At the beginning of 1975, Gerald Ford was president, the United States and Soviet Union were approaching a détente in the space race, and a barber-turned-singer with a wild imagination named George Clinton was redefining the possibilities of funk music with his bands, Parliament and Funkadelic. That year, their iconic album Mothership Connection played off one of Clinton's fantasies, sending Black people to space. Clinton felt it was up to him to paint a new tableau of Afrofuturism. Many of the songs on the album were instant dance-floor anthems — and part of funk's biggest crossover moment to date. In this episode, Clinton and many of his collaborators on Mothership Connection, including bass icon Bootsy Collins and trombonist-arranger Fred Wesley, look back on the drugs, diapers, and free-form camaraderie that fueled this psychedelic masterpiece.New episodes of <a href="https://amazon.com/rs500" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums</a> release every Tuesday, only on Amazon Music.See Privacy Policy at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://art19.com/privacy</a> and California Privacy Notice at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info</a>.

At the beginning of 1975, Gerald Ford was president, the United States and Soviet Union were approaching a détente in the space race, and a barber-turned-singer with a wild imagination named George Clinton was redefining the possibilities of funk music with his bands, Parliament and Funkadelic. That year, their iconic album Mothership Connection played off one of Clinton's fantasies, sending Black people to space. Clinton felt it was up to him to paint a new tableau of Afrofuturism. Many of the songs on the album were instant dance-floor anthems — and part of funk's biggest crossover moment to date. In this episode, Clinton and many of his collaborators on Mothership Connection, including bass icon Bootsy Collins and trombonist-arranger Fred Wesley, look back on the drugs, diapers, and free-form camaraderie that fueled this psychedelic masterpiece. New episodes of Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums release every Tuesday, only on Amazon Music. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

At the beginning of 1975, Gerald Ford was president, the United States and Soviet Union were approaching a détente in the space race, and a barber-turned-singer with a wild imagination named George Clinton was redefining the possibilities of funk music with his bands, Parliament and Funkadelic. That year, their iconic album Mothership Connection played off one of Clinton's fantasies, sending Black people to space. Clinton felt it was up to him to paint a new tableau of Afrofuturism. Many of the songs on the album were instant dance-floor anthems — and part of funk's biggest crossover moment to date. In this episode, Clinton and many of his collaborators on Mothership Connection, including bass icon Bootsy Collins and trombonist-arranger Fred Wesley, look back on the drugs, diapers, and free-form camaraderie that fueled this psychedelic masterpiece.New episodes of&nbsp;<a href="https://amazon.com/rs500" rel="noopener noreferrer">Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums</a>&nbsp;release every Tuesday, only on Amazon Music.See Privacy Policy at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://art19.com/privacy</a> and California Privacy Notice at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info</a>.

Parliament-Funkadelic's "Mothership Connection"

The stories behind some of the most essential albums of all time, told by the artists who made them and Rolling Stone’s writers and editors. Each episode focuses on one album from the brand-new, updated version of Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums list, featuring fresh conversations with the people who made the music, classic interview audio and expert commentary. Episodes include the late Tom Petty on his solo classic Wildflowers, Taylor Swift talking about her career-changing 2012 album Red, and Public Enemy breaking down their political masterpiece It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back.<a href="https://music.amazon.com/playlists/B08SYDVV19" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Listen to songs featured on the podcast and more hits from the Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums list here.</a>Now we’re back with Season Two. Across 10 episodes, you’ll hear Dolly Parton tell the stories behind the songs on her 1971 solo breakthrough Coat of Many Colors; Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr delve into the making of the Beatles’ troubled final album, Let It Be; Britney Spears’ collaborators explain how she made 2007’s Blackout in the eye of a paparazzi hurricane; friends and relatives of Alice Coltrane look back at how she overcame tragedy to create her masterpiece Journey in Satchidananda; Rivers Cuomo and his bandmates reflect on the unlikely birth of Weezer’s Blue Album; and much more.Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums is hosted by Senior Writer Brittany Spanos.

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Music Commentary

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The stories behind some of the most essential albums of all time, told by the artists who made them and Rolling Stone’s writers and editors. Each episode focuses on one album from the brand-new, updated version of Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums list, featuring fresh conversations with the people who made the music, classic interview audio and expert commentary. Episodes include the late Tom Petty on his solo classic Wildflowers, Taylor Swift talking about her career-changing 2012 album Red, and Public Enemy breaking down their political masterpiece It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back. Listen to songs featured on the podcast and more hits from the Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums list here. Now we’re back with Season Two. Across 10 episodes, you’ll hear Dolly Parton tell the stories behind the songs on her 1971 solo breakthrough Coat of Many Colors; Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr delve into the making of the Beatles’ troubled final album, Let It Be; Britney Spears’ collaborators explain how she made 2007’s Blackout in the eye of a paparazzi hurricane; friends and relatives of Alice Coltrane look back at how she overcame tragedy to create her masterpiece Journey in Satchidananda; Rivers Cuomo and his bandmates reflect on the unlikely birth of Weezer’s Blue Album; and much more. Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums is hosted by Senior Writer Brittany Spanos.

The stories behind some of the most essential albums of all time, told by the artists who made them and Rolling Stone’s writers and editors. Each episode focuses on one album from the brand-new, updated version of Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums list, featuring fresh conversations with the people who made the music, classic interview audio and expert commentary. Episodes include the late Tom Petty on his solo classic Wildflowers, Taylor Swift talking about her career-changing 2012 album Red, and Public Enemy breaking down their political masterpiece It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back.<a href="https://music.amazon.com/playlists/B08SYDVV19" rel="noopener noreferrer">Listen to songs featured on the podcast and more hits from the Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums list here.</a>Now we’re back with Season Two. Across 10 episodes, you’ll hear Dolly Parton tell the stories behind the songs on her 1971 solo breakthrough Coat of Many Colors; Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr delve into the making of the Beatles’ troubled final album, Let It Be; Britney Spears’ collaborators explain how she made 2007’s Blackout in the eye of a paparazzi hurricane; friends and relatives of Alice Coltrane look back at how she overcame tragedy to create her masterpiece Journey in Satchidananda; Rivers Cuomo and his bandmates reflect on the unlikely birth of Weezer’s Blue Album; and much more.Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums is hosted by Senior Writer Brittany Spanos.

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Parliament-Funkadelic's "Mothership Connection"

Parliament-Funkadelic's "Mothership Connection"

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