Founding member of Parliament-Funkadelic, vocalist, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Clarence “Fuzzy” Haskins has died. He was 81 years old.
Clarence “Fuzzy” Haskins, the vocalist and stage performer who played with George Clinton from Parliament to Funkadelic, has died at the age of 81, the band announced on social media Saturday.
“We are saddened to announce the passing of the first Member of Parliament and Funkadelic Clarence Eugene “Fuzzy” Haskins, born June 8, 1941 — March 17, 2023,” the group said in a statement.
Haskins was one of the first members of parliament when the doo-wop group formed in 1960, along with Clinton, Ray Davis, Calvin Simon and Grady Thomas, who remained after the group’s dramatic transformation into an R&B-funk band in 1970.
The band spent several years with various labels trying to record a hit, and finally succeeded in 1967 with the song “I Wanna Testify”, released by Revilot Records. Due to legal disputes, when Revilot Records went bankrupt in the late 60s, the band could not use the name Parliaments, which led to a name change to continue recording for other labels.
In addition to singing and performing as a multi-instrumentalist, Haskins has written numerous Funkadelic songs, including “I Got a Thing, You Got a Thing, Everyone’s Got a Thing” and “I Wanna Know If It’s Good to You”. In 1976, he recorded a solo album A Whole Nothing Thang before returning to Funkadelic for their 1977 tour.
When Simon and Thomas wanted to create an updated version of Funkadelic in 1980, Haskins joined them to record their only LP: 42.9% in Germany and Connections & Disconnections in the USA. Unfortunately, the reinterpretation of Funkadelic led to a lawsuit with Clinton over the use of the name.
In the 90s, they played with Davis again in Original P, performing many classic and original parliamentary funkadelic songs. Clarence Haskins was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame along with other members of Parliament-Funkadelic in 1997.
