Parliament Funkadelic were a pioneering force and funk music and Afro-futurism that united psychedelic rock with R&B in the 1970s and a Musicheads Essential Artist. Just how influential is Parliament Funkadelic and their groundbreaking leader George Clinton? In addition to all of his other musical accomplishments, he literally coined the phrase, "The bomb."

These days, the idea of combining several genres together to create a new sound is so commonplace that it's become rare for an artist to stick to making one style of music. But back in the early 1960s, music was segregated along genre, gender, racial and geographical lines. George Clinton was one of the first Black artists to break that all down. By the time they released their watershed album Mothership Connection in 1975, Parliament had become famous for their sci-fi lyrics and elaborate stage shows which featured a literal mothership lifting off the stage. Meanwhile, George Clinton was using many of the same musicians, including longtime collaborators Billy Bass Nelson and Eddie hazel to launch another group that explored a more raw, more guitar-bass funk sound that drew on the psychedelic influences of artists like Jimi Hendrix. The genre-bending Funkadelic was born. It didn't take long for George Clinton to combine the two groups together into one mind-bending extravaganza of sights and sounds.

In 1997, 16 of its members were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with an introduction by one of their biggest fans, Prince. Sprawling collective Parliament Funkadelic are regarded as one of the most influential groups of their generation.