Parliament Funkadelic vocalist Clarence ‘Fuzzy’ Haskins has died at the age of 81.
Haskins’ former bandmates confirmed the news that he had passed away on Friday (March 17) on their official social media. “Resting on the verge of getting it on, Clarence Eugene “Fuzzy” Haskins (born June 8, 1941-March 17th, 2023) of Parliament-Funkadelic!” they wrote. No cause of death has been confirmed.
Haskins was one of the original members of the Parliaments when the band formed as a doo-wop group in 1960, singing alongside George Clinton and his bandmates Ray Davis, Calvin Simon, and Grady Thomas. The group then rebranded as an R&B and funk ensemble called Parliament Funkadelic in 1970, a change in direction that was largely spearheaded by Haskins and Clinton, according to Clinton’s website.
Haskins temporarily left the band in 1976 due to growing tensions between the group’s members and released a solo album; ‘A Whole Nother Thang’, that same year. He then returned to Funkadelic a year later but left again shortly after alongside Calvin Simon and Grady Thomas, with the original members becoming disillusioned by an influx of new members to the group. Haskins also recorded a second solo album, ‘Radio Active’.
The three of them recorded an album together, ‘Connections and Disconnections’ under the name Funkadelic in 1980, though stickers on the album made it clear that the new iteration of the band had no affiliation with George Clinton. Clinton later took them to court over use of the name.
Haskins went on to become a preacher for a time, before reuniting with Simon, Thomas and Ray Davis to form Original P, which tours and plays some of Parliament Funkadelic’s classic hits.
Parliament Funkadelic was inducted into the Rock N’Roll Hall Of Fame in 1997.
Calvin Simon, another of Parliament Funkadelic’s founding members, died in January 2022 at the age of 79.
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