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The Parliaments | |
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 The Parliaments in 1968 | |
| Background information | |
| Genres | |
| Occupation(s) | Lead and background singers |
| Years active | 1955–1969 |
| Labels | Apt, Flipp,Golden World, Revilot,Atco |
| Spinoffs | |
| Past members | George Clinton Ray Davis Fuzzy Haskins Calvin Simon Grady Thomas Frankie Boyce Richard Boyce Langston Booth Billy Bass Nelson Eddie Hazel Tawl Ross Tiki Fulwood Mickey Atkins |
The Parliaments were an American vocalquintet fromPlainfield, New Jersey, United States. Originally formed in the back room of a barbershop in 1956, the quintet was named after thecigarette brand. The Parliaments initially performeddoo-wop music; after some early personnel changes their lineup solidified withGeorge Clinton,Ray Davis,Fuzzy Haskins,Calvin Simon, andGrady Thomas. Clinton was group leader and manager, and part owner of the barbershop where the group convened to entertain customers. The group later changed its style, evolving into the bandsParliament andFunkadelic, which found success in the 1970s.
The group was originally based onFrankie Lymon & the Teenagers,[1][2] but by the 1960s had developed a unique sound based on emerging styles ofsoul andfunk music, with a notable penchant for bizarre lyrics. The group struggled for hits during most of the 1960s, recording singles on a variety of smallrecord labels. They switched labels many times, and released several double-sided singles without success, including "Poor Willie" (onApt), "Lonely Island" (on Flipp) and "Heart Trouble" (onGolden World).[3] "Heart Trouble" was later re-worked in 1973 under the title "You Can't Miss What You Can't Measure", featured on theFunkadelic albumCosmic Slop.[4] Another version was recorded about three years earlier, yet did not surface until the 2008 release of the CD "Toys". The B-side, "That Was My Girl", was re-recorded in 1972 and featured onAmerica Eats Its Young.[citation needed]
Eventually, Clinton gained employment atMotown Records as a songwriter and producer, making weekly trips toDetroit to produce for The Pets, Roy Handy, and other acts[citation needed]. In1967 the Parliaments released "(I Wanna) Testify" on Revilot and finally achieved a hit single, with the song reaching No. 3 R&B and No. 20 Pop on theBillboard charts. In reality, Clinton was the only member of the Parliaments to appear in the song, as the other members were unable to travel to Detroit for the recording session (session singers and musicians rounded out the recording)[citation needed]. To capitalize on the single's success, Clinton put together a backing band for a tour, expanding the Parliaments to the five singers plus five backing musicians.
After the success of "(I Wanna) Testify", Clinton became embroiled in a contractual dispute surrounding thebankruptcy of Revilot Records and temporarily lost the rights to the name "The Parliaments." In order to continue recording for other labels, Clinton renamed the entire ensembleFunkadelic (a name coined by bassistBilly Bass Nelson). Clinton positioned Funkadelic as a funk-rock band featuring the five backing musicians with the five Parliaments singers as uncredited guests. When Revilot declared bankruptcy the Parliaments were sold toAtlantic Records, and Clinton abandoned doo-wop to avoid working for Atlantic. Even with Funkadelic operating as a recording and touring entity, in 1970 Clinton relaunched the Parliaments as a new R&B-based funk band, now known asParliament. The lineup still consisted of the five original singers plus the five backing musicians, with the two acts signed to different labels and marketed as performing different types offunk.
Several songs from the early repertoire of the Parliaments would be re-recorded on futureParliament andFunkadelic albums, including "Testify," "The Goose," "All Your Goodies Are Gone," "Fantasy Is Reality," "Good Ole Music," "I Can Feel The Ice Melting," "What You Been Growing," "I'll Wait," and "That Was My Girl." In 1995, many of the original Parliaments tracks were reissued on the Goldmine/Soul label on the albumTestifyin'.
The West End ofPlainfield, New Jersey was once home to the Silk Palace, a barbershop at 216 Plainfield Avenue owned in part by Clinton, staffed by various members of Parliament-Funkadelic and known as the "hangout for all the local singers and musicians" in Plainfield's 1950s and 1960s doo-wop, soul, rock and proto-funk music scene.[5][6][7]
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