all the albums he works on. He has produced albums for Red Hot Chili Peppers and Bootsy Collins to list a few. In 1985, the Chili Peppers enlisted him to produce their album, Freaky Styley, since the band members were big fans of him and his funk.

Clinton wrote the lyrics and vocals for the title track which originally was supposed to be an instrumental piece. At the time, the album did not attain commercial success. In 1987, The Tracey Ullman Show enlisted him to write their theme song, “You’re Thinking Right.” During the mid to late 80s, numerous hip-hop and rap artists mentioned his early music as an influence.

2000s;

Showing his influence on the hip hop and rap community, Clinton worked with Tupac Shakur on “Can’t C Me” from the album All Eyez on Me and Ice Cube on “Bop Gun (One Nation)” on the Lethal Injection album which had used Funkadelic’s “One Nation Under a Groove” as a sample. Additionally, he worked with Outkast on “Synthesizer” from the Aquemini album, Redman on “J.U.M.P.” from the  Malpractice album, and Souls of Mischief on “Mama Knows Best” from the Conflict, Climax, Resolution album Trilogy. Further, he worked with Killah Priest on “Come With Me” from the Priesthood album and the Wu-Tang Clan on “Wolves” from the 8 Diagrams album.

In 2003, Clinto founded the record label, The C Kunspyruhzy. He made a cameo appearance in CBS’s How I Met Your Mother in September 2006. The following year, he appeared in the intro of Tha Blue Carpet Treatment album by Snoop Dogg. He served as a judge during the 5th annual Independent Music Awards.

On September 16, 2008, Clinton released George Clinton and His Gangsters of Love, a solo album, on Shanachie Records. Broadcast Music Incorporated granted him the Urban Icon Award on September 10, 2009. That same year, he served as an inductee of the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame.

2010s to present;

On March 7, 2010, Clinton provided a voice-over for a colorful blob alien rendition of himself in Freaknik: The Musical. In May 2012,  Berklee College of Music granted him an Honorary Doctorate of Music. At the commencement concert, he alongside the college’s P-Funk Ensemble performed hits such as “Testify,” “Give Up the Funk,” and “One Nation Under a Groove.”

In 2013, Clinton made a guest appearance in the TV show Loiter Squad on Adult Swim. On June 20, 2015, he alongside Mary J. Blige, Grandmaster Flash, and Mark Ronson, performed Ronson’s hit “Uptown Funk” on stage at the Glastonbury Festival. Moreover, he appeared in Kendrick Lamar’s “Wesley’s Theory.” In March 2017, he made an appearance in Adult Swim’s FishCenter Live.

Clinton worked with Flying Lotus on his album, Flamagra, which was released on May 24, 2019. Additionally, he co-wrote “Burning Down the House.” He provided the voiceover for King Quincy in Trolls World Tour.

In 2022, he competed as Gopher” in SN 8 of The Masked Singer. He was eliminated on “Hall of Fame Night” with George Foreman who competed as “Venus Fly Trap.” Clinton performed “Give Up the Funk (Tear the Roof Off the Sucker)” with  Sheila E., Nick Cannon, and Robin Thicke as his backup. During his solo show at Jeffrey Deitch Gallery in Los Angeles, he displayed sculptures and paintings alongside Lauren Halsey.

George Clinton Age

Clinton was born George Edward Clinton on July 22, 1941, in Kannapolis, North Carolina, U.S.A. He is 82 years old as of 2023. He celebrates his birthday every July 22nd.

George Clinton Height

Clinton stands at an approximate height of 5 feet and 9 inches

George Clinton Family

Clinton grew up in Plainfield, New Jersey where he worked at a barbershop during his teen years. Even so, he has managed to keep his personal life away from the limelight hence he has not disclosed any information about his parents. It is also not known if Clinton has any siblings.

George Clinton Wife

Clinton married Carlon Thompson-Clinton. Carlon worked as his manager for more than 10 years. Before Carlon, he was married to Stephanie Lynn Clinton after exchanging vows in 1990. After a 22-year marriage, he filed for divorce from Stephanie in February 2013.

George Clinton Son Death

On February 1, 2010, George Clinton Jr., his son, was found dead at his home in Florida at the age of 50. According to police, he had passed away due to natural causes and had been dead for a number of days.

George Clinton Net Worth

Clinton has an estimated net worth ranging between $1 Million – $5 Million which he has earned through being a singer, songwriter, record producer, and bandleader.

George Clinton Parliament-Funkadelic

Clinton’s Parliament-Funkadelic collective led to the development of the influential and mixed form of funk during the 1970s which later generated Afrofuturism, psychedelia, outlandish fashion, and surreal humor. Rap producers often used his songs with Parliament-Funkadelic as samples. In 1996, he commented on it saying that they should use his songs since there was no better time for him to get paid at his age.

The Parliaments first had a commercial flop, one big hit single with (I Wanna) Testify in 1967, and arranged and produced singles on numerous independent Detroit soul music labels. Eventually, they found success under the name Parliament and Funkadelic in the 1970s. The band incorporated elements of musicians like Sly and the Family Stone, Frank Zappa, Jimi Hendrix, and James Brown while analyzing several sounds, lyricism, and technology. During the 1970s, Clinton and Parliament-Funkadelic controlled Black music where they had more than 40 R&B hit singles and three platinum albums.

From 1971 to late 1973, Clinton and a couple of other band members settled in Toronto. While in Toronto, they sharpened their live show and recorded the America Eats Its Young album, which featured Bootsy Collins for the first time. In 1997, he served as an inductee of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame alongside 15 other members of Parliament-Funkadelic. In 2019, he and Parliament-Funkadelic received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

Clinton along with Parliament-Funkadelic headlined the 7th yearly Treefort Music Fest in Boise, Idaho in 2018. They released a new album called Medicaid Fraud Dogg on May 22, 2018. The Recording Academy announced that they would give Clinton and Parliament-Funkadelic Lifetime Achievement Awards in December 2018. They received the awards on May 11, 2019.

George Clinton We Want The Funk

CLICK to view the song.

George Clinton Flashlight

Clinton wrote Flash Light alongside Bernie Worrell and Bootsy Collins. The song was released on January 28, 1978, on the album Funkentelechy Vs. the Placebo Syndrome. It hit 1 R&B making it the first #1 R&B hit by any of the P-Funk groups. Also, the song peaked at #16 on the U.S. pop chart and spent 4 months there. CLICK to view the song.

George Clinton Computer Games

In 1982, Clinton released the album, Computer Games as a solo artist while he was signed to Capitol Records. The album had two hit singles, “Loopzilla” which hit the Top 20 on the R&B charts, and “Atomic Dog” which hit 1 R&B and #101 on the pop chart

Atomic Dog George Clinton

Clinton sang Atomic Dog and released it via Capitol Records in December 1982. It hit #1 on the U.S. R&B Chart. The song has been used as a sample in various hip-hop songs. The song’s video received two Billboard Video Music Award nominations including Best Special Effects and Best Art Direction. CLICK to view the song.

George Clinton Retirement/Surgery

In April 2018, Clinton declared that he would retire from touring in May 2019. Billboard then reported that Clinton had undergone pacemaker surgery but said that the surgery was not a factor in his decision to retire. Further, he implied that he anticipated that Parliament-Funkadelic would continue touring without him. Moreover, he said that it was never about him but rather the music and band calling that the real P-Funk legacy.

George Clinton Songs

The following are Clinton’s solo singles;

• Loopzilla
• Atomic Dog
• Nubian Nut
• Do Fries Go with That Shake?
• R&B Skeletons (In the Closet)
• Why Should I Dog You Out?
• Tweakin’
• Paint the White House Black
• Martial Law
• If Anybody Gets Funked Up (It’s Gonna Be You)” (as George Clinton & the P-Funk All-Stars