His wife, Judie Worrell, confirmed the news to the Associated Press.
Advertisement
The family then directed fans to Worrell’s website for further updates. Rest in peace, my love – you definitely made the world a better place.
Worrell was instrumental in shaping the forward-thinking P-Funk sound, which later went on to influence R&B, hip-hop, electronic music, and everything in between.
Worrell grew up in Plainfield, New Jersey and became a classically trained pianist at a young age. After cutting his musical teeth with early bands (including one in which he played alongside future Aerosmith drummer Joey Kramer), he rose to prominence as a member of the George Clinton-led collective known as Parliament-Funkadelic.
Worrell would later earn co-songwriting credits on Parliament hits like “Up on the Down Stroke”, “Chocolate City”, “P. Funk (Wants to Get Funked Up)”, “Mothership Connection (Star Child)” and “Flash Light”, which featured Worrell’s now-legendary Minimoog bass line.
Worrell recorded a solo album in 1978 – “All the Woo in the World”, produced by Clinton – and recorded with Collins for his splinter group Bootsy’s Rubber Band, whose 1977 album “Ahh…the Name is Bootsy, Baby!” is a particularly essential funk collection.
Worrell was among the 15 members of Parliament-Funkadelic to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997. Worrell was 72, and had been suffering from lung cancer for some time.
Shortly after his departure, Worrell was recruited by Jerry Harrison, guitarist for the art-rock/New Wave group Talking Heads, whom Worrell had never heard. Earlier this year, he was given an honorary doctorate from his alma mater, the New England Conservatory of Music.
The keyboard virtuoso co-wrote many of P-Funk’s classic songs, and also toured extensively with Talking Heads in the 1980s, appearing in that band’s 1984 film Stop Making Sense.
Advertisement
Over the years, Worrell has also collaborated with Jack Bruce, B-52’s Fred Schneider, Mos Def, Les Claypool, Fela Kuti, Ginger Baker and many more.
