Late last month, one of the mid-twentieth century’s greatest sidemen departed planet earth at its unfunkiest. His name was Bernie Worrell, the mad scientist behind the keyboards who piloted the Parliament-Funkadelic Afrofuturist mothership. He leaves behind an incredibly diverse sonic legacy.
Born George Bernard Worrell in Long Branch, New Jersey, The Wizard of Woo was a keyboard prodigy, composing piano concertos in his youth and attending the Julliard School before meeting up with George Clinton as Parliament-Funkadelic’s maiden voyage took flight. While Clinton and bassist Bootsy Collins are the group’s most recognizable figures, Worrell was certainly one of its most influential, touring with the band during its heyday and composing many of the group’s iconic horn and rhythm parts. Worrell was only the second musician ever to use an original Moog synthesizer (and the subsequent Minimoog): Those are his synth lines on songs like “Flash Light,” “Mothership Connection,” and “Aqua Boogie.” Worrell’s sound is essential to the group’s pioneering path through the cosmos.
A testament to Worrell’s talent was his flexibility—he played with legendary artists across genres, including Talking Heads, Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare, Fela Kuti, and more, eventually finding a late-career renaissance in the improvisational jam band scene. “I mix musics; I don’t stick to one thing,” he told the Red Bull Music Academy Festival in 2013. “I can hear the same scale or mode in a classical piece; you can find the same mode in a gospel hymn. Same mode in an Indian raga, same mode in a Irish ditty, same mode in a Scottish ditty, or whatever you want to call it. Same mode in Latin music, African. It’s all related. It’s how you hear it.”
Given his breadth, we felt it fitting to construct a playlist in tribute to Worrell—a musical genius whose influence cannot be understated. His funk is and always will be its own reward.
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