Soundtrack — A Black Music Month tribute to the songs that shaped my memories — “P. Funk (Wants to Get Funk up”

“P. Funk (Wants to Get Funked Up)” (George Clinton/Bootsy Collins/Bernie Worrell) is a funk song by Parliament. It is the first track on their 1975 album Mothership Connection and was the first single to be released from the album. It reached number 33 on the U.S. R&B chart. Fun Fact: I was a solid P. Funk fan for nearly 25 years before I realized The Parliaments (a group foundation) formed in New Jersey, by way of the men working together at a barber shop where George Clinton did the potato-lye processing.

Maybe the “P” could stand for pandemic, because funk is how I’ve been getting through these 2020 days. About a month ago, my vinyl collection had no more than 30 LPs, now there’s close to 100 of them. Among my first new purchases was a remastered version of Mothership Connection.

As the infectious groove spun, I decided to do something I hadn’t ever done while listening to Parliament. Normally I would be on my feet lost in the instrumentation not really paying attention to the lyrics, but this time I decided to just listen.

Yeah, W E F U N K, y’all now this is what I want you all to do
If you got faults, defects or shortcomings you know
Like arthritis, rheumatism or migraines
Whatever part of your body it is, I want you to lay it on your radio
Let the vibes flow through, funk not only moves, it can remove, dig?

“DIG,” I screamed.

Then I laid upon the radio my IBS, fibromyalgia, lumbar disc disease, and the pain of seeing so much black death and police brutality.

I want the bomb, I want the P.Funk, don’t want my funk stepped on
Make my funk the P.Funk before I take it home