Calvin Simon, a founding member and longtime vocalist for Parliament-Funkadelic, has died at age 79. The singer appeared on classics 'Give Up the Funk,” “Flash Light” and 'Mothership Connection (Star Child),' among others
Simon was born on May 22, 1942, in Beckley, West Virginia, where he sang in the church choir for weekly radio broadcasts. His family moved to New Jersey when he was 13, where he found work as a barber. He teamed up with fellow barbers Clinton and Grady Thomas and their customers, Ray Davis and Fuzzy Haskins, to form the Parliaments, which aspired to sound like Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers.
The Parliaments changed their name to Funkadelic after a dispute with their label, and after they won the rights back to their name, they shortened it to Parliament. By this point, Parliament was more of a commercial R&B group while Funkadelic made less polished underground records. Nevertheless, both bands toured together with a replica “mothership” from 1976 until 1981.
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