Brides of Funkenstein -

Brides of Funkenstein were an American soul-funk group from Detroit that released two albums on Atlantic in 1978/79. The group provided vocal backing for producer George Clinton in the mid-’70s iterations of Parliament and Funkadelic. Two of the members, Dawn Silva and Lynn Mabry, sang together earlier in a late-period lineup of Sly & the Family Stone.

Members: Dawn Silva, Lynn Mabry, Sheila Horne

Background

George Clinton formed the Brides of Funkenstein in 1978 with singers Dawn Silva and Lynn Mabry. Clinton drew the group name from the Parliament album The Clones of Dr. Funkenstein.

Silva was born and raised in Sacramento, California, where she led the high-school group Windsong with her sister. Trumpeter Cynthia Robinson heard Windsong during a garage rehearsal in 1974 and invited Silva to audition for Sly Stone. Silva joined Stone’s camp in 1975 and made her recorded debut with background vocals on High on You. Singer Lynn Mabry grew up in a musical family and Pentecostal church. In 1975, while still in high school, she joined percussionist Coke Escovedo as a lead singer at King Richard’s Nightclub in Oakland.

Several months later, Sly Stone hired Mabry for background vocals on Heard Ya Missed Me, Well I’m Back. Silva toured with Sly and the Family Stone in 1976 with Mabry in the vocal lineup during the fall U.S. tour with Parliament-Funkadelic. After Stone’s early abandonment of the tour, Clinton offered Silva and Mabry places in P-Funk. The pair entered the Clinton organization during sessions for the Horny Horns single “Get Up on the Down Stroke” and the 1977 solo album by guitarist Eddie Hazel, Game, Dames & Guitar Thangs.

Clinton created the Brides of Funkenstein as a separate Atlantic act for Silva and Mabry. He used instrumental outtakes from the P-Funk and Bootsy Collins archives as backing tracks for the duo’s first album.

Funk or Walk

Brides of Funkenstein released their debut album, Funk or Walk, in September 1978 on Atlantic.

George Clinton built the album around lead vocals by Dawn Silva and Lynn Mabry. He co-wrote all but the last two tracks, both co-written by P-Funk writer Ron Dunbar.

“Disco To Go” drives its title call through a dance-floor cadence. “War Ship Touchante” glides through electronic splatter and treated vocal effects. “Birdie” works wordplay into horn punctuation and clipped vocal turns. “Just Like You” lingers over string writing while Dawn Silva and Lynn Mabry stretch the lead blend across a slow ballad span. “Amorous” threads electronic punctuation through vocal effects.

A1. “Disco to Go” (5:03) – Clinton, Collins
A2. “War Ship Touchante” (5:27) – Clinton, Worrell, Ivy
A3. “Nappy” (4:29) – Clinton, Worrell, Vitti, Shider
A4. “Birdie” (5:39) – Clinton, Curtis, Dunbar, Shider

B1. “Just Like You” (9:11) – Clinton, Shider
B2. “When You’re Gone” (5:19) – Cooper, Dunbar
B3. “Amorous” (4:54) – Shider, Dunbar, Curtis

George Clinton produced Funk or Walk, joined by Bootsy Collins on “Disco to Go.”

The supporting-player credits list percussionist Larry Fratangelo, bassists Bootsy Collins and Rodney Curtis, keyboardists Bernie Worrell and Joel Johnson, guitarists Phelps Collins, Michael Hampton, and Garry Shider, and drummers Gary “Mudbone” Cooper, Frank “Kash” Waddy, Tyrone Lampkin, and Bootsy Collins. The backing-vocal credits list the Brides, Ron Banks, and Larry Demps, with strings by the Detroit Symphony and horns by Wayman Reed, George Minger, and Danny Turner.

The Funk or Walk sleeve credits In Search of the Miraculous Inc. for cover concept, design, and illustration, with an image of Silva and Mabry as bionic figures.

Atlantic lifted “Disco to Go” as a 1978 single (b/w “When You’re Gone”), and the song reached No. 7 on the Billboard Hot Soul Singles chart. “War Ship Touchante” followed in February 1979 (b/w “Amorous”) and reached No. 76 on the same chart.

Funk or Walk reached No. 17 on the Billboard R&B Albums chart and No. 70 on the Billboard 200 chart. Between albums, Lynn Mabry left the group.

Never Buy Texas from a Cowboy

Brides of Funkenstein released their second album, Never Buy Texas from a Cowboy, in November 1979 on Atlantic.

Cowboy presents a reconfigured trio lineup with Dawn Silva joined by singers Sheila Horne and Jeanette McGruder. Clinton co-wrote four songs, including the lengthy title track, one of two Dunbar co-writes.

“Never Buy Texas From a Cowboy” sprawls across repeated title warnings, loose vocal asides, and answering keyboard figures. “I’m Holding You Responsible” lets sweeping strings carry the entrance, then places a spoken fairy-tale lead against heavy guitar punctuation.

“Smoke Signals” bounces through bass accents and folds the “Bustin’ Loose” chant into the chorus. “Mother May I?” slows into close lead placement and clipped guitar replies. “Party Up in Here” punches short guitar figures against crowd-chant phrasing. “Didn’t Mean to Fall in Love” settles into string wash and a direct ballad lead.

A1. “Never Buy Texas from a Cowboy” (15:15) – Clinton, Dunbar
A2. “I’m Holding You Responsible” (5:30) – Clinton, Hazel

B1. “Smoke Signals” (6:40) – Collins, Clinton
B2. “Mother May I?” (5:35) – Shider, Lewis, Vitti
B3. “Party Up in Here” (5:33) – Clinton, Curtis
B4. “Didn’t Mean to Fall in Love” (4:00) – Dunbar, Bishop

George Clinton produced Never Buy Texas from a Cowboy. Bootsy Collins joined Clinton as producer on “Smoke Signals,” and Ron Dunbar produced “Didn’t Mean to Fall in Love.” The sessions involved five auxiliary vocalists and 23 backing musicians, including Collins, Hazel, and Worrell.

The album features cover art by David Willardson, whose image shows three women’s legs under a large cowboy hat.

Atlantic lifted “Never Buy Texas from a Cowboy, Pt. 1” as a 1979 single (b/w “Never Buy Texas from a Cowboy, Pt. 2”), and the song reached No. 67 on the Billboard R&B chart. “Didn’t Mean to Fall in Love” followed on Atlantic 3658 (b/w “Mother May I?”).

Never Buy Texas from a Cowboy reached No. 93 on the Billboard 200 chart.

Discography: