George Clinton

Born on July 22, 1941 in rural North Carolina the musical career of funk's most influential figure began in junior high, when he founded The Parliaments: a barbershop doo-wop ensemble, who went onto chart success with I Wanna Testify in 1967. After this he began to take his cues from the psychedelic movement, experimenting with harmonies, melody and rhythm and forever distancing himself from the Motown era. By the early 1970s, the group's tight songs evolved into sprawling jams around the funkiest of rhythms: at the same time they dropped their S and Parliament were born. Around this time, Clinton also spawned Funkadelic, who made ground-breaking - now classic - records such as Free Your Mind and Your Ass Will Follow, Maggot Brain, and America Eats It's Young. Parliament and Funkadelic dominated and revolutionised the music scene in the '80s and come the '90s Clinton has been recognized as one of the godfathers of modern urban music.