You've got a real type of thing going down on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
That's where revolutionary music artist George Clinton, the 82-year-old mastermind behind the Parliament-Funkadelic music collective, received the 2,769th Walk of Fame star in honor of his innovative and influential contributions to the music industry.
The unveiling ceremony was in front of the Musicians Institute at 6752 Hollywood Boulevard. Scheduled speakers included Clinton, Red Hot Chili Peppers lead vocalist Anthony Kiedis, famed civil rights attorney Ben Crump and longtime Motown songwriter Janie Bradford.
We're making it easier for you to find stories that matter with our new newsletter — The 4Front. Sign up here and get news that is important for you to your inbox.
Born July 22, 1941, in Kannapolis, N.C., Clinton was raised in Plainfield, N.J., where he formed the barbershop doo-wop ensemble called The Parliaments when he was 15 years old. The group had a major hit with 1967's "(I Wanna) Testify."
When Clinton temporarily lost the rights to the name The Parliaments during a contractual dispute with Revilot Records in 1968, he formed Funkadelic, a rock group that fused acid-rock guitar, bizarre sound effects and cosmological rants with danceable beats and booming bass lines.
Funkadelic had several influential concept albums, including "Free Your Mind… and Your Ass Will Follow," released in 1970, "Maggot Brain," released in 1971, and "America Eats Its Young," released in 1972.
After regaining the rights to name "The Parliaments," Clinton formed Parliament in 1970, with the same five singers and five musicians as Funkadelic but as a smoother R&B-based funk ensemble.
Some of Clinton's most popular songs include "P-Funk (Wants to get Funked Up)," "Mothership Connection (Star Child)," "Give Up the Funk (Tear the Roof Off the Sucker)," "Flash Light," "One Nation Under a Groove," "(Not Just) Knee Deep," and "Aqua Boogie," eventually culminating with the 1982 solo release of "Atomic Dog."
"Atomic Dog" has been featured in the films "102 Dalmatians," "Trolls World Tour" and "Menace II Society" and sampled many times, most notably by Snoop Dogg on his smash-hit "Snoop Dogg (What's My Name Pt. 2)."
Clinton is also known for otherworldly live performances in which he would emerge from a giant spaceship, "The Mothership," at center stage as "Dr. Funkenstein."
Parliament-Funkadelic became an influential source for early rap recordings, with its beats, loops and samples appearing on albums by 2Pac, OutKast, Dr. Dre, Busta Rhymes, Missy Elliott, De La Soul, Ice Cube, Public Enemy and Childish Gambino.
Clinton collaborated with Kendrick Lamar on the rapper's 2015 Grammy-winning album "To Pimp a Butterfly."
Parliament-Funkadelic was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1997.
