"The Pinocchio Theory" is a 1977 single by the American Funk band

Bootsy's Rubber Band A group is a number of persons or things that are located, gathered, or classed together. Groups of people * Cultural group, a group whose members share the same cultural identity * Ethnic group, a group whose members share the same ethnic iden ...

. It was released by

Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (known as Warner Bros. Records Inc. until 2019) is an American record label. A subsidiary of Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division ...

on February 9, 1977. The single first charted in Billboard magazine's Hot Soul Singles chart in March 1977 where it peaked at number six. The B-side of "The Pinocchio Theory" is "Rubber Duckie". Bootsy Collins explained that the Pinocchio Theory is about reaping what you sow. The song's lyric, "Don't fake the funk or your nose'll grow" inspired the character of Sir Nose D'Voidoffunk in the

P-Funk mythology The P-Funk mythology is a group of recurring characters, themes, and ideas primarily contained in the output of George Clinton's bands Parliament and Funkadelic. This "funkology" was outlined in album liner notes and song lyrics, in addition to a ...

. George Clinton wrote that they were unwittingly building the P-Funk mythology "brick-by-brick". He also claimed that Bootsy did not know the character of

Pinocchio Pinocchio ( , ) is a fictional character and the protagonist of the children's novel, ''The Adventures of Pinocchio'' (1883) by Italian writer Carlo Collodi of Florence, Tuscany. Pinocchio was carved by a poor man named Geppetto in a Tuscan vil ...

when they wrote the song and thought

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

had ripped P-Funk off when he finally saw the movie.Clinton, George, and Greenman, Ben.
Brothas Be, Yo Like George, Ain't That Funkin' Kinda Hard On You? A Memoir
'. United Kingdom, Atria Books, 2014. 174–5.

Personnel

Bootsy Collins William Earl "Bootsy" Collins (born October 26, 1951) is an American bass guitarist, singer, and songwriter. Rising to prominence with James Brown in the early 1970s before joining the Parliament-Funkadelic collective, Collins established himse ...

- lead vocals, bass, guitars, and drums *

Bernie Worrell George Bernard Worrell, Jr. (April 19, 1944 – June 24, 2016) was an American Keyboard instrument, keyboardist and record producer best known as a founding member of the Parliament-Funkadelic collective. In later years, he also worked with ...

- keyboards *Joel Johnson - keyboards *Gary Cooper, Robert Johnson - vocals *

Fred Wesley Fred Wesley (born July 4, 1943) is an American trombonist who worked with James Brown in the 1960s and 1970s, and Parliament-Funkadelic in the second half of the 1970s. Biography Wesley was born the son of a high school teacher and big band le ...

Maceo Parker Maceo Parker (; born February 14, 1943) is an American funk and soul jazz saxophonist, best known for his work with James Brown in the 1960s, Parliament-Funkadelic in the 1970s and Prince in the 2000s. Parker was a prominent soloist on many of ...

, Richard Griffith, Rick Gardner - horns

References

{{Bootsy Collins Songs about fictional male characters Bootsy Collins songs 1977 singles Songs written by Bootsy Collins Songs written by George Clinton (funk musician) 1977 songs Warner Records singles