Bernie Worrell

Bernie Worrell

Worrell performing in Vienna in 2009
Background information
Birth name George Bernard Worrell, Jr.
Also known as "The Wizard of Woo"
Born (1944-04-19) April 19, 1944
Long Branch, New Jersey, United States
Genres Funk, rock, alternative rock, blues rock, rhythm and blues, jazz, psychedelic rock
Occupation(s) Musician, composer, producer
Instruments Keyboards (piano, organ, synthesizers)
Years active 1947–present
Associated acts Parliament-Funkadelic, Talking Heads, Praxis, Tom Tom Club, Colonel Claypool's Bucket of Bernie Brains
Website bernieworrell.com

George Bernard "Bernie" Worrell, Jr. (born April 19, 1944) is an American keyboardist and composer best known as a founding member of Parliament-Funkadelic and for his work with Talking Heads. He is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, inducted in 1997 with fifteen other members of Parliament-Funkadelic.

Biography

Early life

Worrell was born in Long Branch, New Jersey, and grew up in Plainfield, New Jersey. A musical prodigy, he began formal piano lessons by age three and wrote a concerto at age eight. He went on to study at Juilliard and the New England Conservatory of Music.

1970s

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. After meeting George Clinton, leader of a doo wop group called The Parliaments, Worrell, Clinton, The Parliaments and their backing band, The Funkadelics, moved to Detroit, Michigan, and became collectively known as Parliament-Funkadelic. During the 1970s the same group of musicians separately recorded under the names Parliament and Funkadelic, (among several others), but toured as P-Funk. Worrell played grand piano, Wurlitzer electric piano, Hohner Clavinet, Hammond B3 organ, ARP String Ensemble and Moog synthesizer, co-wrote, and wrote horn and rhythm arrangements on hit recordings for both groups and other associated bands under the "Parliafunkadelicment Thang" production company, and many of his most notable performances were recorded with Bootsy's Rubber Band, Parlet, The Brides of Funkenstein and The Horny Horns. Worrell recorded a 1978 solo album, All the Woo in the World, with the musical backing of P-Funk's members.

While funk musicians traditionally utilized electric keyboards, such as the Hammond organ and Fender Rhodes electric piano, Worrell was the second recipient of the Moog synthesizer created by Bob Moog. Mainly responsible for creating Parliament's futuristic sound, Worrell's use of the Minimoog bass on the Parliament song "Flash Light", on 1977's Funkentelechy Vs. the Placebo Syndrome, heavily influenced the sound of R&B music and served as a bridge between American R&B and the insurgence of new wave, new age and techno. He used the ARP Pro Soloist as well.[1] Worrell's synthesizer work is prominent on the majority of Parliament's most popular (and most sampled) songs throughout the 1970s, most notably "Mothership Connection (Star Child)" and "Give Up the Funk (Tear the Roof off the Sucker)" from Mothership Connection (1975) and "Aqua Boogie" from Motor Booty Affair (1978).

1980s

When Parliament-Funkadelic took a hiatus from touring in the early 1980s, Worrell was recruited, along with other musicians from differing musical genres such as guitarist Adrian Belew, to perform and record with Talking Heads, a pioneering new wave band. Worrell's experience and feel for different arrangements enhanced the overall sound of the band. 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 studio albums, several solo albums, and multiple tours until they officially disbanded in 1991. Worrell can be seen in the band's concert film Stop Making Sense. Worrell was invited to perform with Talking Heads at their one-off reunion as part of their 2002 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.[2]

Worrell co-produced Fred Schneider's 1984 solo album Fred Schneider and the Shake Society and played keyboards and synthesizers on some of the album's tracks.

1990s–present

Since the late 1980s, Worrell has recorded extensively with Bill Laswell, including Sly and Robbie's Laswell-produced Rhythm Killers and the 1985 Fela Kuti album Army Arrangement. Worrell has performed with Gov't Mule. Through the beginning of the 21st century, he has become a visible member of the jam band scene, performing in many large summer music festivals, sometimes billed as Bernie Worrell and the Woo Warriors. He has appeared on several Jack Bruce albums, including A Question of Time, Cities of the Heart, Monkjack and More Jack than God.

In 1994, Worrell appeared on the Red Hot Organization's compilation album, Stolen Moments: Red Hot + Cool. The album, meant to raise awareness and funds in support of the AIDS epidemic in the African-American community,[3] was heralded as "Album of the Year" by TIME Magazine.[4]

Worrell 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.

Worrell's project Baby Elephant is 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. In 2009, he joined longtime Parliament-Funkadelic guitarist DeWayne "Blackbyrd" McKnight, bassist Melvin Gibbs and drummer J.T. Lewis to form the band SociaLybrium. Their album For You/For Us/For All was released on Livewired Music in January 2010.

Worrell appears in the 2004 documentary film Moog with synthesizer pioneer Bob Moog and several other Moog synthesizer musicians. In 2011, he toured with Bootsy Collins, another major figure from Parliament-Funkadelic.

Since 2011, Worrell has been performing with his group, the Bernie Worrell Orchestra. The band has become known for the appearance of special guests at live performances, who have included Bootsy Collins, Tina Weymouth, Chris Frantz, Jimmy Destri, Mike Watt, Rah Digga and Gary Lucas.

In 2015, Worrell appeared in the movie Ricki and the Flash as the keyboard player in Meryl Streep's band. The movie reunited Worrell with director Jonathan Demme, who had directed Stop Making Sense.

Worrell was a judge for the 12th, 13th, and 14th annual Independent Music Awards.

Personal life

In January 2016, Worrell was diagnosed with stage-four lung cancer.[5] He relocated from New Jersey, his long-time home,[6] to Bellingham, Washington.[7]

A tribute and benefit concert to raise funds for Worrell's cancer treatment, produced by the Black Rock Coalition and featuring musicians with whom Worrell has worked over his career, occurred on April 4 and 5, 2016.[7][8]

Documentary

Stranger: Bernie Worrell on Earth is a documentary film about Worrell's life, music and impact. At AllMovie, critic Mark Deming wrote that the film "profiles his life and career while also examining how even a genius has to find a way to make a living".[9]

Discography

Solo albums

Funkadelic

Parliament

Selected contributions to other albums

Awards

References

  1. ↑ Bosso, Joe (June 11, 2013). "Bernie Worrell talks vintage synths, ELP, Parliament/ Funkadelic, Talking Heads and more". MusicRadar. Retrieved March 25, 2016.
  2. ↑ Greene, Andy (October 23, 2012). "Flashback: Talking Heads Reunite for One Night Only". Rolling Stone. Retrieved March 26, 2016.
  3. ↑ "Stolen Moments: Red Hot + Cool". Red Hot Organization. Retrieved March 25, 2016.
  4. ↑ "The Best Music of 1994". TIME Magazine. December 26, 1994. Retrieved March 25, 2016. (subscription required (help)).
  5. ↑ Goodman, Jessica (January 6, 2016). "Bernie Worrell diagnosed with late-stage cancer". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved March 25, 2016.
  6. ↑ Jordan, Chris (June 21, 2012). "In New Jersey, legendary keyboardist Bernie Worrell is never far from home". Asbury Park Press. Worrell has brought that sense of fun to millions across the globe, most notably as a member of Parliament-Funkadelic. In the upcoming weeks, his focus will be on his home state of Jersey.
  7. 1 2 Hermes, Will (March 25, 2016). "Inside Bernie Worrell's All-Star NYC Benefit". Rolling Stone. Retrieved March 25, 2016.
  8. ↑ "Black Rock Coalition Honors P-Funk's Bernie Worrell". Ebony. March 2, 2016. Retrieved March 25, 2016.
  9. ↑ Deming, Mark. "Stranger: Bernie Worrell on Earth". AllMovie. Retrieved March 25, 2016.
  10. ↑ "The 12th Annual Independent Music Awards Winners Announced". Independent Music Awards. June 11, 2013. Retrieved March 25, 2016.

External links

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