The 500 - #276 - Mothership Connection - Parliament

I was inspired by a podcast called The 500 hosted by Los Angeles-based comedian Josh Adam Meyers. His goal, and mine, is to explore Rolling Stone Magazine's 2012 edition of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. 

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Album: #276

Album Title: Mothership Connection

Artist: Parliament

Genre: Funk, Funk Rock, Black Prog

Recorded: United Sound (Detroit) Hollywood Sound (L.A.)

Released: December, 1975

My age at release: 10

How familiar was I with it before this week: Somewhat

Is it on the 2020 list? Yes, at #363 (dropping 87 places since 2012)

Song I am putting on my Spotify Playlist: Handcuffs

When I graduated from Teachers' College in 1996, I struggled to get full-time employment. I was fortunate in being hired as an occasional teacher by the London School Board (now Thames Valley) in Ontario. However, I continued bartending evenings and weekends to supplement my income. Cash was tight back then. In fact, I seriously considered moving to another country where teaching jobs were plentiful. At the time, the city of Las Vegas was booming and the state offered a generous package to Canadian teachers in an effort to lure them. I stayed put.

In July, 2000, after four financially difficult years, I finally got my shot. I was interviewed for a position at Lorne Avenue Public School. Half my day would be with a split Grade 5/6 class and the other half would be teaching music to Grades 4-8. I was cautiously optimistic. I had built a good relationship with the two principals interviewing me, but I did not have a music degree. I was upfront, pitching myself as an average saxophone player and hobby guitarist who was willing to take on the challenge.

Me (left) sitting in with my friends' band in 2007

To my delight, I got the gig. However, it didn't take long for reality to set in. How did I go about preparing for a split class and another in which I had no formal music training? Fortunately, I had the summer to plan and I registered for several music teaching workshops. To do that I had to drive 200 km round trip to a neighbouring city to learn a well-regarded approach to music education pedagogy called the Kodály method.

September was rocky. Many of the instruments in the music room were in need of repair, so we had to start the year with singing and theory. My naïveté and inexperience was obvious to my young charges, many of whom had difficult backgrounds and who were already jaded about the educational experience – particularly the arts.

The former Lorne Avenue Public School (demolished in 2016)

Recruiting help was a good start. Fortunately, I played hockey with a group of local musicians and, throughout the year, they generously donated their time to come to my music classes and perform. My thinking was simple. Inspire a love of music by showing the students what was possible. Eventually, I persuaded a few of the braver students with some music knowledge to join the bands on stage. I was most proud of an arrangement of Stray Cat Strut I taught to a group of saxophone, clarinet and trumpet players so they could accompany my pals’ group, Reverend Freddie and The Distillers, when they visited the school the following April.

Promotional poster from the Reverend Freddie & The Distillers 
performance at Lorne Avenue (April 6, 2001)

At the same time, my wife (girlfriend at the time) was working in a Blues and Jazz bar called Boomerz in our hometown of London and we had become friends with an award-winning Funk and Soul group dubbed LMT Connection.

LMT Connection (l-r) - Mark Rogers, Leroy Emmanuel and John Irvine 

One evening, as we all sat for drinks following a blistering set by the Niagara Falls-based trio, I asked how much it would cost to bring them in to play for my students. Rogers suggested reaching out to the Central Ontario Musicians Union for a grant. A plan was hatched. When the band was next booked to play Boomerz on a Friday night, they would perform at the school in the afternoon.

Beyond his exceptional musicianship, Emmanuel is also an incredible front man and story-teller. That afternoon, he captivated 150 cross-legged Lorne Avenue music students with his light-hearted and funny banter. Born in Atlanta, but raised in Detroit, Michigan, the now 76-year-old Emmanuel has been playing live music since he was 12, touring and performing with Gladys Knight, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder and Al Green.

The students loved every story and performance and were literally rocking in their places when the band broke into legendary funk hits from George Benson, James Brown, The Commodores and this week's featured artist, Parliament.

Parliament in the early 70s

Mothership Connection is the fourth album released by the legendary American funk collective, Parliament. Recorded between March and October, 1975, it was the first to feature saxophonist Maceo Parker and trombonist Fred Wesley who had been in James Brown's band. The record was produced by bandleader, singer and founder, George Clinton.

George Clinton

Known for his outrageous outfits and outlandish fashion sense, Clinton originally formed The Parliaments as a doo-wop group while working in a barber shop in Plainfield, New Jersey. For a short time, the group moved to Detroit and Clinton worked as a staff songwriter for Motown records. The Parliaments had a hit in 1967 with the song (I Wanna) Testify for Detroit- based Revilot Records. Shortly after, the record company ran into financial trouble and Clinton refused to record any more material until he received a settlement. While this legal/financial battle was ensuing, Clinton was not able to use the name The Parliaments.

Clinton's exploration into the world of psychedelia and his fascination with science fiction and surreal humour were a catalyst for a change in musical direction. Consequently, he recorded new material with the same group under the name Funkadelic (See Maggotbrain, #479 on The 500 Blog in May, 2019).

Later that year, he regained the right to use the name The Parliaments but wanted to switch to a different genre and combine elements of contemporary musicians he admired, including Jimi Hendrix, James Brown, Sly and the Family Stone, and Frank Zappa. The result was an eclectic, psychedelic form of funk that can be heard on Mothership Connection and the 10 records Parliament recorded between 1970 and 2018, as well as the 15 studio releases from Funkadelic or, as they are often grouped, P-Funk.

Partial discography for Parliament and Funkadelic

Funk music always puts me in a good mood and the sound of P-Funk is a favourite. However, hearing it always makes me think of a small gymnasium full of 9-14 year-olds bopping to the sound of Leroy Emmanuel and LMT Connection. I wish I had some photos or a video from that day, but this video from a performance in 2009 provides a taste of their work

Post Script: The 2000-2001 school year was the only year I worked as a music teacher. I moved to a Grade 6 classroom full-time the next year and my replacement was an exceptional educator named Joe Lee. He and I continued to bring musicians into the school and, over the next decade, he shaped the music program at Lorne Avenue into one of the best in the city. We even brought an Elvis tribute act in to perform for the school with our students backing on horns -- but that is a story for album #56 on The 500 -- Elvis Presley. Meet you there in about 4 1/4 years.

Thanks for reading -- all the blogs can be found here (just scroll down).