Died On This Date (June 16, 2010) Garry Shider aka Diaper Man / Parliament-Funkadelic
themusicsover Garry Shider
July 24, 1953 – June 16, 2010
Garry Shider is best remembered as a founding guitarist for trailblazing funk collective, Parliament-Funkadelic. Formed by George Clinton in 1968, Parliament and its sister act, Funkadelic, quickly became one of the premier funk bands in the world. Performing since the age of ten, Shider spent his early years singing gospel with his brothers backing the likes of The Five Blind Boys and Shirley Caesar when they’d come through town. It was also around this time when Shider would drop by the local barbershop which happened to be owned by Clinton to play guitar and sing for the customers. By the time he was in his late teens, Shider had moved to Canada where he co-founded a funk group, United Soul. Clinton, who had also moved to Canada, got wind of the band and began mentoring them. He eventually formed Parliament and brought Shider into the fold. The group went on to record some of the most influential albums in popular music. Such LPs as Chocolate City and Mothership Connection gave us hits like “Tear The Roof Off The Sucker (Give Up The Funk)” “Doctor Funkenstein” and “Mothership Connection (Star Child).” The bands’ legendary live show were cosmic marriages of space and funk with Shider often wearing nothing but a diaper on stage, leading to his nickname of “Diaper Man”. After Clinton dissolved Parliament and Funkadelic in the mid ’80s, Shider continued on in his P-Funk All Stars and of course, collaborated with countless other artists. In 1997, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as part of Parliament-Funkadelic. Gary Shider was 56 when he died of cancer on June 16, 2010.
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