Parliament

Formed by George Clinton in 1955 as vocal group The Parliaments, the band remained under the radar until their 1967 single “(I Wanna) Testify” became a hit. When Clinton decided to form a touring version of the band, he discovered that he had lost the rights to the band’s name, which was then owned by their label Revilot Records. He renamed the new band Funkadelic and changed the course of R&B, soul, and funk music forever. In 1970, Clinton relaunched The Parliaments as Parliament, releasing their debut album, Osmium. The album was recorded by the same musicians and vocalists in Funkadelic, but took the music in a different direction. Parliament returned with 1974’s Up for the Down Stroke, an album that set the stage for a new generation of cosmic funk. While George Clinton remained the best known member of Parliament (and Funkadelic), the band introduced the music world to talents such as Bootsy Collins (bass), Bernie Worrell (keyboards), Eddie Hazel (guitar), and many others. Parliament hit their commercial peak with their late 1975 release Mothership Connection and the album’s hit single “Tear the Roof of the Sucker (Give Up the Funk)”. While the original band broke up after 1980’s Trombipulation, Clinton revived the Parliament name for the album Medicaid Fraud Dogg in 2018. In the 50 years since their debut, Parliament has released 10 studio albums, two official live albums, and over a dozen compilations. To this very day, Parliament remain one of the most influential funk bands of all time.