Another music legend has gotten tired from traveling around the world and performing in a different city every night. The Parliament/Funkadelic frontman funk legend George Clinton announced Friday that he will retire from touring in 2019.
“This has been coming a long time,” said Clinton in a statement revealing the news. “Anyone who has been to the shows over the past couple of years has noticed that I’ve been out front less and less.”
Clinton recently had problems with his heart and had to undergo a pacemaker surgery. Still, the 76-year-old claimed that the surgery didn’t play a determining fact in his decision.
“Truth be told,” he added. “It’s never really been about me. It’s always been about the music and the band. That’s the real P-Funk legacy. They’ll still be funkin’ long after I stop.”
Now, George Clinton isn’t looking to calmly ride into the sunset. Backed by Parliament/Funkadelic, he will play over 50 dates in 2018, including shows the US, Europe, and Japan. Also, the Rock and Roll Famer will put out a new album with the Parliament. Titled Medicaid Fraud Dog, this will be their first studio release since 1980’s Trombipulation.
George Clinton is considered to be one of the most prominent figures in funk music alongside James Brown and Sly Stone. Clinton’s most acclaimed works came through bands Parliament and Funkadelic. Each band featured different musicians and played a different sound at the beginning, but eventually, Clinton decided to unify them into a Parliament/Funkadelic collective. George Clinton and 15 members of the P-Funk collective were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997.
