In 1976 Parliament Funkadelic, under its Parliament label, released the album Mothership Connection containing the single Mothership Connection (Starchild). The album is one of the most influential of its time having had a huge impact on jazz, dance, pop, hip-hop, R&B, Soul etc, and has been heavily sampled: Dr Dre’s Let Me Ride, is made up primarily of samples from Mothership Connection.
The main man behind Mothership Connection, Starchild and Parliament Funkadelic, George Clinton, is also very willing to recognise his influences. Starchild, Clinton acknowledges, was inspired partly in the mythology of the music of Sun Ra. Sun Ra was an experimental Jazz musician and is well known for his phrase “Space is the Place”. He believed that music had immense power to influence humankind and potentially connect us with life beyond our planet.
George Clinton’s Starchild, like Sun Ra’s black Noah, is a pioneer of Outer Space and a divine alien being. Starchild came to earth from space creating the Mothership Connection (the moment when Starchild and humanity meet) and bringing the holy Funk. The Holy Funk, with a capital F, is the cause of creation and energy source for all life. Starchild works for the intergalactic master of outer space Funk, Dr Funkenstein. Starchild has a bop gun which he uses to create "Funkentelechy", delivering funk around the universe. Through much funk the mythology of Starchild evolves. He battles Sir Nose D’Voidoffunk and tthe Placebo Syndrome, nearly loosing until he reveals the "Big Bang Theory", letting us know that Funk created the entire universe.
So all things are funk. I have always loved the idea that the universe began with music. Maybe the big bang was like a funk note plucked off of Bootsie’s space bass.
The idea of a divine alien funkster travelling the universe delivering funk appeals to me greatly. Let him come to Earth and share his glory. Perhaps, however, we musn’t wait around for the delivery of holy Funk, Maybe it is us that must go out into the universe with our funky music to share wherever we may. Some of Funkadelic’s line’s have been life long anthems of mine: I got a thing… You got thing, Everybody’s got a thing, when we get together doin’ our thing, get up to help each other, get up to help another. To be truly free is to be free from the need to be free.
William Burgoughs spoke of Earth being a space station at the intro to his album of spoken poetry with music, Dead City Radio. In "William's Welcome (What Are You Here For?)" with music by LennyPickett featuring Sonic Youth, he pronounces:
“What are you here for?
We're all here to go
We're all here…. to go
Earth is going to be a space station
We're all here to go into space
That's what were here for…”
