"Mothership Connection (Star Child)" is a

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 m ...

song by Parliament. It was the third and last single released from the group's

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

album '' Mothership Connection''. The song introduces George Clinton's messianic alien

alter ego An alter ego (Latin for "other I", " doppelgänger") means an alternate self, which is believed to be distinct from a person's normal or true original personality. Finding one's alter ego will require finding one's other self, one with a differen ...

Star Child for the first time (''see P-Funk mythology''). The lyrics "Swing down, sweet chariot, stop and let me ride" quote the traditional spiritual " Swing Down, Sweet Chariot", first popularized in the 1940s by The Golden Gate Quartet and later recorded by Elvis Presley among others (and not the better-known spiritual "

Swing Low, Sweet Chariot "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" is an African-American spiritual song and one of the best-known Christian hymns. Originating in early oral and musical African-American traditions, the date it was composed is unknown. Performances by the Hampton Singer ...

"). The track " Let Me Ride" on the Dr. Dre album '' The Chronic'' is heavily based on samples from this song. In 1998, Scott Grooves produced a

remix A remix (or reorchestration) is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, video, poem, or photograph can all be remixes. The o ...

version of this song under the title ''Mothership Reconnection'', followed by yet another

by Scott Grooves, Slam and

Daft Punk Daft Punk were a French electronic music duo formed in 1993 in Paris by Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo. Widely regarded as one of the most influential acts in dance music history, they achieved popularity in the late 1990s as p ...

. The music video for the Scott Grooves version hinted at the modernizing of the song by showing characters inspired by Clinton's Star Child mythology re-made in the visual style of the

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street bridges, 14th Street Bridge in ...

movie Tron. The song was the inspiration for

Dave Parker David Gene Parker (born June 9, 1951), nicknamed "The Cobra," is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a right fielder from 1973 to 1991. A seven-time All-Star, Parker won two National League bat ...

's "Boys Boppin'" shirt

Alternate titles

The song was titled simply "Star Child" on its single release, while the radio promo version was titled "Star Child (Mothership Connection)." This version uses the same track from ''Mothership Connection'' but fades out at 3:08. It is included as a bonus track on the ''Mothership Connection'' CD. On the album '' Live: P-Funk Earth Tour'' the song is split into two tracks, "Mothership Connection (Star Child)" and "Swing Down, Sweet Chariot."

Cover versions

In 1990, bassist Stanley Clarke and keyboardist

George Duke George M. Duke (January 12, 1946 – August 5, 2013) was an American keyboardist, composer, singer-songwriter and record producer. He worked with numerous artists as arranger, music director, writer and co-writer, record producer and as a pr ...

released an album entitled "3," which contained a cover of this song.

References

1976 singles Parliament (band) songs Songs written by George Clinton (funk musician) Songs written by Bootsy Collins Songs written by Bernie Worrell Casablanca Records singles {{1970s-single-stub