George Bernard "Bernie" Worrell, Jr.
(born April 19, 1944) is an American keyboardist and composer best known for his work with Parliament-Funkadelic and Talking Heads. He is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, inducted in 1997 with fifteen other members of Parliament-Funkadelic.
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BERNIE WORRELL TICKETS
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Biography
Worrell was born in
Long Branch, New Jersey and grew up in
Plainfield, New Jersey. A musical
prodigy, he learned to play the piano by age three and wrote a
concerto at age eight. He went on to study at
Juilliard and the
New England Conservatory of Music.
As a college student around 1970, Worrell played with a group called Chubby & The Turnpikes (later to be known as
Tavares). The drummer in that band was
Joey Kramer, who left in October, 1970, to be a founding member of the rock band
Aerosmith. He then met
George Clinton, then the leader of a
doo wop group called
The Parliaments. Soon, Worrell, Clinton, The Parliaments and their backing band (
Funkadelic) moved to
Detroit, Michigan, and became
Parliament. During the 1970s the same group of musicians toured and recorded under both the Parliament and Funkadelic names as well as several others, collectively known as
Parliament-Funkadelic. Worrell was a central figure in the group. He played the piano, keyboards and organ in both groups and co-wrote or did the
arrangements for many of the bands' hits. He debuted the keyboard synthesizer bass in popular music on the Parliament song "
Flash Light." He also recorded a
1978 album with the group,
All the Woo in the World
, under his own name.
While funk musicians traditionally utilized electric keyboards, such as the
Hammond organ and
Fender Rhodes electric piano, Bernie Worrell created Parliament’s distinctive riffs with a
Minimoog synthesizer. Worrell’s synthesizer work is prominent on Parliament’s most popular (and most sampled) songs throughout the 1970’s, most notably ”
Mothership Connection (Star Child)” and “
Give Up the Funk (Tear the Roof Off the Sucker)” from
Mothership Connection
, "
Flash Light from
Funkentelechy Vs. the Placebo Syndrome
and “
Aqua Boogie (A Psychoalphadiscobetabioaquadoloop)" from
Motor Booty Affair
.
The original Parliament-Funkadelic stopped touring in the early 1980s, and Worrell released several solo albums. Though he never officially joined
Talking Heads, he was a
de facto member of the group for most of the 80s, appearing on one of their albums and multiple tours until they broke up in
1992.
Since the late 1980s, Worrell has recorded extensively with
Bill Laswell. He has also performed with
Gov't Mule.
Through the beginning of the 21st century, Bernie has become a visible member of the so-called
Jam band scene, performing in many large summer festivals, sometimes billed as
Bernie Worrell and the Woo Warriors
. These new funk, groove, and rock bands have embraced Worrell's historical relevance and immense talent.
Worrell has since joined the rock group Black Jack Johnson, with
Mos Def,
Will Calhoun,
Doug Wimbish and
Dr. Know. He appears with the band on Mos Def's 2004 release
The New Danger.
Worrell joined forces with bass legend
Les Claypool, guitarist
Buckethead, and drummer
Bryan Mantia to form the group
Colonel Claypool's Bucket of Bernie Brains.
His latest project is Baby Elephant, a collaboration with
Stetsasonic member/
De La Soul producer
Prince Paul and longtime Paul associate
Don Newkirk. Released September 11, 2007,
Turn My Teeth Up!
, features George Clinton,
Shock G,
Yellowman,
Reggie Watts,
Nona Hendryx,
David Byrne and
Gabby La La.
His nephew is underground
rapper Chino XL.
Worrell appears in the 2004 documentary film
Moog
with synthesizer pioneer Bob Moog and several other Moog synthesizer musicians.
Discography
Solo albums
- 1978: All the Woo in the World
- 1990: B.W. Jam (Rock the House)
- 1991: Funk of Ages
- 1993: Pieces Of Woo: The Other Side
- 1993: Blacktronic Science
- 1997: Free Agent: A Spaced Odyssey
- 2007: Improvisczario
Selected group albums and notable contributions
- 1970: Osmium
by Parliament
- 1970: Funkadelic
by Funkadelic
- 1971: Maggot Brain
by Funkadelic
- 1972: America Eats Its Young
by Funkadelic
- 1974: Up for the Down Stroke
by Parliament
- 1977: Funkentelechy Vs. the Placebo Syndrome
by Parliament
- 1982: The Name of This Band Is Talking Heads
by Talking Heads
- 1983: Speaking in Tongues
by Talking Heads
- 1984: Stop Making Sense
by Talking Heads
- 1984: Fred Schneider & the Shake Society
by Fred Schneider
- 1992: Transmutation (Mutatis Mutandis)
by Praxis
- 1993: Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud
by Julian Schnabel
- 1999: Unison
by Shin Terai
- 2004: The Big Eyeball in the Sky
by Colonel Claypool's Bucket of Bernie Brains
- 2006: Gold & Wax
by Gigi
- 2007: Lightyears
by Shin Terai
- 2007: Tennessee 2004
by Praxis
- 2007: Turn My Teeth Up!
by Baby Elephant
- 2008: Profanation (Preparation for a Coming Darkness)
by Praxis
- 2008: Living on Another Frequency
by Science Faxtion
- 2008: A New Mind
by Activities of Dust