From doo-wop to the P-Funk Mothership, George Clinton has led his funky voyage through the musical universe and beyond.

The journey began in New Jersey in 1955, when Clinton formed his doo-wop group, the Parliaments. During this first Clinton era, he also made weekly trips to the Apollo Theater in Harlem. The showmanship he saw there set the stage for the outlandish performances that Clinton’s various musical collectives—Funkadelic, Parliament, the P-Funk All Stars and Parliament-Funkadeli...