Funktastic

Upon reading the inaugural Inspirations column (May 14) in which Dr. Dre pays tribute to George Clinton, I was reminded of the night in 1968 when Parliament became Parliament-Funkadelic. I was at Grandmother’s nightclub in East Lansing, Mich., and Parliament came over from Detroit to introduce their new act. Half the guys were dressed in the standard doo-wop red suits--the other half, including George Clinton, were dressed in that psychedelic from the hood attire that Dr. Dre and others have come to love.

As Parliament evolved into Parliament-Funkadelic that memorable night, all of us in the club realized we were witnessing what I now call a defining moment in black musical history. At the end of the night the red silk suits were history--Parliament-Funkadelic was born--and we all left realizing we were one nation under a groove. Of course, George Clinton is still going strong, and I bet he also still remembers that night at Grandmother’s as well.

PHILIP S. HART, Ph.D

Los Angeles