Grady Thomas (born January 5, 1941, in

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area.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 ...

. He is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, inducted in 1997 with fifteen other members of

Parliament-Funkadelic 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 ...

. Thomas started out in the late 1950s as one of

The Parliaments The Parliaments were an American vocal quintet from Plainfield, New Jersey, United States. Originally formed in the back room of a barbershop in 1956, the quintet was named after the cigarette brand. The Parliaments initially performed doo-wop ...

, a doo wop barbershop quintet led by George Clinton. In 1977, Thomas (along with original Parliaments

Fuzzy Haskins Clarence Eugene "Fuzzy" Haskins (born June 8, 1941) is a former singer with 1950s and 1960s doo-wop group, The Parliaments. He is a founding member of the groundbreaking and influential 1970s funk bands Parliament and Funkadelic, also known as ...

and

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 ...

), left

after financial and management disputes with Clinton. In 1981, the trio caused confusion when they formed a new band, and released an album called '' Connections and Disconnections'' under the name Funkadelic. After a return stint with George Clinton and the P-Funk Allstars in the 1990s, Thomas, along with original Parliaments bass vocalist

Ray Davis (musician) Raymond Davis (March 29, 1940 – July 5, 2005) was the original bass singer and one of the founding members of The Parliaments, and subsequently the bands Parliament, and Funkadelic, collectively known as P-Funk. His regular nickname while h ...

, Haskins, and Simon founded "

Original P The Original P is an American funk band formed in 1991 by four founding members of Parliament-Funkadelic. Grady Thomas, Fuzzy Haskins, Calvin Simon, and Ray Davis have all been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and in 2019, were awarded ...

" in 1998, with whom Thomas currently performs. In 2019, he and Parliament-Funkadelic were given Grammy Lifetime Achievement Awards.

References

1941 births Living people American male singers Musicians from Newark, New Jersey P-Funk members {{US-singer-stub