Editing The Parliaments (section)

==History==
The group was originally based on [[Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers]],<ref>{{cite web |title=Black Music Month – George Clinton |url=https://jammin983.com/black-music-month/black-music-month-george-clinton-parliament-funkadelic/#:~:text=During%20his%20teen%20years%2C%20Clinton%20formed%20a%20doo%2Dwop%20group%20inspired%20by%20Frankie%20Lymon%20%26%20the%20Teenagers%20called%20the%20Parliaments. |website=Jammin' 98.3 |publisher=Jammin 98.3 |access-date=24 June 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Clinton |first1=George |title=George Clinton Biography |url=https://georgeclinton.com/bio/#:~:text=Basing%20his%20group%20on%20Frankie%20Lymon%20%26%20the%20Teenagers%2C%20Clinton%20formed%20The%20Parliaments%20in%201955 |website=George Clinton Parliament Funkadelic |publisher=George Clinton Parliament Funkadelic |access-date=24 June 2024}}</ref> but by the 1960s had developed a unique sound based on emerging styles of [[soul music|soul]] and [[funk]] music, with a notable penchant for bizarre lyrics. The group struggled for hits during most of the 1960s, recording singles on a variety of small [[record label]]s. They switched labels many times, and released several double-sided singles without success, including "[[Poor Willie]]" (on [[Apt Records|Apt]]), "[[Lonely Island (The Parliaments song)|Lonely Island]]" (on Flipp) and "Heart Trouble" (on [[Golden World Records|Golden World]]).<ref>{{cite book|ISBN=9781617134968|date=August 2003|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield Publishers|title=All Music Guide to Soul – The Definitive Guide to R&B and Soul|author=Vladimir Bogdanov|url=https://www.google.ru/books/edition/All_Music_Guide_to_Soul/xiELEQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22Heart+Trouble%22+and+%22That+Was+My+Girl%22&pg=PT2535&printsec=frontcover}}</ref> "Heart Trouble" was later re-worked in 1973 under the title "You Can't Miss What You Can't Measure", featured on the [[Funkadelic]] album ''[[Cosmic Slop]]''.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://www.google.ru/books/edition/George_Clinton_The_Cosmic_Odyssey_of_the/M1qlAwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0|ISBN=9781783230372|date=June 16, 2014|title=George Clinton & The Cosmic Odyssey of the P-Funk Empire|author=Kris Needs |publisher=Omnibus Press}}</ref> Another version was recorded about three years earlier, yet did not surface until the 2008 release of the CD "[[Toys (Funkadelic album)|Toys]]". The B-side, "That Was My Girl", was re-recorded in 1972 and featured on ''[[America Eats Its Young]]''.{{citation needed|date=April 2025}}

Eventually, Clinton gained employment at [[Motown Records]] as a songwriter and producer, making weekly trips to [[Detroit, Michigan|Detroit]] to produce for The Pets, Roy Handy, and other acts{{Citation needed|date=October 2024}}. In [[1967 in music|1967]] the Parliaments released "[[(I Wanna) Testify]]" on Revilot and finally achieved a hit single, with the song reaching No. 3 R&B and No. 20 Pop on the [[Billboard charts|''Billboard'' charts]]. In reality, Clinton was the only member of the Parliaments to appear in the song, as the other members were unable to travel to Detroit for the recording session (session singers and musicians rounded out the recording){{Citation needed|date=October 2024}}. To capitalize on the single's success, Clinton put together a backing band for a tour, expanding the Parliaments to the five singers plus five backing musicians.

After the success of "(I Wanna) Testify", Clinton became embroiled in a contractual dispute surrounding the [[bankruptcy]] of Revilot Records and temporarily lost the rights to the name "The Parliaments." In order to continue recording for other labels, Clinton renamed the entire ensemble [[Funkadelic]] (a name coined by bassist [[Billy Bass Nelson]]). Clinton positioned Funkadelic as a funk-rock band featuring the five backing musicians with the five Parliaments singers as uncredited guests. When Revilot declared bankruptcy the Parliaments were sold to [[Atlantic Records]], and Clinton abandoned doo-wop to avoid working for Atlantic. Even with Funkadelic operating as a recording and touring entity, in 1970 Clinton relaunched the Parliaments as a new R&B-based funk band, now known as [[Parliament (band)|Parliament]]. The lineup still consisted of the five original singers plus the five backing musicians, with the two acts signed to different labels and marketed as performing different types of [[funk]].

Several songs from the early repertoire of the Parliaments would be re-recorded on future [[Parliament (band)|Parliament]] and [[Funkadelic]] albums, including "[[Testify (Parliament song)|Testify]]," "[[The Goose]]," "All Your Goodies Are Gone," "[[Fantasy Is Reality]]," "Good Ole Music," "I Can Feel The Ice Melting," "What You Been Growing," "I'll Wait," and "That Was My Girl." In 1995, many of the original Parliaments tracks were reissued on the Goldmine/Soul label on the album ''Testifyin'''.