Clarence Eugene "Fuzzy" Haskins (born June 8, 1941) is a former singer with 1950s and 1960s

doo-wop Doo-wop (also spelled doowop and doo wop) is a genre of rhythm and blues music that originated in African-American communities during the 1940s, mainly in the large cities of the United States, including New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Chica ...

group, The Parliaments. He is a founding member of the groundbreaking and influential 1970s

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the mi ...

bands

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

and

Funkadelic Funkadelic was an American funk rock band formed in Plainfield, New Jersey in 1968 and active until 1982. The band and its sister act Parliament, both led by George Clinton, pioneered the funk music culture of the 1970s.John, Bush. Funkade ...

, also known as Parliament-Funkadelic. He left Parliament-Funkadelic in 1977 to pursue a solo career. He is a member of the

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), sometimes simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum and hall of fame located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on the shore of Lake Erie. The museum documents the history of rock music and ...

, inducted in 1997 with fifteen other members of Parliament-Funkadelic. In 2019, he and Parliament-Funkadelic were given Grammy Lifetime Achievement Awards.

Biography

Haskins was born in

Elkins, West Virginia Elkins is a city in and the county seat of Randolph County, West Virginia, United States. The community was incorporated in 1890 and named in honor of Stephen Benton Elkins, a U.S. Senator from West Virginia. The population was 6,950 at the 20 ...

, and starting in the late 1950s he was a founding member of

doo wop Doo-wop (also spelled doowop and doo wop) is a genre of rhythm and blues music that originated in African-American communities during the 1940s, mainly in the large cities of the United States, including New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Chica ...

vocal group The Parliaments, led by George Clinton. The group originated as a barbershop quintet in the back room of a barber shop on West 3rd Street in

Plainfield, New Jersey Plainfield is a city in Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, known by its nickname as "The Queen City."

. Haskins often sang lead in the group. They started traveling to

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...

on weekends in order to audition for

Motown Records Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau of ''mot ...

and to participate in the fertile music scene there. The Parliaments released

singles Singles are people not in a committed relationship. Singles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series * ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe * ''Singles'' ...

on several record labels, but did not have a hit until 1967 when "(I Wanna) Testify," on the small Detroit imprint Revilot Records, reached #3 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large adverti ...

'' R&B singles chart. The song was actually recorded by George Clinton and a group called The Holidays, as the other Parliaments didn't make it to Detroit that week. Revilot went out of business, and in the process, the group lost their name, The Parliaments. By 1970, the five Parliaments singers were touring with five backing musicians known separately as

. The highly rehearsed performances and suited look of The Parliaments gave way to the members dressing in their own outrageous styles. Haskins wore long johns on stage. Due to the contractual issues surrounding the group name, Clinton signed the band as

to Westbound Records. The ensemble released their first album ''

'' in 1970. Clinton also renamed his group of singers

(but still with the Funkadelic musicians as official members) and signed that act to the Holland-Dozier-Holland-owned record label,

Invictus "Invictus" is a short poem by the Victorian era British poet William Ernest Henley (1849–1903). It was written in 1875 and published in 1888 in his first volume of poems, ''Book of Verses'', in the section ''Life and Death (Echoes)''. Backgr ...

. Parliament released their first album ''

Osmium Osmium (from Greek grc, ὀσμή, osme, smell, label=none) is a chemical element with the symbol Os and atomic number 76. It is a hard, brittle, bluish-white transition metal in the platinum group that is found as a trace element in alloys, ...

'' in 1970. Clinton now had two groups that were actually one entity. Under the name Funkadelic, the ensemble was geared towards a rock audience, and as

it was aimed at a

soul music Soul music is a popular music genre that originated in the African American community throughout the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s. It has its roots in African-American gospel music and rhythm and blues. Soul music became ...

audience. Collectively, they became known as Parliament-Funkadelic, or

P-Funk Parliament-Funkadelic (abbreviated as P-Funk) is an American music collective of rotating musicians headed by George Clinton, primarily consisting of the funk bands Parliament and Funkadelic, both active since the 1960s. Their distinctive f ...

. Haskins contributed to P-Funk as a writer through 1972. He toured and appeared on P-Funk albums as a singer, and occasionally as a guitarist, throughout the 1970s. In June 1977 at the height of P-Funk's popularity, Haskins (along with other original Parliaments

Calvin Simon Calvin Eugene Simon (May 22, 1942 – January 6, 2022) was an American singer who was a member of the bands Parliament and Funkadelic. He is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, inducted in 1997 along with fifteen other members of Parliam ...

and Grady Thomas) left the ensemble over financial and management disputes with Clinton. Haskins released his first solo album, '' A Whole Nother Thang'', in 1976. The album featured P-Funk members: Tiki Fulwood and Cordell "Boogie" Mosson on drums, and

Bootsy Collins William Earl "Bootsy" Collins (born October 26, 1951) is an American bass guitarist and singer. Rising to prominence with James Brown in the early 1970s, and later with Parliament-Funkadelic, Collins established himself as one of the leading ...

and Mosson on bass.

Bernie Worrell George Bernard Worrell, Jr. (April 19, 1944 – June 24, 2016) was an American keyboardist and record producer best known as a founding member of Parliament-Funkadelic and for his work with Talking Heads. He is a member of the Rock and Rol ...

makes an appearance on keyboards, contributing horn and string arrangements as well. Haskins served as producer, singer, songwriter, guitarist and even drummer on one song. Haskins released his second album, '' Radio Active'', two years later. An Ace compilation from 1994 reissued both albums on one CD. In 1981, Haskins, Simon, and Thomas formed a new funk band using the name Funkadelic, appeared on ''

Soul Train ''Soul Train'' is an American musical variety television show. It aired in syndication from October 2, 1971, to March 25, 2006. Across its 35-year history the show primarily featured performances by R&B, soul, and hip hop artists. The series ...

'' under that name, and released the album, '' Connections & Disconnections''. The album was later reissued on CD with the title '' Who's a Funkadelic?'' in 1992. In the 1990s, Haskins toured with Original P, a group made up of four of the original five Parliaments.

Discography

* '' A Whole Nother Thang'' (1976), Westbound * '' Radio Active'' (1978), Westbound * ''

A Whole Nother Radio Active Thang ''A Whole Nother Radio Active Thang'' is a compilation album by Clarence "Fuzzy" Haskins. The album was released in 1994 by Westbound Records and combines two individual albums recorded by Haskins, ''A Whole Nother Thang'' (1976), and '' Radio Ac ...

'' (1994), Westbound/ Ace – reissue of both albums on one CD

References

* Bowman, Rob (1992). ''Music for Your Mother'' D liner notes Westbound Records. * Bowman, Rob (1994). ''A Whole Nother Radio Active Thang 1976–1978'' D liner notes Ace Records Ltd. * Bowman, Rob (1996). ''Live: Meadowbrook, Rochester, Michigan – September 12, 1971'' D liner notes Westbound Records. * Hamilton, Andrew. " I Wanna Testify. ''

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Music ...

''. * Vincent, Rickey (1996). ''Funk: The Music, The People, and The Rhythm of The One''. St. Martin's Press.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Haskins, Fuzzy 1941 births American funk singers American funk guitarists American male guitarists Living people P-Funk members Singers from West Virginia People from Elkins, West Virginia Guitarists from West Virginia 20th-century American guitarists