For those who don’t yet know, Bernie Worrell–keyboardist, founding member of the legendary Parliament-Funkadelic and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductee–is battling stage 4 lung, prostate and liver cancer. My friend and former WRFB colleague Christian John Wikane provided this eloquent perspective:
“P-Funk helped CAMEO, Earth, Wind & Fire, Rufus, Bar-Kays … a lot of people. We brought them on the road with us for the big coliseum show. They’d open for us and we’d close the show” — Bernie Worrell (21 February 2008). That excerpt from my interview with Bernie represents just a sliver of the impact Bernie’s made in music as one of the driving forces in Parliament-Funkadelic but also in his many musical endeavors and collaborations with Talking Heads, Nona Hendryx, Mtume, Keith Richards, Afrika Bambaataa, Material, the Pretenders, Dave Stewart, and countless other artists.
It goes without saying that Bernie is one of our elders, and he needs the support of the community to which he’s contributed to for many decades. Spearheading that effort, the Black Rock Coalition has put together a massive fundraising concert next month. Info is below, and tickets are $50 (advance), $60 (day of show) and $100 (for a special VIP reception and access at the event).
If you can’t make the show, please consider donating to the Bernie Worrell Fund on Sweet Relief. Also, check out one of my favorite tracks that Bernie played on, “Another Day”, done as part of the group Socialybrium.
Additional links:
- Bernie Worrell Fund at Sweet Relief
- Black Rock Coalition on Facebook
- Webster Hall event page
- Bernie Worrell official
