Funkadelic was the debut album by the American funk

Funk

Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid-late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...

 band Funkadelic

Funkadelic

Funkadelic was an American band most prominent during the 1970s. The band and its sister act Parliament, both led by George Clinton, began the funk music culture of that decade.-History:...

, released in 1970 on Westbound Records

Westbound Records

Westbound Records is a Detroit-based record label founded by Armen Boladian in 1970. It had a distribution deal with Janus Records from 1970 to 1975, but then it switched distribution to 20th Century Records during 1975 and 1976, but again switched distribution to Atlantic Records from 1976 to...

. The album showcased a strong bass and rhythm section, as well as lengthy jam sessions, future trademarks of the band. The album contains two remakes of songs from The Parliaments

The Parliaments

The Parliaments were a doo-wop quintet from Plainfield, New Jersey, formed in the back room of a barbershop in the late 1950s and named after the cigarette brand. After some early personnel changes their lineup solidified with George Clinton, Ray Davis, Fuzzy Haskins, Calvin Simon, and Grady Thomas...

, an earlier band featuring George Clinton

George Clinton (funk musician)

George Clinton is an American singer, songwriter, bandleader, and music producer and the principal architect of P-Funk. He was the mastermind of the bands Parliament and Funkadelic during the 1970s and early 1980s, and launched a solo career in 1981. He has been cited as one of the foremost...

: "I Bet You" and "Good Old Music".

"Mommy, What's a Funkadelic?" and "What is Soul" contained the beginnings of Funkadelic's mythology, namely that "Funkadelic" and "the Funk" are alien in origin but not dangerous.

"I Got a Thing, You Got a Thing, Everybody's Got a Thing" was particularly notable for the epic guitar solo by Rare Earth

Rare Earth (band)

Rare Earth is an American rock band affiliated with Motown's Rare Earth record label , who prospered in 1970-1972. Although not the first white band signed to Motown, Rare Earth was the first big hit-making act signed by Motown that consisted only of white members...

's Ray Monette

Ray Monette

The American Ray Monette started his public career as a songwriter and musician in Detroit. In 1967 with an ephemeral band called 'The Abstract Reality', a 45 rpm single Love Burns Like A Fire Inside was released. With Mike Campbell, Bob 'Babbitt' Kreinar, and Andrew Smith he formed Scorpion...

. "I Bet You" was later covered by the Jackson 5 on their album ABC

ABC (album)

-Recording Sessions:August 1969 - March 1970Other tracks from ABC recording sessionsI Was Made To Love HerI Hear A SymphonyYou Ain't Giving Me What I Want We Can Have FunHoney Chile...

, and sampled by the Beastie Boys

Beastie Boys

Beastie Boys are an American hip hop trio from New York City. The group consists of Mike D who plays the drums, MCA who plays the bass, and Ad-Rock who plays the guitar....

 for their song "Car Thief". In more recent years The Red Hot Chili Peppers

Red Hot Chili Peppers

Red Hot Chili Peppers is an American rock band, formed in Los Angeles in 1983. The group's musical style primarily consists of rock with an emphasis on funk, as well as elements from other genres such as punk, hip hop and psychedelic rock...

 have combined the main riff of "Mommy, What's a Funkadelic?" and certain parts of the lyrics from "What Is Soul?" in live shows, a version appears as a B-Side on their 2002 single "By the Way

By the Way (song)

"By the Way" is a song by American funk rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers. It is the title track and the first single released from the band's eighth studio album of the same name...

".

Side one

1. "Mommy, What's a Funkadelic?" (George Clinton) - 9:04
2. "I Bet You" (Clinton, Patrick Lindsey, Sidney Barnes) - 6:10 (released as a single: Westbound 150)
3. "Music for My Mother" (Clinton, Eddie Hazel
   Eddie Hazel
   Edward Earl "Eddie" Hazel was a guitarist in early funk music in the United States who played lead guitar with Parliament-Funkadelic...
   
   , Billy Nelson
   Billy Bass Nelson
   William "Billy Bass" Nelson is a U.S. musician, who was the original bassist for Funkadelic. He is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, inducted in 1997 with fifteen other members of Parliament-Funkadelic....
   
   ) - 5:37 (released as a single: Westbound 148)
4. "I Got a Thing, You Got a Thing, Everybody's Got a Thing" (Clarence Haskins) - 3:52 (released as a single: Westbound 158)

Side two

5. "Good Old Music" (Clinton) - 7:59
6. "Qualify and Satisfy" (Clinton, Nelson, Hazel) - 6:15
7. "What Is Soul" (Clinton) - 7:40

2005 CD reissue bonus tracks

8. "Can't Shake It Loose" (Clinton, Barnes, Joanne Jackson, Rose Marie McCoy) - 2:28
9. "I Bet You" (Clinton, Lindsey, Barnes) - 4:10
10. "Music for My Mother" (Clinton, Hazel, Nelson) - 5:17
11. "As Good as I Can Feel" (Clinton, Haskins) - 2:31
12. "Open Our Eyes" (Leon Lumpkins) - 3:58
13. "Qualify and Satisfy" (Clinton, Nelson, Hazel) - 3:00
14. "Music for My Mother" (Clinton, Hazel, Nelson) - 6:14

Alternate 45 versions and non-album b-sides.

Track 8: Recorded in 1969 and scheduled as Westbound W 159

Track 9: Westbound W 150

Track 10: Westbound W 158

Track 11: Recorded in 1969 and scheduled as Westbound W 149

Track 12: Westbound W 150

Track 13: (45 version) Westbound W 150

Track 14: (Instrumental 45 version) Westbound W 159


Tracks 8-11, 14 are mono recordings.

Personnel

Note: Exact records of all personnel on all songs have been lost.

• George Clinton
  George Clinton (funk musician)
  George Clinton is an American singer, songwriter, bandleader, and music producer and the principal architect of P-Funk. He was the mastermind of the bands Parliament and Funkadelic during the 1970s and early 1980s, and launched a solo career in 1981. He has been cited as one of the foremost...
  
  : vocals
• Eddie Hazel
  Eddie Hazel
  Edward Earl "Eddie" Hazel was a guitarist in early funk music in the United States who played lead guitar with Parliament-Funkadelic...
  
  : lead guitar, vocals on "Mommy, What's a Funkadelic?" and "I Bet You"
• Lucius "Tawl" Ross
  Tawl Ross
  Lucius "Tawl" Ross was the rhythm guitarist for Funkadelic from 1968 to 1971 and played on their first three albums. He left the band in 1971 soon after a debilitating experience with LSD. He moved back to North Carolina and dropped out of the music scene, but resurfaced in 1995 after a nearly...
  
  : rhythm guitar, vocals on "Music for My Mother"
• Ray Monette
  Ray Monette
  The American Ray Monette started his public career as a songwriter and musician in Detroit. In 1967 with an ephemeral band called 'The Abstract Reality', a 45 rpm single Love Burns Like A Fire Inside was released. With Mike Campbell, Bob 'Babbitt' Kreinar, and Andrew Smith he formed Scorpion...
  
  : guitar on "I Got a Thing"
• Billy "Bass" Nelson: bass on "Mommy, What's a Funkadelic?" and "I Got a Thing"; vocals on "Mommy, What's a Funkadelic?" and "Music for My Mother"
• Bob Babbitt
  Bob Babbitt
  Bob Babbitt is an American bassist, most famous for his work as a member of Motown Records' studio band, the Funk Brothers, from 1966–1972, as well as his tenure as part of MFSB for Philadelphia International Records afterwards. Also in 1968-1970, with Mike Campbell, Ray Monette and Andrew Smith...
  
  : bass on "I Bet You"
• Mickey Atkins: organ on "Mommy, What's a Funkadelic?"
• Bernie Worrell
  Bernie Worrell
  George Bernard "Bernie" Worrell, Jr. is an American keyboardist and composer best known as a founding member of Parliament-Funkadelic and for his work with Talking Heads. He is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, inducted in 1997 with fifteen other members of Parliament-Funkadelic...
  
  : organ on "I Got a Thing"
• Earl Van Dyke
  Earl Van Dyke
  Earl Van Dyke was an African American musician, most notable as the main keyboardist for Motown Records' in-house Funk Brothers band during the late 1960s and early 1970s. Van Dyke was preceded as keyboardist and bandleader of the Funk Brothers by Joe Hunter...
  
  : keyboards on "I Bet You"
• Ramon "Tiki" Fulwood
  Tiki Fulwood
  Ramon "Tiki" Fulwood was a drummer for the funk bands Parliament and Funkadelic...
  
  : drums on "Mommy, What's a Funkadelic", "I Bet You", "I Got a Thing" and "Qualify and Satisfy"
• Brad Innis: drums on "Music for My Mother"
• Gasper Lawal: conga on "Music for My Mother"
• Herb Sparkman: lead vocals on "Music for My Mother"
• Clarence "Fuzzy" Haskins: lead vocals on "I Got a Thing"
• Calvin Simon
  Calvin Simon
  Calvin Eugene Simon is a former member of the bands Parliament and Funkadelic. He is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, inducted in 1997 with fifteen other members of Parliament-Funkadelic....
  
  : lead vocals on "Qualify and Satisfy"
• Additional vocals by Ray Davis
  Ray Davis (musician)
  Raymond "Ray" Davis was the original bass singer and one of the founding members of The Parliaments, Parliament, and Funkadelic. His regular nickname while he was with those groups was "Sting Ray Davis". Aside from George Clinton, he was the only original member of the Parliaments not to leave the...
  
  , Grady Thomas
  Grady Thomas
  Grady Thomas is a former member of the bands Parliament and Funkadelic. He is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, inducted in 1997 with fifteen other members of Parliament-Funkadelic...
  
   and some unknown female vocalists

Later Samples

• "Mommy, What's a Funkadelic?"
  • "Millie Pulled a Pistol on Santa" by De La Soul
    De La Soul
    De La Soul is an American hip hop trio formed in 1987 on Long Island, New York. The band is best known for their eclectic sampling, quirky lyrics, and their contributions to the evolution of the jazz rap and alternative hip hop subgenres...
    
     from the album De La Soul Is Dead
    De La Soul Is Dead
    De La Soul Is Dead is De La Soul's second full-length album, released in 1991 . The album was produced by Prince Paul, whose work on 3 Feet High and Rising was highly praised by music critics. The album was one of the first to receive a five mic rating in the Hip hop magazine The Source...
    
    
  • "Two to the Head" by Kool G Rap & DJ Polo from the album Live and Let Die
    Live and Let Die (album)
    Live And Let Die is the third, and final, studio album by the American hip hop duo Kool G Rap & DJ Polo, released November 24, 1992, on Cold Chillin'. The album features guest appearances from Ice Cube, Big Daddy Kane, Scarface, and Bushwick Bill...
    
    
• "I Bet You"
  • "Car Thief" by the Beastie Boys from the album "Paul's Boutique
    Paul's Boutique
    Paul's Boutique is the second studio album by American hip hop group Beastie Boys, released on July 25, 1989, on Capitol Records. Featuring production by the Dust Brothers, the recording sessions for the album took place in Matt Dike's Apartment and the Record Plant in Los Angeles from 1988 to...
    
    "
  • "A Penny for My Thoughts" by Common
    Common (rapper)
    Lonnie Rashid Lynn, Jr. , better known by his stage name Common , is an American hip-hop artist and actor....
    
     from the album Can I Borrow a Dollar?
    Can I Borrow a Dollar?
    Can I Borrow a Dollar? is the 1992 debut album by Chicago rapper Common, . released in the U.S on October 6, 1992. The album was entirely produced by No I.D , The Beatnuts and Twilite Tone. It contains guest vocals from Immenslope, Miss Jones and Common's then-girlfriend Rayshel...
    
    
• "Good Old Music"
  • "Young Black Male" by 2Pac from the album 2Pacalypse Now
    2Pacalypse Now
    - Unused Tracks :* "Crooked Nigga Too" * "Tears Of A Clown" * "Scared Straight '91"...
    
    
  • "Intro" by Nas
    Nas
    Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones, who performs under the name Nas , formerly Nasty Nas, is an American rapper and actor. He is regarded as one of the most important figures in hip hop and one of the most skilled and influential rappers of all-time...
    
     from the album Street's Disciple
    Street's Disciple
    Street's Disciple is the seventh studio album by American rapper Nas, released November 30, 2004 on Columbia Records in the United States. It is a double album entitled after one of his rhymes from "Live at the Barbeque" by Main Source, which was the song marking his musical debut...
    
    
  • "A Message to the Feds, Sincerely, We the People" by Nas from the album Street's Disciple
• "What Is Soul"
  • "Three Sixteens" by UGK
    UGK
    UGK was an American hip hop duo from Port Arthur, Texas formed in 1987 by the late Chad "Pimp C" Butler . He then joined with Bernard "Bun B" Freeman, who became his longtime partner...
    
     from the album "Super Tight
    Super Tight
    Super Tight... is the second album by UGK. As of 2011, it has sold 374,985 copies.-Track listing:#"Return"#"Underground"#"It's Supposed to Bubble"#"I Left It Wet for You"#"Feds In Town" #"Pocket Full of Stones Pt. 2"...
    
    "

Focus On Funkadelic

In conjunction with the release of Funkadelic, Westbound Records circulated a promotional single called "Focus On Funkadelic" to radio stations. The single features six snippets of tracks from the LP.

External links

• the Motherpage