In the early 1980s, George Clinton experienced legal problems with his massive body of musical output after a record label merger. As such, he had stopped his musical career and the P-Funk juggernaut. He did, however, produce Freaky Styley, the second release of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Then rap discovered P-Funk and sampled quite a bit… Son #1 says George Clinton is the most-sampled artist ever (Later, hip-hop artists sampled Clinton as well). I think James Brown is sampled more often…
Clinton forged a friendship with Prince who coerced George to resume his career. I saw George Clinton and the P-Funk All Stars for the first time in the late 1980s in Chicago at the Riviera Theater. ‘Twas the night before Halloween, I was at the show with my girlfriend and her sister (the audience was <10 white), and many people enjoyed the show wearing costumes.
Clinton released Hey Man, Smell My Finger on Prince’s label, Paisley Park, in 1993. This is Clinton at his finest. He’s got a tune on there called “Paint the White House Black” that includes Dr. Dre and Flavor Flav (So well before Barack Obama became President). Eric B and Rakim, Anthony Kiedis, Ice Cube, and Bootsy Collins, among others, also appear on this great piece of art.
I saw Clinton a second time, this being during the 1994 iteration of Lollapalooza along with the Beastie Boys, The Breeders, A Tribe Called Quest, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, and the Smashing Pumpkins were the last musical act. The Beastie Boys’ act sucked in the huge outdoor venue; Nick Cave impressed me greatly.
Approximately 10 years ago I brought son #1 to a Clinton performance to see the legend and his plethora of musicians on stage. If I recall correctly, he had 13 people on stage at once! By this time he served more as an on-stage director, pointing to musicians to entend jam sessions as the “floor general.” With no warm-up band, the show lasted over three hours! The Mothership brought the house down!!
I had tickets to see Mr. Clinton a fourth time last year, but COVID canceled those plans. The show got rescheduled and I saw Clinton’s act two weeks ago. He is now 80 years old, can barely move on stage, and rarely held a microphone to his face. His band consisted of maybe ten people under the age of 30, one maybe 50, and a guitarist over 70. I was so disappointed. George sat often while the youngsters rapped, thumped their chests, and the two female backup vocalists shook their booties for the audience. I recognized only a couple of tunes despite the huge catalogue from which to draw.
My most recent copy of Barron’s, a financial weekly, has a monthly insert called PENTA. The September issue is called, “What’s Next for NFT Art?” NFT=Non-fungible token. It is quite the rage these for artists and athletes to create a new revenue stream for themselves. Ever heard of Beeple? His compilation of his digital art sold last year at an auction for $69 million! George Clinton’s newly minted art piece called “MY DAWG” will be available as an NFT. He has other works of “art” that he intends to sell as NFTs. These pieces “feature abstract swirls of color [including spray paint] and reflect what’s on his mind as he paints.” I would not buy any of these items for $100! The PENTA article explained that a portion of Clinton’s NFT proceeds will go toward Saving Our Legacy, which helps musicians secure their catalogs. I guess he still sees a way to earn money (but no more of mine) at age 80.
