As the 70's chugged along, the rock concert as huge spectacle became the norm. Sets became bigger and special effects became brighter while costumes began to defy any laws previously in nature. Bill Whitten designed Earth, Wind, & Fire's adventurous get-ups which were inspired as much by African culture as they were by outer-space imagery. Larry DeGaspi's costumes for LaBelle were a crazy mix of science fiction fantasy and erotica. The Ohio Players donned some of the biggest Afros around along with a penchant for exaggerated 30's gangster style (and naked women on most of their album covers). K.C. and the Sunshine Band combined the sparkle and glitter of a Las Vegas revue with the colorful shiny happiness of Marvel comics superheros. But none of these acts could top the juggernaut that was Parliament/Funkadelic.

Earth, Wind, & Fire

Parliament/Funkadelic	After George Clinton's slick-suited soul group the Parliaments dissolved in 1967, he gathered together a band of rag-tag musicians and called themselves Funkadelic. And with the new spacey cosmic sound they were creating came along the spacey cosmic ensembles that ended up being a P-Funk trademark. Throughout the next decade, Clinton (like fellow chameleon of the time David Bowie) would take on the persona of different characters. He was "Dr. Funkenstein" in 1976, when his traveling circus known as "The Earth Tour" hit the road. With Casablanca Records' blessing (and more importantly, a $250,000+ budget behind them), extravagent sets were built by Jules Fischer while Larry DeGaspi created over 30 different costumes for the tour, many of which were bestial in nature. There were Clinton's gray leather "elephant pants" (complete with an elephant's head and trunk attached to the crotch) as well as a pair of shoes made to look like the heads of a couple of bulldogs attached to leashes which hung from the wearer's wrists.
For the 1978 Motor Booty tour, Clinton became "Dr. Wiggles", a far-out, underwater dwelling earthworm who was also a master behind the turntables. For Clinton (as well as other major players in the P-Funk mob like Bernie Worrell and Bootsy Collins) showmanship and theatricality were serious business. However there was always a sense of fun and humor at the root of all of their performances.

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