SPECIAL THANKS

Special thanks to the individuals who agreed to be interviewed to help fill in the gaps on unknown, controversial, and often debated pieces of the puzzle: Mr. George Clinton, first and foremost for his impeccable memory and incredible attention to detail. Thanks to the following individuals for firsthand information and liner notes not previously acquired: Richard Boyce, Sidney Barnes, Gary “Mudbone” Cooper, Michael “Kidd Funkadelic” Hampton, Rick Gardner, Taka Boom, Dewayne “Blackbyrd” McKnight, Michael “Clip” Payne, Dawn Silva, Jim “Jay Double-You” Wright, Linda Shider, Rodney “Skeet” Curtis, Bennie Cowan, Greg Thomas, Greg Boyer, Lige Curry, Kevin Oliver, Satori Shakoor, Sheila “Amuka” Kelly, Ronald “Stozo” Edwards, Carl “Butch” Small, David Lee Spradley, Lonnie Greene, Andre “Foxxe” Williams, Tracey “Treylewd” Lewis, Muruga Booker, Joseph “Amp” Fiddler, Steve Boyd, Debra Barsha, Gabe Gonzalez, Gregg Fitz, Keith Thomas, Noel Haskins, Tim Shider, Lenny Holmes, Erik “Bone” Boon, E1 Ten, Juan Nelson, Sean “PapaSean” Franklin, Chuck Fishman, RonKat Spearman, Kendra Foster, Kim Manning, Toby Donahue, Gene “Poo Poo Man” Anderson, Shaunna Hall, Garrett Shider, Marshall Shider, Trazae Lewis-Clinton, Tonysha Nelson, Eli and Charlie from Soul Clap, and Shawn “Poppi” Clinton.

This book also contains vital information from conversations over the years with musicians, vocalists, and creatives in the P-Funk camp who have sadly passed away. They have imparted much information to the author in conversations and interviews over the past 20-plus years. Special thanks to Bernie “Woo” Worrell, Garry “Starchild” Shider, Cordell “Boogie” Mosson, Richard “Kush” Griffith, Robert “Peanut” Johnson, Joel “Razor Sharp” Johnson, Mallia “Queen of Funk” Franklin, Ron “Prophet” Ford, Ron Dunbar, Belita Woods, George E. Clinton III, and Dwayne “Sa’D Ali” Maultsby. Rest in beloved memory to all mentioned and not mentioned from this group of angels.

Additional special thanks to the band members who have imparted necessary information and details pertaining to specific songs over the years more casually in conversations during various tours: Billy “Bass” Nelson, Frankie “Kash” Waddy, Fred Wesley, Jeff “Cherokee” Bunn, Jerome Rodgers, Paul Hill, Foley, Shonda “Sativa” Clinton-Drennen, Ron Wright, Rico “Smoov” Lewis, and many more. Many apologies for those left out.

Additional thanks to the hardcore P-Funk fans over the years who have imparted information online or in person: Paul Felis, Melissa Weber, Marcel Visser, Chifumi Ui, Aris Wilson, Father Thyme, the Konings brothers, the Grau brothers, Peter Wetherbee, Tim Kinley, Chuck Haber, Rickey Vincent, Chris “Citrus” Sauthoff, Larry “Funkster” Jones, Chuck Fishman, Dan Wooridge, Tommy Barvick, Anthony D. Bryant, and others. These include the purveyors of the original Motherpage and the One Nation boardroom despite the occasional combination of bad information with good. This statement is especially true in the lifelong journey to obtain the truth. Luckily and hopefully, much of the previously erroneous information on the internet will be remedied with the existence of this volume.

A big thank-you goes out to the contributors to photographs used for this edition: Diem Jones, Mike Chiodo, William Thoren, Tim Kinley, and Rodney “Skeet” Curtis.

Contemporaneously, the author has conducted interviews with many of the still-living legends and contributors, mostly band members, and also family members of key contributors to form the bulk of the primary source material. However, due to collecting information over the many years of documenting the canon of P-Funk, the first 450 pages of the initial 725-page manuscript were outlined before starting the formal interview process. When the interviews were complete, the breakdown of newly interviewed primary sources was included in the accompanying interview list.

Special thanks to my wonderful, supportive wife Patavian and my three talented, amazing kids Nairi, Ani, and Lyric.

Extra special thanks to my parents Peter and Jeanne Bedrosian, pianists and educators both. I’m still awed by their talent and their knowledge, precious bits of which they passed down to me.

To my friend Nick Groff for sage advice and support when I was first shopping the book. To Mr. Christopher Horton and Jeff Paige from Funkatopia for introducing me to the great author Duane Tudahl. And thank you to Duane Tudahl for introducing me to my publishers at Rowman & Littlefield. To everyone at R&L who worked on the book, especially Michael Tan and Della Vache. Your help has been steadfast and invaluable.