Parliament/Funkadelic’s Bernie Worrell Dead at 72

Keyboardist Bernie Worrell, one of the founding members of Parliament/Funkadelic and a longtime collaborator with the Talking Heads, died today following a battle with cancer, his wife announced on his Facebook page. In January, Worrell revealed that he was diagnosed with lung, liver, and prostate cancer. He was 72 years old.

Worrell grew up in Plainfield, New Jersey and became a classically trained pianist at a young age. After meeting George Clinton, who was singing in a doo-wop group called the Parliaments, he became one of the original members of Parliament/Funkadelic. He composed, arranged, and played keyboard on many P-Funk related recordings throughout the 1970s. Worrell was well known for his synthesizer work.

In the 1980s, he joined the Talking Heads, touring with them, performing on Speaking in Tongues and in their concert film Stop Making Sense. He also worked with artists including Fela Kuti, Mos Def, Fred Schneider, Jack Bruce, Albert King, Johnnie Taylor, and many others. Worrell also released solo albums, starting with 1978′s All the Woo in the World.

This year, he was seeking funds for his latest album, Retrospectives. “He wants his album released in his lifetime,” wrote Judie. Recently, David Byrne released his remix of “How Does the Brain Wave” to raise funds for Worrell’s medical bills.

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