The Electric Spanking of War Babies

Artist: Funkadelic

Release date: 1981

Record label: Warner Brothers

This album is the final LP of Funkadelic's Golden Era. It features many relative newcomers to the P Funk mob, though it is still very popular among Funkadelic fans. At one point, Clinton planned on this being a double album, but the idea was squashed by Warner Brothers. The title is an allusion to the Vietnam War.

Track Listing:

• The Electric Spanking of War Babies (Bob Bishop[?], George Clinton, Walter Morrison[?])
• Electro-Cuties (J. Ali, Clinton, Ron Ford[?])
• Funk Gets Stronger (Part I) (Clinton, Michael Hampton)
• Brettino's Bounce (Larry Fratangelo[?])
• Funk Gets Stronger (Killer Millimeter Longer Version) (Clinton, Sylvester Stewart[?])
• She Loves You (John Lennon, Paul McCartney)
• Shockwave] (Ron Dunbar[?], DeWayne McKnight[?])
• Oh, I (Clinton, Rodney Curtis[?], Garry Shider)
• Icka Prick (Clinton, Shider)

Critical response:

• ”Electric Spanking is an above-average party album"
  • the Motherpage (http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&uid=SEARCH&sql=A28520r8ac48x)

"Icka Prick" may have been a response to the flak that Funkadelic and LP cover artist Pedro Bell were getting from Warner Bros. and certain women's groups concerning the album cover art, hence the lyric: "You ain't seen obscene yet/We gonna be nasty this year". The lyrics are intentionally filthy.

Other external links:

• the Motherpage (http://www.duke.edu/~tmc/motherpage/albums_funkadelic/alb-espank)

Title of song: The Electric Spanking of War Babies

Artist: Funkadelic

Title of album: The Electric Spanking of War Babies

Year of first release: 1981

Trivia: The title is George Clinton's characterization of the Vietnam War.

Description of music:

Complete tabs at [external site with complete tabs]

Songwriters: Bob Bishop[?], George Clinton, Walter Morrison[?]

Memorable Lyrics:

• "I, at the early age of seventeen/Was adopted by aliens"
• "They have long since programmed me/To return with this message/When you learn to dance/You won't forget it"
• "It's a bummer to find/That your mind/And your behind/Gets exploded in time"
• "You've seen the bomb (electric)/Vietnam (spanking of)/LSD (war babies)/You've seen the ?/You've seen DNA/Watch them go to the moon/Live on TV"

Complete lyrics at the Motherpage (http://www.duke.edu/~tmc/motherpage/lyrics_funkadelic/lyr-espank#lyr-s-espank)

The song begins with a silly, spoken intro where the speaker claims to have been adopted by aliens. The aliens gave him a message, which is apparently an urgent need to get Funky. The song then turns obliquely political, and the song's titular reference to the Vietnam War is referred to again.

Personnel:

• Vocals: George Clinton
• Bass, Rhythm Guitar, Keyboards, Drums: Walter Morrison[?]
• Lead Guitar: Michael Hampton

Critical response: