Clinton's latest studio release with the P-Funk All-Stars is 2005's "How Late Do U Have 2 B B4 U R Absent?" The album was the funk legend's first new music in six years following a legal battle over ownership of his back catalog.

He also appears on "A Soulful Tale of Two Cities," a collaboration of classic Motown and Philly soul artists that hit the streets in January and is the inaugural release for Soul Renaissance Records.

Clinton formed Parliament and its sister ensemble, Funkadelic, in the late '60s. Both bands shared the same musicians but focused on different brands of funk--Parliament exploring hardcore funk and Funkadelic leaning toward psychedelic space-rock.

Parliament and Funkadelic ruled R&B music in the '70s, scoring more than 40 hit singles and recording three platinum albums, according to Clinton's bio.

Though the bandleader dissolved both groups in 1981, Clinton began recording with an incarnation he called The P-Funk All-Stars, thus creating a new generation of Parliament and Funkadelic.

Clinton, who has been breaking out the funk for 40 years, is considered one of the biggest innovators and inspirations in the genre. His music continues to be sampled--especially in the rap world--by artists including Snoop Dogg, Public Enemy and Ice Cube.