*George Clinton & Parliament-Funkadelic were among the honorees announced on Thursday who will a receive Lifetime Achievement Grammy Award when the presentation takes place on Saturday, May 11, 2019, in Los Angeles.
According to a press release, the Lifetime Achievement Award “celebrates performers who have made outstanding contributions of artistic significance to the field of recording.”
And speaking of “outstanding contributions” to the field of recording… in his 2014 autobiography “Brothers Be, Yo Like George, Ain’t That Funkin’ Kinda Hard on You?,” Clinton revealed how he used over a million in counterfeit money to record Parliament.
The Lifetime Achievement Award “celebrates performers who have made outstanding contributions of artistic significance to the field of recording” https://t.co/77nduEU1GD
— Pitchfork (@pitchfork) December 19, 2018
During a recent interview with HAPPY, the music icon recalled his time working at a barbershop and making music when two white kids came in wanting to get rid of some counterfeit money they had. Clinton ended up paying them $1800 for the fake money.
“…we were using it everywhere,” Clinton said while noting that he mainly used it on recording sessions.
“We were using it so much in that town, that it started coming back to the barbershop. We were saying ‘we can’t take this…it’s no good.’”
How did he use the money to pay for recording sessions? George explained: “I’d say ‘I’ll give you a couple of hundred dollars for the session, or a thousand dollars in counterfeit money,’ and most of ’em took the counterfeit money.”
He says he eventually encountered an undercover cop who warned him about the counterfeit money.
“He wasn’t looking for the money, he was looking for drugs,” he said. “And we were always teaching kids music at the neighbourhood centre, so he kind of felt sorry for us, and he gave us a warning. He said, ‘if I was ya’ll, I’d be getting rid of that money.’ That was all he had to say to me.”
