''Connections & Disconnections'' is an album recorded by

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 ...

Calvin Simon Calvin Eugene Simon (May 22, 1942 – January 6, 2022) was an American singer who was a member of the bands Parliament and Funkadelic. He is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, inducted in 1997 along with fifteen other members of Parliam ...

, 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 ...

under the name

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. Funkade ...

. With the history of financial disputes with Clinton behind them, and backing from Westbound Records founder Armen Boladian, this album (co-produced by former

Sly and the Family Stone Sly and the Family Stone was an American band from San Francisco. Active from 1966 to 1983, it was pivotal in the development of funk, soul, rock, and psychedelic music. Its core line-up was led by singer-songwriter, record producer, and multi ...

drummer

Greg Errico Greg Errico (born September 1, 1948) is an American musician and record producer, best known as the drummer for the popular and influential psychedelic soul/funk band Sly and the Family Stone. Background Errico was born and grew up in San Franc ...

, without the involvement of George Clinton) was released in Germany in 1980 entitled ''42.9%'', and in the United States in 1981 entitled ''Connections & Disconnections''. It was reissued by

Rhino Records A rhinoceros (; ; ), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. (It can also refer to a member of any of the extinct species ...

in 1992 with the title ''Who's a Funkadelic?'' The competing release challenged George Clinton's claim to ownership of the "Funkadelic" name, ultimately leading to a lawsuit between the trio and Clinton.

Significance

Due to the combination of several factors, by the end of the 1970s, the

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 ...

enterprise was starting to crumble. Dissatisfaction with George Clinton's style of financial management led to the departure of additional key members

Bernie Worrell George Bernard Worrell, Jr. (April 19, 1944 – June 24, 2016) was an American keyboardist and record producer best known as a founding member of Parliament-Funkadelic and for his work with Talking Heads. He is a member of the Rock and Rol ...

, "Billy Bass" Nelson,

Glenn Goins Glenn Lamonte Goins (January 2, 1954 – July 29, 1978), also known as Glen Goins, was a singer and guitarist for Parliament-Funkadelic in the mid-1970s. Goins is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, posthumously inducted in 1997 with fift ...

and

Jerome Brailey Jerome Eugene "Bigfoot" Brailey (born August 20, 1950) is an American drummer, best known for his work with P-Funk, which included the bands Parliament, Funkadelic, and numerous related projects. Brailey is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of ...

. Haskins, Simon, and Thomas (along with Clinton and bass vocalist Ray Davis) had been members 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 ...

since the band's inception in the mid-1950s. Throughout the 1960s and into the 1970s, they (Haskins, Simon, and Thomas) felt increasingly marginalized by the influx of new P-Funk musicians, and in 1977, refused to sign a Backstage Management contract requiring them to relinquish all rights to the names Parliament and Funkadelic. Shortly after the trio left Parliament-Funkadelic, they formed their own band, which they also named "Funkadelic," and recorded ''Connections & Disconnections''. Their use of the name Funkadelic resulted in an acrimonious legal dispute with Clinton's organization, and is rumored to have contributed to accelerating the disintegration of Parliament-Funkadelic.

Track listing

# "Phunklords" (Haskins, Mims, Simon, Thomas, Powers) – 5:35 # "You'll Like It Too" (Haskins, Simon, Thomas, Williams, McEvoy) – 4:29 # "The Witch" (Haskins, Jackson, Simon, Thomas, Drake) – 9:31 # "Connections and Disconnections" (Geter, Haskins, Mims, Simon, Thomas) – 5:02 (released as a single LAX WS8 70055) # "Come Back" (Haskins, Simon, Thomas, Mims, Powers) – 4:32 # "Call the Doctor" (Drake, Haskins, Mims, Simon, Thomas) – 5:14 # "Who's a Funkadelic" (Haskins, Mims, Simon, Thomas) – 5:47

Personnel

- vocals & percussion *

- vocals & percussion * Michael Williams - keyboards, guitar & vocals * Billy Mims - clavinet, guitar, vocals * Ben Powers Jr - drums, bass & vocals * John Quad Wiley - keyboards & vocals * Stan Thorn - keyboards * Ken Blackmon - bass * Thomas "Pae-dog" McEvoy - jazz horn * Dede Dickerson - background musician * Ngoh Spencer - background musician * Vicky Randal - background musician * Betty Jo Drake - background vocals

References

External links

*
Connections & Disconnections
' at

Discogs Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Connections and Disconnections Funkadelic albums 1981 albums