Born on 22 July: George Clinton, the slightly mad genius of American funk

He was born in Kannapolis, North Carolina (USA). The indefatigable grandfather of American funk celebrates his 83rd birthday.

Along with Sly Stone and James Brown, he's rightly regarded as one of the founding fathers of funk. With a serious grain of madness to boot! Parliament and Funkadelic, the two bands he firmly held the reins of in the '70s and the following decade, regularly went into psychedelic delirium bordering on science fiction. So much so that George Clinton's repertoire was given its own label. P-Funk was all about him, just him and a few of his close disciples.

After gradually closing the Parliament and Funkadelic chapters, Clinton continued to keep the P-Funk flame alive, initially with albums with visibly acid-fuelled titles (such as ‘You Shouldn't Nuf Big Fish’ in 1983 and ‘Hey Man, Smell My Finger’ ten years later). From the late 90s onwards, the great George was content with compilations, remixes or live versions of his devastating anthems.

If you're not familiar with the man, start by listening to his “Atomic Dog”. You'll be hypnotised... or not!

(MH with Stéphane Soupart / Photo : © Etienne Tordoir)

Photo: George Clinton at the Ancienne Belgique in Brussels (Belgium) in January 1990