5. George Clinton, Parliament-Funkadelic (Est. 1968)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOoKgK09fCE The young George Clinton was a suit-and-tie Motown singer. Enter LSD, Quaaludes, and heroin. Clinton freed his mind and became the one and only Dr. Funkenstein, who believed that anyone could be funky. From the core of his school doo-wop group The Parliaments, Clinton confusingly formed two bands, Parliament and Funkadelic, out of the same lineup of musicians. He started everyone churning out stuff that fused Hendrixs psychedelic rock with James Browns funk. He wasnt always the lead singer, but Clinton was certainly the face of his crew of funky Liberaces and pimp space people. Early P-Funk sets were non-stop and epically long. Clinton wore only a sheet, or sometimes a diaper. The garment always came off over the course of the show. When the music stopped, often the audience was gone. As the group went platinum, Clintons staging became more elaborate, with Dr. Funkenstein making his entrance out of a giant UFO. Here was a guy who knew the meaning of the funk.