Consider This from NPR - George Clinton 'Plays It Forward': A Musical Gratitude Project

Episode Date: November 25, 2021

For Thanksgiving Day, we're sharing a segment from our special series Play It Forward, in which artists tell us about their own music and the musicians who inspire them. In this episode, funk legend George Clinton speaks to Ari Shapiro about the longevity and enduring influence of his band, Parliament-Funkadelic, being a hype man for other musicians, and an artist he's grateful for: opera singer and funk keyboardist Constance Hauman. On tomorrow's episode: Constance Hauman plays it forward.In participating regions, you'll also hear a local news segment that will help you make sense of what's going on in your community.Email us at [e-mail] more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

You know that thing you sometimes hear about this time of year where, like, at a coffee shop, somebody pays for the next person's order, and then that person pays for the person behind them, and it just keeps going? Well, here at NPR, for the last few years, we've been doing a version of that. But instead of paying it forward, we're playing it forward. Passing on gratitude from one musical artist to another. For instance, you're hearing music right now from Grammy-nominated composer Devante Hines, who also produces pop music under the name Blood Orange. Hines told me he is grateful for the work of jazz musician Angel Bat-Dawid. I just want to express my gratitude and thanks for creating such wonderful, beautiful, and inspiring music, and for just being someone who I look up to as a composer, as an artist,

as a human. This is jazz artist Angel Bat-Dawid playing piano and clarinet on her track London. Hi! Oh my goodness, I'm so emotional right now. She told me she is grateful for funk legend... The incredible George Clinton. George Clinton of Parliament Funkadelic, who revolutionized 70s music. He was just the ultimate arranger, producer, know how to put things together, all the elements. You know, it's so triumphant.

Consider this. Every musician hopes their art touches someone else. Now we get to hear what it sounds like when those artists learn who they've inspired. Funk legend George Clinton is coming up. From NPR. I'm Ari Shapiro. It's Thursday, November 25th. Happy Thanksgiving. internationally, and always get the real-time mid-market exchange rate with no hidden fees. Download the Wyze app today or visit wyze.com. T's and C's apply. It's Consider This from NPR. So you just heard a bit from Angel Bat-Dawid, the improvising jazz musician from Chicago who told us about her connection to the pioneer of funk, George Clinton. First of all, I come from a funkadelic parliament household. Every day, probably of my life, my father played anything from funkadelic in parliament,

our road trips, everything. He was a hero of my father. You know, the music is just so good. You know, like George Clinton always did his own thing. And those have always been the musicians that I have looked up to the most. He was just the ultimate arranger, producer, know how to put things together, all the elements. Well, we're going to go to George Clinton next. So what would you like to say to him? I just want to let you know that you are such a great inspiration to me. You showed me how to be myself. Like, I'm strong in my individuality because of you. You're one of the most ingenious musicians,

composers of our lifetime. Thank you, George Clinton. And George Clinton joins us now. Welcome to Play It Forward. Wow, thank you for having me here. How do you react to what we just heard from Angel Bottegheed? Wow, I got to get the butterflies out. I'm old as hell, but I still feel good when you hear somebody that appreciates you with that kind of soul in their voice. That's so sweet that that still gives you butterflies after all this time. Oh yeah, you're my ham. What's it like to hear that you're not just influencing a musician working today, but like literally multiple generations? Her father was a huge fan of yours. Well, I mean, that was our intent.

You know, we started out back in the 50s and early 60s. When stuff like West Side Story was out, you know, and Broadway type songs. So I always had that theory in my head that I didn't want to just be a singing group of musicians. I wanted to be a fang. That's why we call it Parlor Funkadelic Men Fang. You know, we thought that we did it like that. Do you mean you wanted to be theatrical? I wanted to be theatrical so it lasts for years, not just for the top ten.

That's why I aimed it for it to last so long. Wow. That gave us a lot of room. We didn't have to be whatever the top 40 was doing. But then again, we could do that if we felt like doing it. Paris has got to hold on me. I can't think for myself. It's all because that woman of mine made love to someone else. So Angelbot Dewey talked about how you always did your own thing.

Can you tell us about a time that that was especially difficult? Oh, yeah. In the early 60s, because we changed so radically with Funkadelic, I realized the Cream, Jimi Hendrix, The Beatles, and all of that was coming. Rock and roll was getting ready to take over. And that sounded like the music my mother used to listen to

just played loud. And you went, like, more freeform, more radical. Yeah, more bluesy. You know, we just named the group Funkadelic and went to the rock and roll psychedelic era. Oh, hey, a Funkadelic, free your mind, your ass will follow. And it worked out pretty good.

Where do you hear the descendants of P-Funk in the music of today? On the nerve of certain people to do their own thing. You can feel it. You know, most of the time it's the nerve for them to do whatever they're doing. Interesting. So it's not necessarily like they're doing a new version of funk. It's that they are doing something new in the same way you are doing something new. That is funk. It's that they are doing something new in the same way you are doing something new. That is funk. Funk is whatever it needs to be to give you that freedom, you know, to let go and try that, whatever you're doing. You're being funky when you just let yourself go

and freestyle or whatever you want to call it. I'm curious, you know, you're not just famous as a performer, but also as an arranger, as a producer, as the leader of Parliament Funkadelic. And so talk to us about how you bring out the best in other people, your collaborators, the artists you're working with. I push whatever it is they're doing. I give them that gratification. What you're looking for when you're playing, that Heisman gives you, your ego is a better performer than you are most of the time. That's the time you can really use it.

It's a hard time to put him back where he belonged after that. But you need it in the studio, on stage, and perform. At least I do. So how do you do that? Like, what do you say? What do you do? I just feed off of people, you know, appreciating and responding. And so when I see somebody playing a solo, I'll take the mic, even though it's going to drive the engineer crazy, and go put it on his speaker.

It's loud, but, you know, it's the energy. The person usually ends up playing ten times better because they're getting that approval. And everybody's participating, and everybody's happy. All right, well, George Clinton, it is your turn to play it forward. So tell us about an artist who you are thankful for. Okay, well, Constance.

She has a group, Miss Velvet and the Blue Wolf. Okay, so this is Constance Howman. She has this band called Miss Velvet and the Blue Wolf, but she's also an opera singer. I found that out a year and a half later after we'd been on the road

for almost a year and a half. She opened up for us at. King's in New York. We ended up working together for almost two years, all through Australia, Europe, everywhere. But I had no idea, again, like I said, about the opera part of it until somebody said Constance sang opera herself. And I said, yeah, and they showed me her video. And I'm like, oh my God, what?

I had to call up and say, you didn't tell me about this. Okay, so just for comparison, let's listen to her group, Miss Velvet and the Blue Wolf, which you've collaborated with. She's on keyboards here. And then let's listen to a track of her singing opera as a soprano. That's phenomenal. Blew me away.

So, I mean, I was already proud of the fact that we had worked together. But then it was like a whole new thing now that I'm seeing that she's got all this talent. So when they asked me to do this show, that popped out of my mouth before you finished telling me what it was about. Well, we're going to go to Constance next. So what would you like to say to her? I'm ready to hit the road again. Are you ready to hit the road again? We got some unfinished things to do.

We was right in the middle of recording some of the shows live when the pandemic started. So tell her I'll see her in outer space. Funk legend George Clinton, architect of Parliament Funkadelic. Thank you so much for talking with us. Thank you, man. Thanks for having me. In our next episode, Constance Howman tells us about a musician she's grateful for. It's not calculated. It's so inspired. It's something that's coming from inside. That's tomorrow. Until then, happy Thanksgiving. It's Consider This from NPR.

I'm Ari Shapiro.