Ramon "Tiki" Fulwood (May 23, 1944 – October 29, 1979) was an American musician. He was the drummer for the

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 ...

, as well as 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 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 ...

Career

Fulwood was born in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

in 1944. In the late 1960s, Fulwood was the house drummer for the Uptown Theater in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Since ...

when he met guitarist

Eddie Hazel Edward Earl Hazel (April 10, 1950 – December 23, 1992) was an American guitarist and singer in early funk music who played lead guitar with Parliament-Funkadelic. Hazel was a posthumous inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, inducted in 19 ...

. Hazel and bassist Billy Bass Nelson were on tour as musical support for the

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 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 ...

. Hazel and Nelson convinced group leader George Clinton to add Fulwood to the group, where he replaced drummer Harvey McGee. Fulwood, Hazel, and Nelson formed the core of

musical backing group, which later became known as

. Fulwood first quit Funkadelic in 1971 following a pay dispute with Clinton, but played with

sporadically thereafter. Fulwood also played drums in the

Tyrone Davis Tyrone Davis (born Tyrone D. Fettson or Tyrone D. Branch, October 3, 1937 – February 9, 2005) was an American blues and soul singer with a long list of hit records over more than 20 years. Davis had three number 1 hits on the '' Billboard'' ...

band and the Chairmen of the Board between stints with P-Funk, and later was briefly employed by

Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Davis adopted a variety of music ...

. Fulwood died of stomach cancer in 1979. In 2016, Rolling Stone ranked Fulwood at no. 39 in its 100 greatest drummers of all time, and in 2013 ''Spin'' named ranked him at no. 76 in its 100 greatest drummers of alternative music.

References

1944 births 1979 deaths Musicians from Philadelphia American funk drummers American male drummers P-Funk members Deaths from stomach cancer Deaths from cancer in Washington, D.C. 20th-century American drummers 20th-century American male musicians {{US-drummer-stub