Calvin Eugene Simon (May 22, 1942 – January 6, 2022) was an American singer who was a member of the bands

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

and

Funkadelic Funkadelic was an American funk rock band formed in Plainfield, New Jersey in 1968 and active until 1982. The band and its sister act Parliament, both led by George Clinton, pioneered the funk music culture of the 1970s.John, Bush. Funkadeli ...

. He is a member of the

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), sometimes simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and othe ...

, inducted in 1997 along with fifteen other members of

Parliament-Funkadelic Parliament-Funkadelic (abbreviated as P-Funk) is an American music collective of rotating musicians headed by George Clinton, primarily consisting of the funk bands Parliament and Funkadelic, both active since the 1960s. Their distinctive fu ...

Early life

Simon was born in

Beckley, West Virginia Beckley is a city in and the county seat of Raleigh County, West Virginia, United States. It was founded on April 4, 1838. This city is the home of the West Virginia University Institute of Technology or West Virginia University, Beckley Campus. ...

on May 22, 1942. Simon was drafted into the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

in 1966, and served with C Battery, 3rd Battalion, 13th Field Artillery Regiment, 9th Infantry Division during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

in 1967–68.Williams, Kari, "From P-Funk to the Mekong Delta", ''VFW Magazine'', vol. 105, no. 5, February 2018, pp. 18-20.

Career

Simon started out in the late 1950s as one of

The Parliaments The Parliaments were an American vocal quintet from Plainfield, New Jersey, United States. Originally formed in the back room of a barbershop in 1956, the quintet was named after the cigarette brand. The Parliaments initially performed doo-wop ...

, a

doo wop Doo-wop (also spelled doowop and doo wop) is a genre of rhythm and blues music that originated in African-American communities during the 1940s, mainly in the large cities of the United States, including New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Chica ...

barbershop quintet Barbershop vocal harmony, as codified during the barbershop revival era (1930s–present), is a style of a cappella close harmony, or unaccompanied vocal music, characterized by consonance and dissonance, consonant four-part chord (music), cho ...

led by George Clinton. In 1978, Simon (along with other original Parliaments

Fuzzy Haskins Clarence Eugene "Fuzzy" Haskins (born June 8, 1941) is a former singer with 1950s and 1960s doo-wop group, The Parliaments. He is a founding member of the groundbreaking and influential 1970s funk bands Parliament and Funkadelic, also known as ...

and

Grady Thomas Grady Thomas (born January 5, 1941, in Newark, New Jersey, United States) is a former member of the bands Parliament and Funkadelic. He is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, inducted in 1997 with fifteen other members of Parliament-Funk ...

), left

after financial and management disputes with Clinton. In 1981, the trio caused confusion when they formed a new band, and released an album called '' Connections & Disconnections'' under the name Funkadelic. In 1998, Simon, along with original Parliaments bass vocalist Ray Davis, Haskins, and Grady Thomas, founded

Original P The Original P is an American funk band formed in 1991 by four founding members of Parliament-Funkadelic. Grady Thomas, Fuzzy Haskins, Calvin Simon, and Ray Davis have all been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and in 2019, were awarded ...

, performing until his departure in 2007. After a hiatus from the music industry, Simon turned to

gospel music Gospel music is a traditional genre of Christian music, and a cornerstone of Christian media. The creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of gospel music varies according to culture and social context. Gospel music is com ...

and recorded for his own label, Simon Says Records. In June 2004 he released an album called ''

Share the News Share may refer to: * Share, to make joint use of a resource (such as food, money, or space); see Sharing * Share (finance), a stock or other financial security (such as a mutual fund) * Share, Kwara, a town and LGA in Kwara State, Nigeria Share m ...

'', which reached #32 on the "Billboard" Top Gospel Albums chart. In 2019, he and Parliament-Funkadelic were given Grammy Lifetime Achievement Awards.

Death

Simon died on January 6, 2022, at the age of 79.

References

External links

CalvinSimon.com
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Simon, Calvin 1942 births 2022 deaths 20th-century African-American singers 21st-century African-American singers People from Beckley, West Virginia Military personnel from West Virginia P-Funk members Singers from West Virginia American gospel singers United States Army personnel of the Vietnam War United States Army soldiers