Calvin Simon obit

 

Parliament-Funkadelic singer Calvin Simon dies at age 79

 He was not on the list.

He is in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for his role in Parliament-Funkadelic, but he found perhaps his most rewarding work singing praises later in life. Today we say a sad goodbye to Calvin Simon, a great singer who overcame adversity to create a career that lasted over a half century. He was 79. The news came out through social media posts of other P-Funk members this morning.

Former bandmate Bootsy Collins posted, "We just lost another Original member from Parliament/Funkadelic. A friend, bandmate & all around cool classic guy, Mr. Calvin Eugene Simon was a former member of the bands Parliament and Funkadelic. He is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, inducted in 1997 with fifteen other members of Parliament-Funkadelic. (SHARE UR LOVE FOR HIS FAMILY & FRIENDS) We will miss u & thx u for ur gift of life & light to this world)! R.I.P. We love u. Hug the Catfish & the rest of the P for all of us."

The West Virginia-born Simon joined George Clinton in the late 1950s as part of the doo wop group The Parliaments, and he stayed for two decades – from “(I Wanna) Testify” to “Tear The Roof Off The Sucker (Give Up The Funk)” - as the group morphed into the pioneering act Parliament-Funkadelic, with Simon playing a role in some of the group’s most iconic albums. Simon left the act in the late 70s, teaming with other former P-funk stars to create the act The Original P, but he rejoined the Mothership a little more than a decade later as part of the P-Funk Allstars.

Around the turn of the century, Simon left funk music for good, hoping to turn away from the excesses of the popular music life and toward a life of faith, through a new career as an independent Gospel artist. He is quoted, “It was with the help of my wife and my faith in Jesus that I made a conscious decision to remove myself from that path. People need to realize that if you don’t like a situation, you have the choice to walk away and do something else. It was not my first time to realize the idea of a choice to squash it, but perhaps one of the most profound lessons I have ever learned.”

Over the next several years, Simon overcame cancer and recorded a number of Gospel albums, including the charting disc Share The News as well as It’s Not Too Late, and I Believe before retiring in 2019, a few years after the passing of his wife. He said of his second career, “I hope all that have heard it will feel the love and joy of the music and the message it brings. I want to be remembered for honesty and being a good guy. And above all, a man who kept his word to share the gospels by using the gift the Lord gave him!”