Parliament was originally The Parliaments, a doo-wop group based out of George Clinton's Plainfield, New Jersey barber shop. The name was soon abandoned due to legal issues with Revilot and Atlantic Records, and most of the same people recorded under the name Funkadelic, which consisted of The Parliaments' backing musicians, most importantly Billy Bass Nelson. Soon, Parliament was created in addition to Funkadelic and the two bands consisted of essentially the same people (see List of P Funk members), though both released albums under their respective names.
The legal problems with the name "The Parliaments" were resolved in 1970, and Clinton signed all of Funkadelic to Invictus Records under the name Parliament, releasing Osmium ("The Breakdown" reached #30 on the R&B charts in 1971) but the name Parliament was then abandoned for some time, as Funkadelic was much more successful.
In the early 1970s, Bernie Worrell, Bootsy Collins and Catfish Collins joined Funkadelic, which released five albums by 1974. With only moderate success, Funkadelic signed with Casablanca Records as Parliament, releasing "Up for the Down Stroke&quo...
| Background | group or band |
| Origin | Detroit, MI |
| Genre | Funk, Soul music |
| Years active | 1970 - 1980 |
| Associated acts | Funkadelic |
| Past members | Bernie Worrell Eddie Hazel Maceo Parker Walter "Junie" Morrison Bootsy Collins Jerome Brailey George Clinton Glen Collins Gary "Muddbone" Cooper Raymond Davis Ron Ford Ramon Tiki Fulwood Rick Gardner Glen Goins Michael Hampton Clarence "Fuzzy" Haskins Tyrone Lampkin Cordell Mosson Lucius Tawl Ross Gary Shider Dawn Silva Calvin Simon Grady Thomas Greg Thomas Jeanette "Baby" Washington Fred Wesley Debbie Wright Shirley Hayden Billy "Bass" Nelson Larry Heckstall Robert "P-Nut" Johnson Prakash John |
