The Brides of Funkenstein

Brides of Funkenstein
Brides of Funkenstein
Origin	Detroit, Michigan, United States
Genres	Funk, P-Funk, Soul
Years active	1978–1981
Labels	Atlantic
Associated acts	Parliament, Funkadelic, Eddie Hazel
Past members	Lynn Mabry, Dawn Silva, Sheila Horne, Jeanette McGruder

The Brides of Funkenstein are an American funk musical group originally composed of singers Dawn Silva and Lynn Mabry.[1]

History

Previously background singers for Sly Stone, Mabry and Silva joined the P-Funk collective in the mid-1970s.[2] George Clinton named the group (based on a storyline and characters from the Parliament album The Clones of Dr. Funkenstein). The Brides provided the vocals for the 1977 album Game, Dames and Guitar Thangs by P-Funk guitarist Eddie Hazel. Clinton produced the Brides' debut album, Funk Or Walk, for Atlantic Records in 1978. The album was a success, selling over three hundred thousand copies within the first week as well as winning a Record World award for best new female group. The album charted at #7 on the R&B charts; the single "Disco To Go" was certified gold in America and reached platinum status in Europe and Asia. The duo became an opening act for Parliament-Funkadelic tours and also performed backing vocals for the ensemble itself.

Lynn Mabry left the group in 1979. Dawn Silva lead singer invited back-up "Bridesmaids" Sheila Horne and Jeanette McGruder to sing on the second Brides album, Never Buy Texas From A Cowboy. This lineup received a Cashbox Rhythm & Blues award for best new female artist, beating out The Pointer Sisters, Sister Sledge, and Cheryl Lynn. The Brides' second album was rated in 2001 by Rolling Stone as one of the top 50 coolest albums ever released. The trio recorded a third album, Shadows On The Wall, Shaped Like The Hat You Wore in 1980, but the album was not released.[3] Most of the songs from the unreleased album gradually appeared elsewhere in the P-Funk catalog.

Lynn Mabry resurfaced in 1984 as a backing vocalist with Talking Heads, appearing in the concert film Stop Making Sense along with P-Funk colleague Bernie Worrell.[4] Silva and Mabry had a brief reunion in 1981 as the New Wave Brides, opening for Grace Jones, and a lengthy tour with Was (Not Was).[1] Silva would tour and record with the Gap Band from 1983 to 1991, moving on to work with Ice Cube. In 2000 Silva released the solo album All My Funky Friends, which received rave reviews in Europe and Asia. Dawn Silva & The Brides continue to tour.

Discography


Albums	US	US R&B	Year	Label
Funk or Walk	70	17	1978	Atlantic
Never Buy Texas From A Cowboy	93	49	1979	Atlantic
Live at the Howard Theatre			1994


Singles	US R&B	Year
Disco To Go	7	1978
Amorous	76	1979
Never Buy Texas From A Cowboy	67	1980

References

Midness, Kurt (August 30, 2009). "Dawn Silva: Until Funk Do You Part". L.A. Record. Retrieved September 15, 2018.
Vincent, Rickey (2014). Funk: The Music, The People, and The Rhythm of The One p. 192. St. Martin's Press. ISBN 978-1-4668-8452-6.
Needs, Kris (2014). George Clinton & The Cosmic Odyssey of the P-Funk Empire. Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-1-7832-3037-2.
Grow, Kory (August 1, 2014). "Talking Heads on 'Stop Making Sense': 'We Didn't Want Any Bulls–t'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved September 15, 2018.

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.

[Silva-1] Midness, Kurt (August 30, 2009). "Dawn Silva: Until Funk Do You Part". L.A. Record. Retrieved September 15, 2018.

[Vincent-2] Vincent, Rickey (2014). Funk: The Music, The People, and The Rhythm of The One p. 192. St. Martin's Press. ISBN 978-1-4668-8452-6.

[Needs-3] Needs, Kris (2014). George Clinton & The Cosmic Odyssey of the P-Funk Empire. Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-1-7832-3037-2.

[Heads-4] Grow, Kory (August 1, 2014). "Talking Heads on 'Stop Making Sense': 'We Didn't Want Any Bulls–t'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved September 15, 2018.