WE DO THE MASHED POTATO AND THE FUNKY CHICKEN
Cody B
Cody B
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Some Twang for your Thang

Posted over 2 years ago
OK, for me George Clinton can do no wrong and with 50 years in the music biz he has left a legacy so wide you can't get around it. He also put the Fun in Funk. Now this here track is a bit of a parody of country music, but it still works for me. I've never heard George talk about this particular song, but knowing the way he soaks up pop culture, I bet he likes some country music. Finally, and this comes through in so much of his music; there is a feeling of spontaneous creation and a vibe that sez:"If you think right you can fly." I can double dig that!
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Comments (24)

  1. soulrocket
    soulrocket says Ha, this one made me smile. His lunacy can be compared with the likes of Lee Perry. Man did i hear some yodelling in that song? I posted this country track in my MOG some time ago http://mog.com/soulrocket/blog_post/57209 & more recently this other one http://mog.com/soulrocket/blog_post/65348G
    Permalink posted 04/24/2007
  2. Cody B
    Cody B says hey rocket, I checked your posts, good stuff. Thanks for the reminder. You are a hard man to keep up with. Folks may note the yodels, as they appeared as samples on De La Soul's debut.
    Permalink posted 04/24/2007
  3. ivylander
    ivylander says The definitive post/magazine article/scholarly tome on the link between black music and country has yet to be (to the best of my knowledge) written, but there's a hell of a lot of material there. Ray Charles's C& W excursions were just the tip of the iceberg....
    Permalink posted 04/24/2007
  4. Cody B
    Cody B says I think you've got a point there, Mr.Lander! There is/was a big connection. I've always loved Al Green's country covers and there's Charlie Pride,too. When I lived in St.Thomas (USVI) there was a huge older black audience for Jim Reeves, Marty Robbins, and such. Reggae folks don't steer away from country altogether, either. I think the huge migration of black folks out of the south may have had something to do with the lack o' popularity of country music in the black community, but if you listen to Southern Soul records up through the 70's they aren't too far from country. Then there's Swamp Dogg and Andre Williams. You are right, there is a ton of material here. I guess the country music hall of fame, has done an exhibit on the contributions of Black Artists to country and they also put out a collection of 4cd's called Night Train To Nashville:Music City Rhythm and Blues 45-70. I've always been tempted to buy, Dirty Laundry-The Soul of Black Country Tracks: 1. He Called My Baby - Ella Washington 2. Chokin' Kind - Joe Simon 3. Your Cheating Heart - Bobby Powell 4. Love's Where Life Begins - Arthur Alexander 5. Stand By Your Man - Candi Staton 6. What Condition My Condition Is In - Betty Lavette 7. There's A Heartbreak Somewhere - Roscoe Shelton 8. She's My Rock - Stoney Edwards 9. Mama Mambo - Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown 10. You Are My Sunshine - Earl Gaines 11. Almost Persuaded - Etta James 12. Bouquet Of Roses - Bobby Womack 13. In A Moment Of Weakness - Johnny Adams 14. Just Because You Can't Be Mine - Bettye Swann 15. Don't Take Her She's All I Got - Freddie North 16. Shutters & Boards - Otis Williams 17. Snap Your Fingers - Bobby Jonz 18. Jet Black Daddy Lilly White Mama - Andre Williams & 2 Star Tabernacle 19. Fairy Tale - The Pointer Sisters 20. Sixteen Tons - James & Bobby Purify 21. Your Cheating Heart - James Brown 22. Till I Get It Right - Willie Hobbs 23. Dirty Laundry - Curtis Mayfield 24. I Can't Stop Loving You - Solomon Burke We'll call this my rough draft, it'd be fun to do a chapter on the real weird ones like the Parliament cut, but I will need to do further research.
    Permalink posted 04/24/2007
  5. soulrocket
    soulrocket says There is a Supremes country album too but I cant recall the title right now.
    Permalink posted 04/24/2007
  6. Cody B
    Cody B says I'm hiring the rocket to do my research, he's got all the right records, and if he doesn't, he knows where to get em.
    Permalink posted 04/24/2007
  7. chucky
    chucky says Heh - that's kinda cool.
    Permalink posted 04/24/2007
  8. Jonh Ingham
    Jonh Ingham says Your Cheating Heart – James Brown --- OMG. That has to be either Man's Man's World megaballad or .... what? The mind boggles.
    Permalink posted 04/24/2007
  9. ivylander
    ivylander says I have that Candi Staton cut somewhere - it's terrific. It doesn't lope, a la Tammy Wynette. Instead it kinda choogles. And Staton, as per usual, totally sells the words....
    Permalink posted 04/25/2007
  10. soulrocket groove
    soulrocket groove says When do we start, boss?.
    Permalink posted 04/25/2007
  11. Cody B
    Cody B says SRG, we just need to secure our book deal and get the advance and your check will be in the mail, or can I pay you in Vinyl?
    Permalink posted 04/25/2007
  12. DangerousDan
    DangerousDan says I totally agree that George Clinton is awesome but I have to add... I saw GC & The Parliament Funkadelic in concert last year. George is getting a little long in the tooth. He's really showing his age. He was only on stage for about half the performance and while he was exactly the George Clinton personality that I was expecting, the energy I was expecting wasn't all there. It's time for him to retire from performing. What *was* really cool about the show is that George received fans at the merch booth afterwards and signed autographs. So, I bought a copy of his 3 song EP with Gene "Poo Poo Man" Anderson for him to sign ($10 for 3 songs and they aren't very good). Check this out... George signed the CD *on the cellophane*. He wouldn't wait for me to open it so he could sign the liner notes. That's pretty f'd up if you ask me. George was *the man* in his prime but it's time for him to hang it up.
    Permalink posted 04/25/2007
  13. Cody B
    Cody B says I could agree with that Dangerous. Of course, like so many of our great ( just about all,actually) musicians, he's broke., but he's got bills to pay. Like JB , I think he carries(carried) on cause he has(had) to, plus there a whole bunch of musicians who get paid because of him,too, so for that he does good,right? As a performer, you are right he is done. Over the years, many people say they were screwed by George, but he had something in him that got a lot of good music out there. I thank him for that.And if he did screw folks, he got it back in spades. Most of all the CD's sold that he produced, he gets not a penny and I just looked at Soundscan, just Parliament have sold 20K plus CD's in 2007. I don't think he has his publishing either. That doesn't give him a pass on being an asshole, but I think it tells you why he's still out there. Maybe he should quit, but I don't think he can. Now for folks like the stones and the who and Billy Joel, and James Taylor, who are financially secure..
    Permalink posted 04/25/2007
  14. DangerousDan
    DangerousDan says Ah, sad but true!
    Permalink posted 04/25/2007
  15. Rawkkiddoh
    Rawkkiddoh says Love the song, and love the fact that it was on De La's first album. I used to read the cd booklets all the time to see who was being sampled, and from what songs. When I heard the De La song, I made it a point to get this song.
    Permalink posted 04/25/2007
  16. Cody B
    Cody B says Wow..at the time, that Parliament record would not be the easiest thing to find,Rawk! If remember that De La album was also the beginning of the extended thank you's trend that is de riguer nowadays. And I love liner notes..prior to the internet they were the number 1 way to see what record you would buy next. And finally, when De La put out their first 12"-Plug Tunin' they had a contest to see if folks could name all the samples on the record, I......didn't win.
    Permalink posted 04/25/2007
  17. wearwoolf
    wearwoolf says This is a great thread on subject dear to my heart. But I gotta give props to my MOG buddy Barney Hoskyns whose book "Say It One Time For The Brokenhearted" came out originally back in 1987. The subject: you guessed it, the links between country and soul. Should also mention the Nick Tosches book "Country" which discusses this a bit too (although his focus is generally on much earlier incarnations of black music). However, you guys should go for it anyway! There's still heaps more to be said, and great examples to dig up and talk about. One of my own favourites that springs to mind is Denise LaSalle's version of Harper Valley PTA. Haven't heard it in years but I can still feel the groove just thinking about it. And Cody - you totally should buy Dirty Laundry, it's a great comp! And believe it or not the best track on it is The Pointer Sisters. It's stone country, but they just keep kicking the excitement level up another notch with each successive chorus.
    Permalink posted 04/26/2007
  18. Jshua
    Jshua says I remember when De La put that tune out and I couldn't for the life of me figure out where that sample came from until I stumbled on this tune by accident..
    Permalink posted 05/02/2007
  19. biminiroad
    biminiroad says When you go see P-Funk envelope yourself into the whole Funkadelic experience not just to see George. Yes the man is approching 70 and is the number one road dog. I have seen this man on nights when he was barely moving & the band stunk up the arena. Then months later and he'd be tearing up the stage & the band showing why its one of the greatest live acts in music history. I admit nowadays its a crap shot on any given nite. There has always been a lil C&W flavor to his music, check Nail on the Head from America Eats its Young and My Automobile from First Thangs.
    Permalink posted 02/10/2008
  20. biminiroad
    biminiroad says As for his dubious bizzness practice, try and keep a group of that magnitude together for that long and you will step on a few toes too. I used to talk regularlly with one of his female members and according to her GC had to do what he had to do to keep folks egos in check.
    Permalink posted 02/10/2008
  21. pjebsen
    pjebsen says

    Did anybody watch season 3 of CMT's "Gone Country" featuring George Clinton (and Sheila E.)? There are links to some episodes on George's MySpace page.

    Permalink posted 05/02/2009
  22. Cody B
    Cody B says

    I didn't watch that, but I will now..I do have questions..Will they be answered?

    Permalink posted 05/02/2009
  23. biminiroad
    biminiroad says

    Yes PJ I saw it. G's performance of the Gambler was well, I had to laugh to keep from crying when they were showing the audience response. He should have done better and gotten the audience in on it.

    Permalink posted 05/02/2009
  24. MusicRX
    MusicRX says

    That was a real strange fit, to be sure. I cringed each time he attempted to be country. To me, it never quite worked- he's funk through and through. Now Sheila, she may do O.K. in country.

    Permalink posted 05/02/2009

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