Calvin Simon, best known as a founding member of legendary funk outfit Parliament-Funkadelic, passed on Thursday, at the age of 79.
Simon was born in Beckley, West Virginia, on May 22, 1942, where he sang in his church choir. At age 13, his family relocated to New Jersey, where he would eventually find work as a barber in Plainfield. During this time, he met George Clinton, Fuzzy Haskins, Grady Thomas and Ray Davis, and the quintet would go on to form doo-wop group The Parliaments.
The Parliaments would find mild success in the late 60’s before a legal dispute forced the group to change their name and thus, Funkadelic was born. The group’s 1970 self-titled first album combined elements of classic soul and overdriven, psychedelia-tinged rock, a first for its time.
The group was monumental in breaking down barriers between genres and races at a time where social unrest pervaded a nation disillusioned with social injustice and war.
The band would reinvent themselves throughout the years under various titles and styles of funk, most prominently as radio friendly hit makers, Parliament. Simon would remain with the collective through their most monumental period, appearing on classic albums that include “Maggot Brain” (1971), “Mothership Connection,” (1975), and “Funkentelechy Vs. the Placebo Syndrome” (1977). He left the group in 1978, and was among the 16 members of Parliament-Funkadelic inducted to the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame in 1997.
George Clinton took to Facebook to pay tribute to his former bandmate:
https://www.facebook.com/georgeclintonpfunk/posts/465569054927370
P-Funk mainstay Bootsy Collins also commented via Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CYclmo2AAcr/
“We lost another Original member of Parliament/Funkadelic. A friend, bandmate & a cool classic guy, Mr. Calvin Simon,” Collins said.
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