Brothas Be, Yo Like George, Ain't That Funkin' Kinda Hard On You?: A Memoir

This book is a must read for any true P-Funkateer, or for that matter, anyone who loves soul/ funk/ R&B. George give a first hand look at the evolution of the revolutionary music recorded by Clinton,Worrell, Collins and the many other contributing members of the funk mob. George shares in detail about the many artists and others in the industry that helped to hone and shape the perfection of P-Funk over time. I loved hearing the stories behind the music. The music brought together the best from all genras of music and helped to shape and influence generations of music lovers from Doo Wop and to the Hip-Hop of today. George's intellect and genius has always been cloaked in "silly- seriousness". In his autobiography, Dr. Funkenstein is exceptionally articulate, insightful and humorous in he way he shares about his life long dedication to the Funk. The book paints a clear picture of a dedicated artist navigating the challenges posed by the largely corrupt and dishonest corporate power structure in the record industry, while being unwilling to compromise core values and creative expression. Thanks George for taking taking us for a front seat ride on the Mothership. Loved reading about the stories Behind the Funk.

During the 1970's, I, along with a number of my peers, were insane Parliament/Funkadelic Fans. At that time ,the only individual name out of the P-Funk brand that was known was Boosty Collins. No one in the general public knew who was “in charge” with the group, or anything. But, as time evolved into the 1980's and beyond, particularly with the release of “Atomic Dog” the World came to see that George Clinton had been one of the major players behind the scenes, so much so that he has become an icon. I have been a Parliament fan since the release of “Mothership Connection” back in the '70's. That music brings me more joy than just about any in my life. So, when I learned that George Clinton had a book, I knew I had to read it. This book blows me away! It seems every time George Clinton opens his mouth to say ANYTHING, he either says something classic or profound. Every single time. George Clinton is not just a musical genius. He is a man profoundly wise about life. The gift to us as his fans is that all of his great qualities and characteristics come out in his music. This book is one of the greatest books that I've ever read---and I've read a lot. George Clinton has been in the music business since the 1950's, so by purchasing this book, a person is getting 60 years' experience of musical genius. It's well-worth the price.

For a long time I've wanted George Clinton to write his memoir. Every time I read or heard an interview with Clinton I would wonder why a publisher hadn't approached him to write his story. Thank you Atria Books for making it finally happen. This book took me a little longer to read than usual because every time Clinton shared a story about writing on of the songs for the Parliament or the Funkadelic I would want to stop reading, listen to it and see if I could notice the different aspects of the song that Clinton was pointing out. I was introduced to George Clinton Parliament-Funkadelic through my father's record collection. I never really understood what the differences between the two bands and Clinton does a good job of describing the two bands. *The Parliaments was the band that he could use to perform doo-wop. Parliament and the Funkadelic played funk music. I've always heard that James Brown was the hardest working man in show business but from reading Clinton's account it sounds like he could give Brown a run for this title. He would be working on a Parliament album, a Funkadelic album and Bootsy Collins album or some other artist for his record label all while writing music for upcoming albums. It was interesting to read about Clinton's relationship with fellow artist Sly Stone and how they supported each other's drug habit while also influencing each other musically. Clinton also as an interesting take on rap music and being easily the most sampled artist by rap artists. The great thing about this memoir was is that Clinton focuses primarily on his life in music. There is very little time spent discussing his family life short of how his relationships are with his children and grandchildren. If the children are involved with music, as a couple are, he discusses how they work together but other wise his private life is left alone. Clinton shares information on copyright issues he has had on much of his music. At one point he says that he got off the addiction to crack and became addicted to figuring out his copyright problems and getting his music back. He says that he is getting close to filing a claim and going to court. I was kind of amazed that when he is looking to go to court that his lawyers would allow him to write so freely about potential information that could be used in his favor. He also includes the whole deposition that he and his lawyers did with a woman involved in one of the lawsuits. This book is an enjoyable read of Clinton's life from the barbershop to a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Member. Clinton does not seem to pull many punches when it comes to his professional career. He discusses his drug use, song writing, musical influences and how he feels about the artists that he as influenced himself. It was a long time waiting for this memoir but well worth it. *Changed from this, "Parliament was the band that he could use to perform doo-wop and the Funkadelic was the band for his funk music."

I have only had the book for a few hours and I can't put it down. I am only half way through and it has been a total joy to read thus far and it is getting better by the paragraph. Great stories and the only thing I found to be "misleading" in it is that George claims Bernie went to Berklee when in fact it was Juilliard. Big deal right? Not really in consideration that wasn't Georges' life experience and he has done a lot of drugs. But fans of all things P Funk will love this book for it's deeper insight then what has been heard in many interviews through the years. I haven't come across much that I already knew and I consider myself pretty hip to a lot of stories and things P Funk. If you are a fan or just a fan of biographies this is for you. There is an unbelievable amount of pop culture history that is connected to George and his musical adventures that you just have to read this to believe it.

Highly recommend! Very interesting and insightful about the ins and outs of the creative process and the record business. As an artist you have to find people you can trust to handle your business, good luck with that!

Amazon should be more open beforehand on what you’ll receive: an original printing OR a print on demand Amazon printing. The latter are becoming better and better, but they’re still not the same quality as a ‘normal’ printing. Print on demand is of course great for out of print books, or independent/small publishing, but in all other cases, the omission of this information seems a bit misleading towards customers, in my opninion.

最新作『first ya gotta Shake the Gate』の話まで触れられていて良かったです。

I decided to read this as a trilogy of sorts - after Herbie Hancock and Maurice White autobiographies. Clinton shares some similarities with Herbie and Maurice as far as trying to expand consciousness through music but tackles it from a different angle through Parliament and Funkadelic. If you like those bands then this is a must-read though it is let down by a last quarter which concentrates too much on Clinton’s grievances against past management and record executives who he feels ripped him off. After the joyous music and tales of Parliament and Funkadelic the bitterness seeps through and things get repetitive making things end on a sour note which is a shame.

Rapide et excellent

Die Sprache in diesem Buch ist Englisch! Es ist aber kein schwieriges Englisch. Vieles ergibt sich auch aus dem Zusammenhang heraus. Diejenigen Leser haben allerdings einen Vorteil, die mit P-Funk und mit den englischen Begriffen aus der Musikindustrie (z.B. womit sich Plattenlabels so beschäftigen müssen) vertraut sind. Der Gründer und Meister des P-Funks, George Clinton, geht in seinem Buch chronologisch vor und streift dabei systematisch alle seine Alben von Parliament, Funkadelic, Solo-Arbeit und den ganzen anderen P-Funk Projekten. Auf der Zielgeraden erreicht er das "Gangsters of love"-Album. Auch auf Erfahrungen bei Live-Auftritten/Tourneen geht Clinton - manchmal sehr detailliert - ein. Das brandneue Funkadelic-Album "Shake the gate", das 2014 (oder doch erst 2015?) erscheinen soll, wird in dem Buch auch erwähnt und sogar bereits in die Discographie eingefügt, die sich am Ende des Buches befindet. In dieser Discographie werden auch die einzelnen Songs genannt, die sich auf den jeweiligen Alben befinden. Die Solisten oder gar alle beteiligten Musiker werden allerdings leider nicht genannt. Sowohl das Cover für das brandneue Funkadelic-Album als auch die geplante Songliste für "Shake the gate" bekommt der Leser zu sehen. Bei seinen Erinnerungen zu seinen Studio-Aufnahmen hätte ich mir gerne noch mehr Detail-Informationen von George Clinton gewünscht. Im gesamtem Buch legt Clinton den Fokus aber eher auf das, was "hinter den Kulissen" im Bereich: Konzeption + Management passiert. Immer wieder faszinierend, wie respektvoll Clinton über andere Stars und Bands spricht. Mit einem ebenso faszinierenden weil sicheren Musikgeschmack ordnet er andere Musikacts ein und lässt sich durch sie inspirieren. Clinton ist sehr offen gegenüber anderer Musik, was mit Sicherheit der Vielfalt der P-Funk-Musik geholfen hat. Im letzten Viertel des Buches berichtet G.C. zunehmend über seinen Kampf um die Erlöse bezüglich seiner Copyrights und wie er sich verändern musste, damit der Kampf gewonnen werden kann. Obwohl mir etliches, z.B. bezüglich der hervorragenden Bandmitglieder (beispielsweise Lige Curry), fehlt, habe ich das Buch "verschlungen". VOLLE PUNKTZAHL.