The Authorized P-Funk Song Reference, page 9
Bass: Cordell Mosson
Piano, Electric Piano: Bernie Worrell
Guitar: Garry Shider
“All Your Goodies Are Gone” is a remake that possibly outranks the original, with George Clinton extolling a singular character in wispy falsetto that outshined others on an album replete with the style. Bernie Worrell’s piano work is among his best, and Cordell Mosson’s bass line in the intro is extremely infectious. The trademark pocket and feel is none other than original Funkadelic drummer Tiki Fulwood.
“Whatever Makes Baby Feel Good”
Lead Vocals: George Clinton
Backup Vocals: Eddie Hazel, Garry Shider
Drums: Man in the Box, Tyrone Lampkin
Piano: Bernie Worrell
Bass: Cordell Mosson
Guitar: Eddie Hazel
“Presence of a Brain”
Lead Vocals: Garry Shider
Backup Vocals: Calvin Simon
Drums: Man in the Box
Bass: Calvin Simon
Clavinet, Organ: Bernie Worrell
Chocolate City
“Chocolate City”
Lead Vocals: George Clinton
Backup Vocals: Garry Shider, Mudbone Cooper, Mallia Franklin, Bootsy Collins
Drums: Man in the Box
Bass, Guitar: Bootsy Collins
Piano: Bernie Worrell
Sax: John Brumbach
“Chocolate City” was one of the most socially conscious of Parliament’s singles, touching on the accession of African Americans to the highest ranks of American governmental offices and the like, including the presidency itself, something that George Clinton would touch on 33 years before it saw actual fruition. The song was ahead of its time thematically, musically, and, most of all, lyrically.
“Ride On”
Lead Vocals: George Clinton
Backup Vocals: Garry Shider, Mallia Franklin, Mudbone Cooper, Bootsy Collins
Drums, Bass: Bootsy Collins
Guitar: Garry Shider, Bootsy Collins
Clavinet: Bernie Worrell
Trumpet, Sax: Detroit Horn Section
“Ride On” was in the same vein as “Downstroke,” but it had a slightly more “fuzzed-up” feel. Indeed, the song began a dance funk craze within the P-Funk canon that is all over the Chocolate City album. Bootsy is a big part of the rhythm section on this cut.
“Together”
Lead Vocals: Mudbone Cooper, Garry Shider
Backup Vocals: George Clinton, Bootsy Collins, Mallia Franklin
Drums, Bass: Bootsy Collins
Guitar: Catfish Collins
Clavinet: Bernie Worrell
Trumpet, Sax: Detroit Horn Section
“Side Effects”
Lead Vocals: George Clinton, Ray Davis
Backup Vocals: Pat Lewis, Diane Lewis, Rose Williams
Drums: Cordell Mosson
Bass: Bootsy Collins
Guitar: Garry Shider, Bootsy Collins
Clavinet: Bernie Worrell
Trumpet, Sax: Detroit Horn Section
“What Comes Funky”
Lead Vocals: George Clinton
Backup Vocals: Pat Lewis, Diane Lewis, Rose Williams, George Clinton
Drums: Gary Mudbone Cooper
Bass: Bootsy Collins
Piano: Bernie Worrell
Guitar: Bootsy Collins, Garry Shider
Trumpet, Sax: Detroit Horn Section
“Let Me Be”
Lead Vocals: Eddie Hazel
Backup Vocals: Ray Davis
All Keyboards, Piano, Strings: Bernie Worrell
“If It Don’t Fit (Don’t Force It)”
Lead Vocals: Eddie Hazel, Garry Shider
Backup Vocals: Eddie Hazel, George Clinton, Garry Shider
Drums: Tyrone Lampkin
Bass: Cordell Mosson
Guitar: Eddie Hazel, Garry Shider
Clavinet: Bernie Worrell
“I Misjudged You”
Lead Vocals: George Clinton, Calvin Simon
Backup Vocals: Fuzzy Haskins, Grady Thomas, Ray Davis
Drums: Tyrone Lampkin
Piano, Keyboards: Bernie Worrell
Strings, Woodwinds: Toronto Strings
Bass: Prkash John
Guitar: Garry Shider
“Big Footin’”
Lead Vocals: Glenn Goins
Backup Vocals: Ray Davis, Mallia Franklin, Debbie Wright, George Clinton, Garry Shider
Drums: Tyrone Lampkin or Fuzzy Haskins
Bass: Cordell Mosson
Guitar: Garry Shider
Keyboards: Bernie Worrell
Mothership Connection
“P.Funk (Wants to Get Funked Up)”
Lead Vocals: George Clinton
Backup Vocals: Mudbone Cooper, Glenn Goins, Garry Shider, Sidney Barnes, Taka Boom
Drums: Mudbone Cooper
Bass: Bootsy Collins
Piano, Strings: Bernie Worrell
Guitar: Garry Shider
Trombone: Fred Wesley
Sax: Michael Brecker, Maceo Parker, Joe Farrell
Trumpet: Randy Brecker
“P.Funk (Wants to Get Funked Up),” often surnamed “Make My Funk the P-Funk,” is possibly the most important anthem of purpose—or at least the most significant treatise on the genre we know today as P-Funk. It solidified the intentions through George Clinton’s wicked early DJ-style rap; Bootsy Collins’s liquid space bass; Bernie Worrell’s classically dipped phrases and chords; Garry Shider’s consistent, rhythmic guitar strokes; the Horny Horns (fresh from the James Brown camp); and the Brecker Brothers’ jazzy horn swells and the classic adage used therein: “Make my funk the P-Funk. I wants to get funked up.”
“Mothership Connection (Star Child)”
Lead Vocals: George Clinton, Glenn Goins
Backup Vocals: George Clinton, Glenn Goins, Garry Shider, Mudbone Cooper, Bootsy Collins, Taka Boom, Rasputin Boutte, Bryna Chimenti, and Archie Ivy
Drums: Mudbone Cooper
Bass: Bootsy Collins
Keyboards, Synthesizers: Bernie Worrell
Guitar: Garry Shider, Glenn Goins
Trombone: Fred Wesley
Sax: Maceo Parker, Michael Brecker
Trumpet: Randy Brecker
“Mothership Connection (Star Child)” is the beginning of the phase of science fiction madness coming from the innovative brain of George Clinton. This song is another great example from the Clinton-Collins-Worrell writing team, and the “Swing Down Sweet Chariot” section is among P-Funk’s most well-known moments and the most sampled. Dr. Dre won a Grammy using this section to create a new song called “Let Me Ride.”
“Unfunky U.F.O.”
Lead Vocals: Glenn Goins, George Clinton
Backup Vocals: Garry Shider, Glenn Goins, George Clinton, Mudbone Cooper
Drums: Jerome Brailey
Bass: Bootsy Collins
Guitar: Garry Shider
Synthesizers: Bernie Worrell
Trombone: Fred Wesley
Sax: Maceo Parker, Michael Brecker
Trumpet: Randy Brecker
“Supergroovalisticprosifunkstication (The Thumps Bump)”
Lead Vocals: Ray Davis, George Clinton, Glenn Goins
Backup Vocals: Glenn Goins, Garry Shider, Mudbone Cooper, Mallia Franklin, Debbie Wright
Drums: Gary Mudbone Cooper
Percussion: Gary Mudbone Cooper, Bootsy Collins
Bass: Bootsy Collins
Synthesizers, Piano: Bernie Worrell
Guitar: Glenn Goins, Garry Shider
“Handcuffs”
Lead Vocals: Glenn Goins, George Clinton
Backup Vocals: Garry Shider, Mudbone Cooper, Taka Boom, Glenn Goins, George Clinton, Mallia Franklin
Drums: Tiki Fulwood
Bass: Cordell Mosson
Guitar: Michael Hampton, Garry Shider, Glenn Goins
Keyboards: Bernie Worrell
Trombone: Fred Wesley
Sax: Michael Brecker, Maceo Parker
Trumpets: Randy Brecker
“Give Up the Funk (Tear the Roof Off the Sucker)”
Vocals: Ray Davis, George Clinton, Garry Shider, Glenn Goins, Mudbone Cooper, Jeannette Washington, Debbie Wright, Sidney Barnes, Taka Boom
Drums: Jerome Brailey
Bass: Bootsy Collins
Synth Strings: Bernie Worrell
Guitar: Garry Shider, Bootsy Collins
Trombone: Fred Wesley
Sax: Maceo Parker, Michael Brecker
Trumpet: Randy Brecker
“Give Up the Funk (Tear the Roof Off the Sucker)” did not hit the top of the rhythm-and-blues charts, but it was among the first (if not the first) P-Funk song to hit the pop charts. Indeed, many casual music listeners who are unindoctrinated with the subject matter still know the classic “We want the funk” chant in the main section of this song.
“Night of the Thumpasaurus Peoples”
Vocals: Ray Davis, George Clinton, Mudbone Cooper, Garry Shider, Sidney Barnes, Debbie Wright, Jeannette Washington, Grady Thomas, Fuzzy Haskins, Calvin Simon, Glenn Goins
Drums: Mudbone Cooper
Bass: Bootsy Collins
Guitar: Garry Shider
Synthesizers, Keyboards: Bernie Worrell
Trombone: Fred Wesley
Sax: Maceo Parker, Michael Brecker
Trumpet: Randy Brecker
Unreleased (slated for the Mothership Connection album)
“Live Up”
Lead Vocals: Glenn Goins
Backup Vocals: Garry Shider, Calvin Simon, Grady Thomas, Fuzzy Haskins, George Clinton, Pat Lewis, Telma Hopkins, Joyce Vincent
Drums: Jerome Brailey
Bass: Cordell Mosson
Guitar: Garry Shider
Keyboards, Strings: Bernie Worrell
Trombone: Fred Wesley
Sax: Maceo Parker
Trumpet: Richard Griffith, Rick Gardner
The Clones of Dr. Funkenstein
“Prelude”
Lead Vocals: George Clinton
Backup Vocals: Mudbone Cooper
Keyboards, Strings: Bernie Worrell
Percussion: Mudbone Cooper, George Clinton
“Gamin’ on Ya”
Vocals: Glenn Goins, Garry Shider, Mudbone Cooper, Cordell Mosson, George Clinton, Taka Boom
Drums: Jerome Brailey
Bass: Bootsy Collins
Guitar: Garry Shider, Bootsy Collins
Keyboards: Bernie Worrell
Trombone: Fred Wesley
Sax: Maceo Parker, Michael Brecker
Trumpet: Richard Griffith, Rick Gardner, Randy Brecker
“Dr. Funkenstein”
Lead Vocals: George Clinton
Backup Vocals: Mudbone Cooper, Bootsy Collins, Debbie Wright, Jeannette Washington, Garry Shider, Glenn Goins, Taka Boom
Drums: Mudbone Cooper
Bass: Bootsy Collins
Guitar: Garry Shider, Glenn Goins
Synthesizers, Piano: Bernie Worrell
Trombone: Fred Wesley
Sax: Maceo Parker
Trumpet: Richard Griffith, Rick Gardner
“Dr. Funkenstein” adds a bit of “monster movie” lore into the already fantastical sci-fi trappings of Parliament, shifting the focus even more on character development and storylines. The Clones of Dr. Funkenstein would see the beginning of character-driven tunes that would soon feature “Bootzilla,” “Sir Nose D’VoidofFunk,” “Mr. Wiggles,” “Uncle Jam,” and many others.
“Children of Production”
Lead Vocals: George Clinton, Glenn Goins
Backup Vocals: Garry Shider, Mudbone Cooper, Jeannette Washington, Debbie Wright, Ray Davis, Grady Thomas, Calvin Simon, George Clinton, Glenn Goins, Taka Boom
Drums: Jerome Brailey
Bass: Bootsy Collins
Guitar: Bootsy Collins, Garry Shider
Synth Strings: Bernie Worrell
Trombone: Fred Wesley
Sax: Maceo Parker
Trumpet: Richard Griffith, Rick Gardner
“Children of Production” features Parliament closely within the grasp of a dizzying height of creative input from all. Vastly appealing sounds were spinning over the edifices of this song. The vocal section is delightful to recite and became a heralded a cappella chant when the song was done live. The album version has really intricate rhythm and horn work with special mention to Bootsy, Garry Shider, Bernie Worrell, and the Horny Horns (Fred Wesley, Maceo Parker, Richard “Kush” Griffith, and Rick Gardner), especially on the outro section.
“Getten’ to Know You”
Lead Vocals: Garry Shider
Backup Vocals: Cordell Mosson, Glenn Goins, George Clinton, Mudbone Cooper, Taka Boom
Drums: Cordell Mosson
Bass, Guitar: Garry Shider
Piano, Strings: Bernie Worrell
Trombone: Fred Wesley
Sax: Michael Brecker, Maceo Parker
Trumpet: Richard Griffith, Rick Gardner
“Do That Stuff”
Lead Vocals: George Clinton, Glenn Goins, Garry Shider
Backup Vocals: Taka Boom, Mudbone Cooper, Ray Davis
Drums: Jerome Brailey
Bass: Cordell Mosson
Electric Piano: Bernie Worrell
Guitar: Garry Shider, Michael Hampton
Trombone: Fred Wesley
Sax: Maceo Parker
Trumpet: Rick Gardner, Richard
“Do That Stuff” was the biggest hit on the Clones of Dr. Funkenstein album and features classic Parliament lead vocal swapping by George Clinton and guitarists Garry Shider and Glenn Goins. It also features a classic riff that had already been used in “You Can’t Miss What You Can’t Measure” by Funkadelic. This process of recycling riffs and lyrics and altering the arrangements would be employed by P-Funk many times in its history.
“Everything Is on the One”
Vocals: George Clinton, Garry Shider, Glenn Goins, Cordell Mosson, Mudbone Cooper, Taka Boom
Drums: Bootsy Collins
Bass: Cordell Mosson
Guitars: Bootsy Collins, Garry Shider
Synthesizers, Strings: Bernie Worrell
Trombone: Fred Wesley
Sax: Michael Brecker, Maceo Parker
Trumpets: Randy Brecker, Richard Griffith, Rick Gardner
“I’ve Been Watching You
(Move Your Sexy Body)”
Lead Vocals: Glenn Goins
Backup Vocals: George Clinton, Garry Shider, Mudbone Cooper, Cordell Mosson, Taka Boom
Drums, Bass: Cordell Mosson
Guitars: Garry Shider, Glenn Goins
Electric Piano: Bernie Worrell
Sax: Michael Brecker
Trumpet: Randy Brecker, Richard Griffith, Rick Gardner
Trombone: Fred Wesley
“Funkin’ for Fun”
Lead Vocals: Glenn Goins
Backup Vocals: Garry Shider, George Clinton, Mudbone Cooper, Cordell Mosson, Taka Boom
Drums: Jerome Brailey
Bass: Cordell Mosson
Guitar: Michael Hampton, Garry Shider
Electric Piano: Bernie Worrell
Trombone: Fred Wesley
Sax: Michael Brecker, Maceo Parker
Trumpet: Randy Brecker, Richard Griffith, Rick Gardner
“Funkin’ for Fun” was one of vocalist Glenn Goin’s most well-known offerings to the P-Funk camp. In the heyday of the Mothership Tour, this would be the encore at many shows.
Studio tracks from Parliament Live: P-Funk Earth Tour
“This Is the Way We Funk with You”
Lead Vocals: Glenn Goins
Backup Vocals: Lynn Mabry, Dawn Silva, George Clinton, Garry Shider, Ray Davis
Snore: Michael Hampton
Drums: Gary Mudbone Cooper
Bass: Bootsy Collins
Guitar: Eddie Hazel
Keyboards, Synthesizer: Bernie Worrell
“Fantasy Is Reality”
Lead Vocals: Glenn Goins
Backup Vocals: Bernie Worrell, Dawn Silva, Lynn Mabry
Drums, Bass: Cordell Mosson
Guitar: Eddie Hazel
Piano: Bernie Worrell
Funkentelechy Vs. The Placebo Syndrome
“Bop Gun”
Lead Vocals: Glenn Goins
Backup Vocals: Jeannette Washington, Debbie Wright, Mallia Franklin, Lynn Mabry, Dawn Silva, Garry Shider, Glenn Goins, Gary Mudbone Cooper, George Clinton
Drums, Bass: Bootsy Collins
Guitar: Garry Shider, Glenn Goins
Parliament-Funkadelic’s Glenn Goins and Garry Shider. © Diem Jones
Piano, Strings: Bernie Worrell
Clavinet: Joel Johnson
Trombone: Fred Wesley
Sax: Maceo Parker
Trumpet: Richard Griffith, Rick Gardner
“Bop Gun” has a classic guitar harmony intro, Glenn Goins lead vocal gospel gymnastics, and raw energy. It begins the concept of the massively successful Funkentelechy Vs. The Placebo Syndrome album. Of all the songs on the list, this one had the most debate between primary sources and secondary sources as to personnel. According to an interview with another musicologist, Bootsy Collins had allegedly stated that “Bop Gun” and “Sir Nose D’VoidofFunk” featured Frankie “Kash” Waddy on drums. However, both George Clinton and Gary Mudbone Cooper attest to Bootsy himself being the drummer (as he was on many records on this album) and Mudbone being the drummer on “Sir Nose.” Garry Shider and Glenn Goins have been universally accepted as the guitarists on this album, but there had also been attestations in secondhand sources of Cordell “Boogie” Mosson and Ricky Rouse being on guitar on this record, though there is no tangible primary source information to attest to this.
“Sir Nose D’VoidofFunk
(Pay Attention-B3M)”
Lead Vocals: George Clinton
Backup Vocals: Glenn Goins, Cordell Mosson, Ray Davis, Debbie Wright, Jeannette Washington, Mallia Franklin, Garry Shider, Lynn Mabry, Dawn Silva, Linda Shider
Drums: Gary Mudbone Cooper
Bass: Bootsy Collins
Guitar: Garry Shider, Glenn Goins
Clavinet, Synthesizers, Strings: Bernie Worrell
Trombone: Clayton Lawrey
Sax: Darryl Dixon
Trumpet: Danny Cortez, Valerie Drayton
“Wizard of Finance”
Lead Vocals: George Clinton
Backup Vocals: Glenn Goins, Mudbone Cooper, Garry Shider
Drums, Bass: Cordell Mosson
Guitar: Garry Shider
Synthesizers: Bernie Worrell
Sax: Maceo Parker
Trombone: Fred Wesley
