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George Clinton revolutionized funk music with Parliament Funkadelic, whose theatrical, sci-fi, performance art has captivated audiences worldwide for over five decades. P-Funk’s blend of psychedelic rock and deep, repetitive funk grooves helped bridge the R&B and rock worlds in the ‘70s along with acts like Sly and The Family Stone.

Known as Dr. Funkenstein, George Clinton orchestrated multiple solo acts under the P-Funk umbrella. By the ‘80s, Clinton was also charting as a solo artist with hits like “Atomic Dog,” all of which would later lay the groundwork for hip-hop’s classic G-Funk era.

On today’s episode Rick Rubin talks to George Clinton on Zoom about the origins of his original vocal group, The Parliaments. George also reminisces  about the time he dared James Brown to do the splits 18 times in a row while on a music industry panel with Madonna and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

You can hear a playlist of some of our favorite George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic songs HERE.

The Hosts

Rick Rubin

In addition to being a podcast host, Frederick Jay “Rick” Rubin is an American record producer and former co-president of Columbia Records. Along with Russell Simmons, he is the co-founder…

Malcolm Gladwell

Malcolm Gladwell is president and co-founder of Pushkin Industries. He is a journalist, a speaker, and the author of six New York Times bestsellers including The Tipping Point, Blink, Outliers,…

Justin Richmond

Justin Richmond is producer and co-host of the music podcast Broken Record with writer Malcolm Gladwell, New York Times editor Bruce Headlam, and music producer—and Def Jam co-founder—Rick Rubin. Justin…

Bruce Headlam

Bruce Headlam is one of the co-creators of the music podcast Broken Record. He worked at The New York Times for 19 years, including two years running the 50-person Video…