''The Electric Spanking of War Babies'' is the twelfth

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records c ...

by the American

funk rock Funk rock is a fusion genre that mixes elements of funk and rock. James Brown and others declared that Little Richard and his mid-1950s road band, The Upsetters, were the first to put the funk in the rock and roll beat, with a biographer stat ...

band

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 ...

, released in April 1981 on Warner Bros. Records. The title is an allusion to 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 ...

and

baby boomers Baby boomers, often shortened to boomers, are the Western demographic cohort following the Silent Generation and preceding Generation X. The generation is often defined as people born from 1946 to 1964, during the mid-20th century baby boom. ...

Sly Stone Sylvester Stewart (born March 15, 1943), better known by his stage name Sly Stone, is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer who is most famous for his role as frontman for Sly and the Family Stone, playing a critical role in the ...

contributed to the recording sessions, singing lead vocals on "Funk Gets Stronger (Killer Millimeter Longer Version)".

Background

Clinton originally planned on a

double album A double album (or double record) is an audio album that spans two units of the primary medium in which it is sold, typically either records or compact disc. A double album is usually, though not always, released as such because the recording i ...

, but the idea was quashed by Warner Brothers. The original tracklist featured the instrumental version of the title track found on the 12" single's b-side, as well as the tracks "May Day (S.O.S.)" and "I Angle", later released on the George Clinton Family Series albums

Plush Funk ''Plush Funk'' is the third installment of the George Clinton Family Series collection. The album was released in 1993 by P-Vine Records in Japan, and then was released the next year by AEM Records in the United States and Sequel Records in the ...

and

Testing Positive 4 the Funk ''Testing Positive 4 the Funk'' is the fourth installment of the George Clinton Family Series collection. The album was released in 1993 by P-Vine Records in Japan, and then was released later in the same year by AEM Records in the United States ...

, respectively. The title refers to the US government's use of media propaganda to promote

imperialism Imperialism is the state policy, practice, or advocacy of extending power and dominion, especially by direct territorial acquisition or by gaining political and economic control of other areas, often through employing hard power (economic and ...

and war. It includes many relative newcomers to

P-Funk 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 ...

, many of whom remained employed by George Clinton on future releases under his own name or under the name George Clinton & the P-Funk All-Stars. Of all the original group members since Funkadelic's debut album, only George Clinton, Ray Davis, and

Eddie Hazel Edward Earl Hazel (April 10, 1950 – December 23, 1992) was an American guitarist and singer in early funk music who played lead guitar with Parliament-Funkadelic. Hazel was a posthumous inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, inducted in ...

appear on this album. Junie Morrison plays all the instruments on the title track except the guitar solo which was played by Michael Hampton. This was the last Album to feature Eddie Hazel, Ray Davis, Garry Shider, Junie Morrison, Mallia Franklin, and Jessica Cleaves. Also this is the only Funkadelic album the late

Roger Troutman Roger Troutman (November 29, 1951 – April 25, 1999), also known as Roger, was an American singer, songwriter, record producer, multi-instrumentalist and the founder of the band Zapp who helped spearhead the funk movement and heavily influenc ...

appears on as well.

performs several instruments and contributed production work to the album.

Artwork controversy

The cover artwork was designed by long-time Funkadelic collaborator

Pedro Bell Pedro Bell (June 11, 1950 – August 27, 2019) was an American artist and illustrator, best known for his elaborate album cover designs and other artwork for numerous Funkadelic and George Clinton solo albums. Bell also wrote many of the line ...

. Deemed inappropriate due to the cover featuring an overtly phallic spaceship that transported a naked woman, the work was edited, despite the fact that Funkadelic "was following up two consecutive million-selling records," while signed to

Warner Bros Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Di ...

. Bell revised ''The Electric Spanking of War Babies'' so the image was featured with a lime-green sketch of shape covering the majority of the cover art, which says, “Oh Look! The Cover that ‘They’ were TOO-SCARED to print!”

Critical response

*"Whether or not one cares to examine its hidden political messages, Electric Spanking is an above-average party album." **

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

*"George Clinton reaches into the disgusting depths of his drug-addled mind and comes up with the solidest, weirdest chunk of P-Funk since one nation gathered under a groove." **

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most well-known and influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and ...

Track listing

Personnel

*George Clinton - lead vocals (on #1-3,5,8) *

Junie Morrison Junie is a given name and nickname. Notable people with the given name include: *Junie B. Jones, fictional character in a children's series written by Barbara Park * Junie Cobb (1896–1970), American jazz multi-instrumentalist and bandleader * Jun ...

- bass, rhythm guitar, keyboards and drums (1) *

- rhythm guitar, bass and Moog synthesizer (3) *

Michael Hampton Michael Hampton (born November 15, 1956) is an American funk/rock guitarist. He is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, inducted in 1997 with fifteen other members of Parliament-Funkadelic. Career Hampton was born in Cleveland, Ohio, a ...

(1-3,7,8), Jerome Ali (2,7),

(5) - lead guitar *

DeWayne McKnight DeWayne Stephen "Blackbyrd" McKnight (born April 17, 1954) is an American guitarist. He was a member of The Headhunters, a jazz-funk fusion band from 1975 through 1978 and Parliament-Funkadelic from 1978 through 2008. He served briefly as ...

- guitar (6) *Gordon Carlton - rhythm guitar (2,7) *Jimmy Ali (2), Lige Curry (3,6,8), Rodney Curtis (7) - bass *Kenny Colton (2,6), Tyrone Lampkin (3,7) - drums *Larry Fratangelo - percussion (3,4,6), drums (4) *

Muruga Booker Steven Bookvich known as Muruga Booker (born December 27, 1942) is an American drummer, composer, inventor, artist, recording artist, and an autonomous Eastern Orthodox priest. Biography Booker was born in Detroit, Michigan, on December 27, ...

- electric talking drum (3) *Marion Saulsby - keyboards (7) *David Lee Chong - Moog synthesizer and keyboards (8) *

Pat Rizzo Pat Rizzo (November 30, 1941 – April 15, 2021) was an American saxophonist and flautist, best known for his work with funk band Sly and the Family Stone. Career Rizzo started performing in the sixties with The Cuff Links. He is best known f ...

(3,5),

Michael Brecker Michael Leonard Brecker (March 29, 1949 – January 13, 2007) was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. He was awarded 15 Grammy Awards as both performer and composer. He was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from Berklee College of M ...

(7) - saxophone *

Cynthia Robinson Cynthia Robinson (January 12, 1944 – November 23, 2015) was an American musician, best known for being a founding member, the trumpeter and a vocalist in Sly and the Family Stone. Her voice and presence were featured in the hits "Dance to the ...

- trumpet (3,5) *

Bootsy Collins William Earl "Bootsy" Collins (born October 26, 1951) is an American bass guitarist and singer. Rising to prominence with James Brown in the early 1970s, and later with Parliament-Funkadelic, Collins established himself as one of the leading n ...

- vocals (3) * Tony Thomas - vocals *

Donnie Sterling Donnie Sterling is a musician brought in by Parlet's Mallia Franklin in 1978 as Parlet's band leader and bass player. After writing three songs on Parlet's second album, ''Invasion of the Booty Snatchers'', Sterling and Franklin both left Parlet ...

- lead vocals (6) *

Garry Shider Garry Marshall Shider (July 24, 1953 – June 16, 2010) was an American musician and guitarist. He was musical director of the P-Funk All-Stars for much of their history. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997, with fifteen ...

- lead vocals (7), rhythm guitar (7,8) *

- lead vocals, rhythm guitar, keyboards and drums (5)

References

External links

*
The Electric Spanking of War Babies
' 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 la ...

The Motherpage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Electric Spanking Of War Babies, The Funkadelic albums 1981 albums Warner Records albums Albums with cover art by Pedro Bell