Casablanca Records - Parliament

Parliament

Parliament was signed to the Casablanca label in late 1973, due to Neil Bogart's long-standing relationship with group leader George Clinton. Their relationship dates back to Bogart's period at Buddah Records. Their first official release for the label was in 1974 with the album Up for the Down Stroke. The title song from the album gave Parliament its first top ten R&B hit. Their next album, Chocolate City sold approximately 150,000 albums in the Washington, D.C. area alone. But it would be their next release, Mothership Connection, that would give the group its first gold and/or platinum album. Parliament would achieve either gold or platinum status with each album release up until 1980, as well as scoring hit singles with "Give Up the Funk (Tear the Roof off the Sucker)", "Flash Light" and "Aqua Boogie (A Psychoalphadiscobetabioaquadoloop)". The success of Parliament allowed George Clinton to develop another P-Funk spin off act known as Parlet.

Casablanca also financed the various extravagant P-Funk stage shows, including the "Mothership Connection/P-Funk Earth Tour" of 1976-77; as well as the Motor Booty Affair underwater tour of 1979. Parliament were later inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Parliament also gave Casablanca Records a much needed presence in the R&B/Soul market.