Parliament landed a mothership onstage in 1976 and funk was never the same. George Clinton didn't lead a band -- he conducted a carnival. While Funkadelic was the rock-star, leather-pants, guitar-shredding side of the P-Funk empire, Parliament was the shiny spaceship: horn sections, synthesizers, Bootsy Collins' rubber-band bass, and characters with names like Star Child and Sir Nose D'Voidoffunk.

The mothership -- a full-scale aluminum spacecraft deployed at the peak of the show, George descending in furs and a rainbow wig, smoke and lights -- was ridiculous. It was also genius. Flash Light -- that Bernie Worrell synth bass line -- is one of the most sampled grooves in hip-hop history. Give Up the Funk (Tear the Roof Off the Sucker). Aqua Boogie. P-Funk didn't just make music. They built a mythology.

The mythology is still running. Parliament's grooves have been sampled by Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Outkast, and literally hundreds of hip-hop artists. The mothership is retired for now, but the funk -- the deep, weird, intergalactic funk -- never landed. It's still in orbit.

Parliament landed a mothership onstage in 1976 and funk still hasn't recovered. Flash Light. George Clinton in rainbow wigs. The mythology is still running.