Bevadine Zoma Terrell

"MY OTHER COLOURED GIRL MEMORIES"

George Clinton…”The Real OG of “Parliafunkadelicment”

“I try to be as funky as I need to get” – George Clinton

George Clinton also known as George Edward Clinton is The Man, The Myth, The Living Legend. He is indeed the OG of Funk. He is flamboyantly creative in style, performance, dress and funkhood. I was born and bred in Vauxhall, New Jersey. George Clinton was born in Kannnapolis, North Carolina on July 22, 1941. His family lived in Virginia and around 1950 his family settled  in Newark, New Jersey. George Clinton -was not only a musician, record producer, band leader and songwriter but also a beautician and owner of a barbershop in Plainfield, New Jersey called “The Silk Palace”. Many famous male entertainers also visited there to get a process hair style. My dad even went there once to get his process redone. I was introduced in 1967 to his music by my brother Tom Terrell. My first encounter hearing George Clinton singing with his group “The Parliaments” was listening to a 45 record that my brother brought home of their song “I Wanna Testify” which was a hit record at the time! From then on, every party that we had or attended in Vauxhall, Newark, Montclair or East Orange, New Jersey always played “I Wanna Testify” at least 4 or 5 times during the party. We heard the tune played over and over on our favorite radio station WNJR. Years later the Parliament group changed it’s name to Parliament  and Funkadelic. I attended many Parliament/Funkadelic concerts at Howard University and The Howard Theatre with my brother Tom, a photographer and music journalist extraordinaire. I even got a chance to meet him in 1978 at the Howard Theatre. On May 19, 2024 I saw George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic at the9:30 Club in Washington, D.C. In June of 2024 I got a chance to meet him again 46 years later to talk, reminisce and take pictures at The D.C. Commission of The Arts and Humanities exhibit honoring him in Washington, D.C. at the “A TOAST TO THE BOOGIE: ART IN THE NAME OF FUNK(ADELIC)”. The Funkadelic  concerts were always off the chain with people in Parliament Funkadelic attire. Everybody who attended danced, shaked their booty, screamed, sang with the songs, used their flashlights, tambourines, and blew their whistles. The crowds were jamming and becoming funkified. In 1975 Parliament, the band, released the CD “PARLIAMENT CHOCOLATE CITY” which was a tribute to Washington, D.C. The liner notes on the CD were written by my brother Tom Terrell. My brother also did a cameo appearance in the Parliaments video for their song “Do Fries Go With That Shake” in 1986.

Author – Bevadine Zoma Terrell 2024