Who?

The living embodiment of funk, George Clinton has been an active part of the music world for over half a century, starting with a mildly successful doo-wop group. More importantly, Clinton became a countercultural icon on the strength of his work with the pyschedelic Funkadelic, followed by the ultra-funky Parliament (later changed to Parliament-Funkadelic). After the group and its various iterations dissolved, Clinton went solo and scored '80s hits including "Atomic Dog." Currently, he's still touring with an ever-shifting Parliament-Funkadelic lineup and releasing solo albums, most recently 2008's George Clinton and His Gangsters of Love.

And I Care Because?

- Make your funk the P-Funk. There is likely no one as influential to funk music as George Clinton, with his insane ideas about both groove and the now-standard sci-fi allusions of funk leaving its mark on everyone that's made a funky beat since the '70s. If that wasn't enough, he's had an equally large influence on hip-hop, particularly the G-Funk of acts like Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg as well as the otherwordly imagery of OutKast.

- Who says a funk band can't play rock music? Clinton's work under the Funkadelic name specifically is incredible and far more rock than it is funk. By embracing psych-rock to the fullest on the stone-cold classic Maggot Brain, Clinton injected a whole lot of soul into a genre that needed it.

- Still crazy after all these years. Though his recorded output in the last couple decades has been spotty at best, we should be thankful to still have Clinton and his P-Funk in our lives at this stage in his life. While you never know what will happen in the future, a Clinton stage show is something to be cherished while you have the chance.

Stream Mothership Connection, buy his albums, and watch his classic video for "Atomic Dog."