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Bernie Worrell

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Bernie Worrell
Worrell performing in Vienna in 2009
Worrell performing in Vienna in 2009
Background information
Also known asThe Wizard of Woo
Born
George Bernard Worrell, Jr.

(1944-04-19)April 19, 1944
Long Branch, New Jersey, U.S.
DiedJune 24, 2016(2016-06-24) (aged 72)
Everson, Washington, U.S.
Genres
Occupations
  • Musician
  • record producer
Instruments
  • Keyboards
  • piano
  • organ
  • synthesizer
Years activec. 1970–2016
Formerly of
  • Parliament-Funkadelic
  • Talking Heads
  • CBS Orchestra
  • Bernie Worrell Orchestra
Websitebernieworrell.com

George Bernard Worrell, Jr. (April 19, 1944 – June 24, 2016)[1] was an American keyboardist and record producer, best known as a founding member of the Parliament-Funkadelic collective and a touring member of Talking Heads in the 1980s.[2] He also worked with such producers and musicians as Keith Richards,[3] Yoko Ono, Bill Laswell, Mos Def, Sly and Robbie, Fela Kuti, and Jack Bruce. The New York Times journalist Jon Pareles described Worrell as "the kind of sideman who is as influential as some bandleaders" and stated that he "indelibly changed the sound of funk and hip-hop."[2]

Worrell was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997 as a member of Parliament-Funkadelic.[4][5] He also appeared with Talking Heads when they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002.[6] Worrell was the uncle of rapper and actor Chino XL.[7]

Biography

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Early life

[edit]

George Bernard Worrell, Jr. was born on April 19, 1944, in Long Branch, New Jersey, and grew up in Plainfield, New Jersey, where his family moved when he was eight.[1] His father was a truck driver and his mother sang in church choirs. He was a musical prodigy; by age 3 he was taking piano lessons, at the age of 8 he wrote his first concerto, and when he was 10 years old he performed with members of the Washington Symphony of Washington, Pennsylvania.[2][8] He studied at the Juilliard School in New York City and graduated from Boston's New England Conservatory of Music in 1967. The school would award him an honorary Doctor of Music degree in May 2016.[9] As a college student, Worrell played organ with an Episcopal church, accompanied a Jewish men's choir, and backed local group Chubby & The Turnpikes (which eventually evolved into Tavares).[2]

1970s

[edit]

When Worrell first met George Clinton, Worrell was the musical director for the R&B singer Maxine Brown.[2] At that time, Clinton, who was also a native of Plainfield, led the Parliaments, a doo-wop group based out of a local barber shop where he worked. The Parliaments, and their backing band Funkadelic, then moved to Detroit and became two intertwined acts known collectively as Parliament-Funkadelic or P-Funk. Worrell moved to Detroit after being recruited by Clinton to serve as their keyboardist, arranger, and bandleader. He officially joined the band after appearing on their 1970 debut album Funkadelic.[10]

Worrell and Clinton co-wrote numerous P-Funk songs, including the funk anthem "Flash Light", which Rolling Stone ranked as No. 25 on the 200 Best Dance Songs of All Time.[11]

Parliament-Funkadelic's futuristic sound can in large part be attributed to Worrell. P-Funk and their spin-off bands, including Bootsy's Rubber Band, The Brides of Funkenstein, Parlet, and The Horny Horns, made dozens of records in the 70s. He played on and wrote and co-wrote horn and rhythm arrangements on recordings for most of them. Worrell played acoustic and electric piano, Hohner Clavinet, Hammond organ, and synthesizers by Moog and ARP. His unique sound and songwriting skills can be heard on such songs as "Flash Light", "Atomic Dog," "Chocolate City", "Mothership Connection (Star Child)," "Aqua Boogie (A Psychoalphadiscobetabioaquadoloop)," and "Red Hot Mama."[12]

Worrell's synth lines were widely sampled throughout the 1990s by hip-hop producers such as Dr. Dre, becoming a bedrock of the West Coast G-funk sound.[2][13][14] Worrell's Minimoog bass on "Flash Light" not only heavily influenced the sound of American R&B music, but served as a bridge to new wave, new age, and techno.

In 1978, Worrell released his debut solo album, All the Woo in the World on Arista Records. Co-produced by Worrell and Clinton, it featured many other members of Parliament-Funkadelic and the Brides of Funkenstein.[15][16]

1980s

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In the early 1980s, while P-Funk was on a hiatus from touring, Worrell was recruited to record and perform with Talking Heads, along with other musicians such as guitarists Alex Weir and Adrian Belew. Though he never officially joined Talking Heads, he was a de facto member of the group for much of the decade. He appeared on their 1982 live album The Name of This Band Is Talking Heads and on their 1983 studio album Speaking in Tongues, which Rolling Stone's David Fricke said "finally obliterates the thin line separating arty white pop music and deep black funk."[17]

He also toured with the band, notably featuring in the 1984 concert film Stop Making Sense. Directed by Jonathan Demme, the film is considered one of the best concert films of all time.[18] Talking Heads frontman David Byrne once said that "Bernie changed the way I think about music, and the way I think about life."[19]

Talking Heads officially disbanded in 1991, but Worrell was invited to perform with them again for their one-off reunion concert at the 2002 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony.[20]

In 1983, Worrell played on Mtume's hit "Juicy Fruit".[21] In 1984, Worrell co-produced Fred Schneider's solo album Fred Schneider and the Shake Society and played keyboards and synthesizers on some of the album's tracks.

Worrell backstage in Cologne, Germany 1998

In 1987, he appeared on Talking Heads member Jerry Harrison's solo album Casual Gods. The LP featured the U.S. Album Rock Tracks chart hit "Rev It Up," which reached number seven and appeared in the film Something Wild.

1990s–2010s

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From the late 1980s through the 2010s, Worrell recorded extensively with producer Bill Laswell, including on Sly and Robbie's 1987 Rhythm Killers, the 1985 Fela Kuti album Army Arrangement, and two albums in the 1990s with jazz saxophonist Pharoah Sanders (Save Our Children and Message From Home).[citation needed] He became a visible member of the jam band scene, performing at large summer music festivals, sometimes billed as "Bernie Worrell and the Woo Warriors," and later as "The Bernie Worrell Orchestra." Worrell frequently performed with Warren Haynes's band Gov't Mule.[22] Between the years 1989 and 2003, he appeared on several Jack Bruce albums, including A Question of Time, Cities of the Heart, Monkjack, and More Jack than God.

When The Late Show with David Letterman launched in August 1993, Worrell was a founding member of the CBS Orchestra, playing lead synthesizer. That following November, Worrell departed once the orchestra added a horn section.

In 1994, Worrell appeared on the Red Hot Organization's compilation album, Stolen Moments: Red Hot + Cool. The album, meant to raise awareness and funds in support of the AIDS epidemic in the African-American community,[23] was heralded as "Album of the Year" by Time magazine.[24]

In 2002, after meeting at the Bonnaroo music festival, Worrell, bassist Les Claypool of Primus, guitarist Buckethead, and drummer Brain formed the supergroup Colonel Claypool's Bucket of Bernie Brains. They released one album, The Big Eyeball in the Sky (2004).

Around that same time, Worrell formed Black Jack Johnson with Mos Def, Will Calhoun, Doug Wimbish, and Dr. Know.[25] In 2004, they appeared on Mos Def's album The New Danger. That same year, he appeared in the documentary Moog, about synthesizer pioneer Robert Moog.

In 2009, he joined longtime Parliament-Funkadelic guitarist DeWayne "Blackbyrd" McKnight, bassist Melvin Gibbs, and drummer J.T. Lewis to form the band SociaLybrium, who toured Europe. Their album For You/For Us/For All was released on Livewired Music in January 2010. He toured with Bootsy Collins, another major figure from Parliament-Funkadelic, in 2011.

From 2011 through 2015, Worrell performed with his group, The Bernie Worrell Orchestra.[26][27][28] The band, which was formed out of a partnership with a young New Jersey producer named Evan Taylor,[29] was known for appearance of special guests at their live performances, including Bootsy Collins, Jerry Harrison, bassist Tina Weymouth and drummer Chris Frantz of Talking Heads and Tom Tom Club, Blondie keyboardist Jimmy Destri, bassist Mike Watt of Minutemen and Firehose, and Captain Beefheart guitarist Gary Lucas.[30] They released two albums, BWO is Landing and Prequel. [31][32][33]

In 2012 and 2013, Worrell also played a series of concerts with rock guitarist Steve Kimock, Gov't Mule bassist Andy Hess, and vocalist-percussionist Camille Armstrong. In 2013, Kimock's son John Morgan Kimock played drums for the group.

In 2015, Worrell appeared in the movie Ricki and the Flash as Billy, the keyboard player in Meryl Streep's band. The film, about a woman who leaves her family behind to join a rock band, reunited Worrell with director Jonathan Demme, who had directed the Talking Heads concert film Stop Making Sense.

Worrell and Preston Singletary cofounded the indigenous music group Khu.éex'.[34]

Wave from the WOOniverse

[edit]

In 2024, "Wave from the WOOniverse" a posthumous double-album, was released, using unfinished tracks Worrell left behind. The album was produced by former Bernie Worrell bandleader Evan Taylor and contributors include Talking Heads's Jerry Harrison, The B-52s' Fred Schneider, Sean Lennon, Marc Ribot, Fishbone's Norwood Fisher, Mike Watt, and Cibo Matto's Miho Hatori.[35][36][37][38][39]

Death

[edit]

In January 2016, Worrell was diagnosed with a "mild form" of prostate cancer, stage-four liver cancer, and stage-four lung cancer.[40] He relocated from his longtime home in New Jersey[41] to Bellingham, Washington.[42]

Two benefit concerts at Webster Hall in New York on April 4 and 5, 2016, helped raise funds for Worrell's cancer treatment. Produced by the Black Rock Coalition, the event featured musicians and celebrities including Meryl Streep, George Clinton, Paul Shaffer, Jerry Harrison, Bootsy Collins, Nona Hendryx, Living Color, and Jonathan Demme.[42][43]

On May 9, Worrell's wife Judie posted an update on his condition on his Facebook page:

As of Friday, Bernie can barely speak. Tumor has grown and Recurrent laryngeal nerve is pressing on vocal cord, paralyzing it. Treatment starts Tuesday to (hopefully) shrink tumor before it gets to other vocal cord and/or shuts down breathing. VERY difficult time for him.
I am updating y'all because many asked BUT do not consider this an invitation to bombard us with treatment ideas. Bernie is deciding what treatment he wants. I will delete any more messages that do not respect his decision(s).[44]

Judie issued a statement on Facebook on June 16 to friends and family that "I was just told that Bernie is now headed 'Home'."[45] She encouraged people close to Worrell to "visit him to say your goodbyes" and added that he was too ill to speak on the phone or text.[45]

Bernie Worrell died at his home in Everson, Washington, on June 24, 2016, at the age of 72.[46] Following his death, Buckethead released the tribute song "Space Viking".

Documentary

[edit]

Stranger: Bernie Worrell on Earth is a documentary film about Worrell's life, music and impact. At AllMovie, critic Mark Deming wrote that the film "profiles his life and career while also examining how even a genius has to find a way to make a living".[47]

Discography

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Solo albums

[edit]

Funkadelic

[edit]

Parliament

[edit]

Selected contributions to other albums

[edit]

Awards

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  • Independent Music Awards 2013: "Get Your Hands Off" - Best Funk/Fusion/Jam Song[48]

References

[edit]
  1. 1 2 Sweeting, Adam (June 26, 2016). "Bernie Worrell obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved November 9, 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Pareles, Jon (June 24, 2016). "Bernie Worrell, Whose Keyboards Left an Imprint on Funk and Hip-Hop, Dies at 72". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 21, 2025.
  3. ↑ Sweeting, Adam (June 26, 2016). "Bernie Worrell obituary". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved June 21, 2025.
  4. ↑ "Parliament-Funkadelic". Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Retrieved June 20, 2025.
  5. ↑ Rock & Roll Hall of Fame (June 15, 2020). Parliament-Funkadelic's Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Acceptance Speech | 1997 Induction. Retrieved June 20, 2025 – via YouTube.
  6. ↑ Rock & Roll Hall of Fame (April 27, 2020). Talking Heads perform "Life During Wartime" at the 2002 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony. Retrieved June 21, 2025 – via YouTube.
  7. ↑ "Chino XL :: I Told You So :: Metro Records". rapreviews.com. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved August 25, 2025.
  8. ↑ Sweeting, Adam (June 26, 2016). "Bernie Worrell obituary". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved June 21, 2025.
  9. ↑ "Commencement 2016". New England Conservatory. Archived from the original on June 6, 2016. Retrieved June 21, 2025.
  10. ↑ Sweeting, Adam (June 26, 2016). "Bernie Worrell obituary". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved June 21, 2025.
  11. ↑ "Flash Light: Parliament : Rolling Stone". www.rollingstone.com. Archived from the original on October 1, 2007. Retrieved June 21, 2025.
  12. ↑ Sweeting, Adam (June 26, 2016). "Bernie Worrell obituary". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved June 21, 2025.
  13. ↑ Barker, Andrew (June 24, 2016). "Parliament-Funkadelic Co-Founder Bernie Worrell Dies at 72". Variety. Retrieved June 22, 2025.
  14. ↑ Chick, Stevie (June 25, 2016). "Bernie Worrell – the keyboard genius who was 'as bad as Beethoven'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved June 22, 2025.
  15. ↑ Edwards, Gavin (August 30, 2019). "20 R&B Albums We Loved in the Seventies That You Never Heard". Rolling Stone. Retrieved June 22, 2025.
  16. ↑ Kinley, Tim (December 30, 2018). "The Woo Factor: "All the Woo in the World" Turns 40". CultureSonar. Retrieved June 22, 2025.
  17. ↑ Fricke, David (June 9, 1983). "Speaking In Tongues". Rolling Stone. Retrieved October 24, 2025.
  18. ↑ "Why 'Stop Making Sense' Remains the Greatest Concert Film". Esquire. April 27, 2017. Retrieved June 21, 2025.
  19. ↑ Barker, Andrew (June 24, 2016). "Parliament-Funkadelic Co-Founder Bernie Worrell Dies at 72". Variety. Retrieved June 22, 2025.
  20. ↑ Greene, Andy (October 23, 2012). "Flashback: Talking Heads Reunite for One Night Only". Rolling Stone. Retrieved March 26, 2016.
  21. ↑ Aaron, Charles; Reeves, Mosi (June 24, 2016). "Bernie Worrell: 10 Essential Tracks from the P-Funk Keyboardist". Rolling Stone. Retrieved July 2, 2016.
  22. ↑ AJ Genovesi (August 29, 2013). Gov't Mule Performing "Cortez The Killer" - Irving Plaza, NYC - Record Release - 03/24/1999. Retrieved June 21, 2025 – via YouTube.
  23. ↑ "Stolen Moments: Red Hot + Cool". Red Hot Organization. Retrieved March 25, 2016.
  24. ↑ "The Best Music of 1994". Time. December 26, 1994. Retrieved March 25, 2016.
  25. ↑ josefek (October 22, 2008). Black Jack Johnson 01. Retrieved June 22, 2025 – via YouTube.
  26. ↑ Sweeting, Adam (June 26, 2016). "Bernie Worrell obituary". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved June 20, 2025.
  27. ↑ Lamar, Andre. "Off to meet the wonderful 'Wizard of Woo'". The News Journal. Retrieved June 20, 2025.
  28. ↑ Breen, Mike (April 9, 2013). "Music: The Bernie Worrell Orchestra". Cincinnati CityBeat. Retrieved June 21, 2025.
  29. ↑ "Bernie Worrell: Wave From the WOOniverse out now, featuring unfinished, archived Worrell music produced by musical director, Evan Taylor – East Portland Blog". Retrieved June 21, 2025.
  30. ↑ dean (July 10, 2013). "Jerry Harrison and Bernie Worrell Share the Stage in Mill Valley". Jambands. Retrieved June 20, 2025.
  31. ↑ Bernie Worrell Orchestra - Prequel, May 10, 2014, retrieved June 20, 2025
  32. ↑ Hopkins, Scott (June 27, 2016). "Swing Down, Sweet Chariot: Bernie Worrell Returns to the Mothership • MUSICFESTNEWS". MUSICFESTNEWS. Retrieved June 20, 2025.
  33. ↑ Rolland, David (February 17, 2014). "Bernie Worrell Remembers: "Talking Heads Wanted to Funk"". New Times Broward-Palm Beach. Retrieved June 21, 2025.
  34. ↑ "Khu.éex'". Indigenous Performance Productions. Indigenous Performance Productions. Retrieved January 28, 2026.
  35. ↑ RSD '24 Special Release: Bernie Worrell - Wave from the WOOniverse, retrieved June 20, 2025
  36. ↑ Williams, Aaron C. (June 21, 2024). "Bernie Worrell: Wave From The Wooniverse—Q&A With Producer Evan Taylor of Loantaka Records". One West Magazine. Retrieved June 20, 2025.
  37. ↑ Lipp, Marty (February 21, 2025). "Friends help finish unreleased Bernie Worrell songs on posthumous album 'Wave From the WOOniverse'". NJArts.net. Retrieved June 20, 2025.
  38. ↑ "Into Music: Evan Taylor". KMUW. Retrieved June 20, 2025.
  39. ↑ Breznikar, Klemen (June 27, 2024). "'Wave From The WOOniverse' by Bernie Worrell | New Album". It's Psychedelic Baby Magazine. Retrieved November 25, 2025.
  40. ↑ Goodman, Jessica (January 6, 2016). "Bernie Worrell diagnosed with late-stage cancer". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved March 25, 2016.
  41. ↑ Jordan, Chris (June 21, 2012). "In New Jersey, legendary keyboardist Bernie Worrell is never far from home". Asbury Park Press. Worrell has brought that sense of fun to millions across the globe, most notably as a member of Parliament-Funkadelic. In the upcoming weeks, his focus will be on his home state of Jersey.
  42. 1 2 Hermes, Will (March 25, 2016). "Inside Bernie Worrell's All-Star NYC Benefit". Rolling Stone. Retrieved March 25, 2016.
  43. ↑ "Black Rock Coalition Honors P-Funk's Bernie Worrell". Ebony. March 2, 2016. Retrieved March 25, 2016.
  44. ↑ "Bernie Worrell's Team Provides Update on Keyboardist's Worsening Health". jambase.com. May 9, 2016. Retrieved June 18, 2016.
  45. 1 2 Paige, Nathan (June 17, 2016). "Legendary Parliament Keyboardist Bernie Worrell's Condition Worsening, According to Wife, Judie". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved June 18, 2016.
  46. ↑ Kreps, Daniel (June 24, 2016). "Bernie Worrell, Parliament-Funkadelic Keyboardist, Dead at 72". Rolling Stone. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
  47. ↑ Deming, Mark. "Stranger: Bernie Worrell on Earth". AllMovie. Retrieved March 25, 2016.
  48. ↑ "The 12th Annual Independent Music Awards Winners Announced". Independent Music Awards. June 11, 2013. Retrieved March 25, 2016.
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