Recently, my husband Albert Isom Clinton Sr. and I received an invitation to his cousin, George Clinton’s, 80th birthday celebration in Los Angeles. We were excited about celebrating his milestone and meeting some of his celebrity guests.
New coronavirus protocols in California were announced and we decided to respectfully decline the invitation. After much thought, we decided to send George the 2021 Prestigious Community Icon Award that we would have presented at his celebration which consisted of some of his historical photographs.
After receiving the Prestigious Community Icon Award though the mail system, George and his wife Carlon, who is also his manager, was very appreciative of the recognition and gave us a call leaving a voicemail. Carlon said, “Hello Clintons, we are back at home, and we opened the gift this morning and it is the best gift ever. We are definitely planning to see you guys on our way to the New York City Homecoming Week Concerts.”
George stated, “I love it, love, love it cousins. It’s so beautiful, thanks a lot.”
The Universal Hip Hop Museum organized four concert shows to celebrate New York City’s resilience and the reopening of New York City during the week of Aug. 14- 22. New York would host concerts in each of the five boroughs. More than 50 groups were scheduled to perform.
Since George Clinton has been a part of the music scene on the New Jersey, New York, and East Coast from doo-wop to hip hop, he along with the P-Funk All Stars Collective with special guests were slated to headline and hit the stage for a rousing show on Aug. 20 at Forest Hills Stadium in Queens.
True to their word and while on their way to the New York City Homecoming Week concerts, George and Carlon arrived at our home in Gastonia on Aug. 17 in a chauffeur-driven black Mercedes Sprinter. They also brought the 2021 Prestigious Community Icon Award that we had mailed to George, and they presented party-favor gift bags from George’s California birthday celebration.
Their visit was a wonderful gesture, and we were elated to fellowship with them in our home and take family photographs.
As community service ambassadors and civil rights and social justice activists, my husband and I were overjoyed to officially salute and bestow the Prestigious Community Icon Award to George Clinton, bandleader of the world-renowned Parliament Funkadelic music legends on behalf of the Clinton Family and thousands of George Clinton Parliament Funkadelic fans who have benefited and enjoyed the outlandish costumes and dazzling international live concert shows for so many years.
This meritorious award is also bestowed in recognition of George’s astounding international music achievements, civil rights and social justice advocacy, his 80th birthday milestone, commitment to excellence and his desire to give back, to educate, motivate, inspire, and to aspire a positive change in communities and in the next generations to come.
George Clinton: “I am humbled and deeply honored to receive and to accept this Prestigious Community Icon Award. It especially means so much to me to be recognized by my family. I have enjoyed spending this special time in Gastonia fellowshipping with my family. I thank Albert and Vicky for the amazing award and uplifting spirit.”
Albert Isom Clinton Sr.: “The origin of the Clinton family connection is solidified through my great-grandfather, ex-slave, South Carolina State Sen. Frederick Albert Clinton and his brother, ex-slave, Bishop Isom Caleb Clinton, the 23rd bishop in the line of succession of the A.M.E. Zion Church worldwide, who is George’s great-great-grandfather. Our family has a special bond and this historical fellowship in our home with Gorge and his wife Carlon will always be remembered.”
Carlon Clinton: “My husband George and I were so excited to experience a historical moment in time. Sen. Clinton and Bishop Clinton would certainly approve the bonding of their descendants. I can certainty see the Clinton Family DNA in Albert and George.”
Dubbed the Funk Master General, George Clinton is an award-winning singer, songwriter, arranger, music producer, bandleader, and founder of the world-renowned Parliament Funkadelic music legends, actor and voice over actor, entrepreneur, philanthropist, advocate for singers, songwriters and musicians’ rights, community, civil rights, and social justice activist and dedicated family man.
He was born in Kannapolis, and raised in Plainfield, New Jersey, where he formed the band Parliament. He eventually moved to Detroit in 1967 where Motown founder Berry Gordy hired him as a songwriter, producer, and arranger. In 1971, he formed the band Funkadelic. He recorded under the band names of Parliament and Funkadelic, developed on eclectic sound of funk music that blended elements of jazz, rock, pop, classical and even gospel in his productions and elevated funk music into a genre of its own.
George has produced more than 40 R&B hit singles (including three number ones_ and three platinum albums and four gold albums under Parliament Funkadelic. Some of his memorable songs are “Atomic Dog,” “Flashlight,” “One Nation under a Groove,” and “Tear the Roof Off.”
George Clinton was a protégé of the late singer James Brown and he has collaborated with Bootsie Collins, produced various artists and he still records with a vast assortment of artists reaching the younger rock audiences. His music has been sampled by gospel artist Kirk Franklin, The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, LL Cool J, MC Hammer, Nas, Warren G., Kendrick Lamar, 2 Pac, Outkast, Ice Cube, and Digital Underground to name a few.
George provides the voice of Bounce FM DJ, the funktipus on Grand Theft Auto’s San Andreas and he appeared in various movies including “The Night Before,” “House Party,” “PCU,” and “Good Burger.”
He has hosted the HBO original series Cosmic Slop, and he has produced commercials for Apple Computers, Nike, and Rio Mp3 Players. He composed the theme song for popular TV programs “The Tracey Ullman Show” and “The PJs.”
His accolades include a Grammy Award, MTV Music Video Award, GMA Dove Gospel Music Award for “Stomp” with Kirk Franklin, Motown Music Alumni Association Lifetime Achievement Award, BMI Urban Icon Award, NAACP Image Award and he has received an honorary Doctor of Music from the Berklee College of Music. He is an honorary member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity.
George Clinton has been inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of fame in Ohio by musician Prince, the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame, the National Museum of African American Music in Nashville and the Smithsonian National Museum of African-American History and Culture in Washington, DC.
In summation, the evolution of George Clinton’s life and legacy depicts a man who has a never-give-up-never-surrender perception relating to life. He has overcome adversity and he has experienced some of the greatest things that life has to offer. At the age of 80, through God’s amazing saving grace and mercy, he continues grinding to greatness. May he grace this planet for many more years to come.
Jeremiah 1:5 (KJV) Before I formed thee in the belly, I knew thee;
Evangelist Vicky Meeks Clinton, anointed servant leader, historian, columnist, community service ambassador, community organizer, and civil rights and social justice activist is a resident of Gaston County.