Calvin Simon, co-founder of Parliament-Funkadelic, dead at 79

Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Calvin Simon, co-founder of the American funk music collective Parliament-Funkadelic, died Thursday at the age of 79. His cause of death has not been confirmed.

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“[Thanks] everyone for the wonderful memories... we will so miss you Calvin... but love the thought that heaven just got a bit funkier,” a post on Simon’s official Facebook page stated on Saturday, confirming the performer’s passing.

His former bandmates Bootsy Collins and George Clinton both paid tribute to the musician on social media.

Born in West Virginia in 1942, where he sang with his church choir, Simon relocated to New Jersey with his family as a teenager, according to People magazine.

Simon joined the doo-wop quintet, the Parliaments, alongside fellow barbers George Clinton and Grady Thomas and customers Ray Davis and Fuzzy Haskins, in the late 1950s, Billboard reported.

After returning from a two-year military tour in Vietnam, Simon joined the group that later became known as Parliament-Funkadelic, but eventually left the collective, citing financial disputes, the entertainment news outlet reported.

The collective’s hits included “Give UP the Funk” and “Flash Light.”

“The thing that means the most to me is how I handled the PTSD from my service in the Vietnam War,” he said in a statement posted on his website. “I was able to keep the genie in the bottle, so to speak, and did not allow the evil thoughts to break through and manifest into actions. Instead, I found my faith and relied on the higher power to see me through.”

He was later inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame by Prince with other members of Parliament-Funkadelic, People reported.

“Funk is a force that tore the roof off the sucker that is modern music,” Prince said during the 1997 induction ceremony.

Seven years later, Simon released his debut gospel album, “Share the News,” after receiving a thyroid cancer diagnosis, People reported.

“Initially it was a shock, as it took my voice away,” he explained on his website. “Since the cancer was in the thyroid against my vocal cords, I was certain my music career was over and at this point I walked away from music. Apparently God had other plans and had enough forethought to know I needed to be home at that time.”

He went on to release two more albums, 2016′s “It’s Not Too Late” and 2018′s “I Believe,” Billboard reported.

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