George Clinton Tickets

As "The Prime Minister of Funk," George Clinton was behind two of the most successful funk bands ever, Parliament and Funkadelic, which provided modern day hip hop with a bevy of song samples.

Clinton ran a barber salon in Plainfield, NJ, before forming a doo wop group, The Parliaments. While the artist was originally interested in Motown, even employed as a staff songwriter for the label, he eventually shifted his interest to funk, and Parliament was born. The sound of the group was influenced by the likes of Sly and the Family Stone, James Brown, Jimi Hendrix and Cream. They took this sound to a new level, incorporating novel sounds and technology.

The P-Funk groups (Parliament and Funkadelic, as they were later known) were most successful in the 1970s, where they employed lots of synthesizer melodies, electronic bass lines, heavy jazz sections, minimal drum usage, concept albums chocked full of social commentary, and multi-track recording.

Many performers have mentioned that Clintons work with Parliament and Funkadelic was extremely influential to them, including Dr. Dre, Public Enemy, Prince, Red Hot Chili Peppers, OutKast and Digital Underground.

While the band eventually dissolved, Clinton continued to record albums with many of the P-Funk musicians. Clinton eventually signed to Capitol Records as a solo artist and the P.Funk All-Stars backed him. Successful singles during this time included "Atomic Dog," "Loopzilla," "Nubian Nut," "Do Fries Go with that Shake" and "Last Dance."

In 1985, Clinton produced the Red Hot Chili Peppers alum "Freaky Styley," and he was heavily involved with the album, which did not enjoy commercial success at the time, but has since been certified gold give times.

While the popularity that Clinton enjoyed in the '60s and '70s was not matched in the later decades, the popularity of hip hop began an art of music sampling. Along with James Brown, Clinton is thought to be one of the most heavily sampled musicians of all time.

In the '90s, Clinton became a sort of cult star. He was featured in films such as "Graffiti Bridge," "House Party," "PCU" and "Good Burger." He also worked with a number of hip hop stars, including Tupac Shakur, OutKast and Redman.