MICHAEL HAMPTON PARLIAMENT-FUNKADELIC GUITAR LEGEND RELEASES 'INTO THE PUBLIC DOMAIN' EXCLUSIVE ZOOM EDITION ON INTERVIEWING THE LEGENDS WITH RAY SHASHO

 

M I C H A E L

H A M P T O N

PARLIAMENT-FUNKADELIC

A Founding Father of Power-Funk Electric Guitar

RELEASES

'INTO THE PUBLIC DOMAIN'

A meld of rock and world music with jazz and western overtones, hallmarked by Michael’s trademark sizzling leads

EXCLUSIVE 

ON INTERVIEWING THE LEGENDS

WITH RAY SHASHO

After receiving his first guitar at age 10, a determined Michael became self-taught with the help of his bedroom radio, spending days on end playing along with Jimi Hendrix, Wes Montgomery and B.B. King records. After studying jazz guitar in high school, an impromptu backstage audition for George Clinton in 1974 earned 17-year-old Michael a seat on the Parliament mothership alongside the immortal Eddie Hazel, under the name “Kidd Funkadelic”.

Hampton has spent the past half-century playing nearly 400 shows with the band, in 25 countries across 6 continents. Highlights include multiple appearances at world-renowned festivals like Montreux Jazz, Glastonbury, Reading, Woodstock ’99, Coachella, Bonnaroo, Roskilde, Lollapalooza, Fuji Rock, and Isle of Wight, and venues like the Apollo Theater, The Fillmore, Royal Albert Hall, Madison Square Garden, The Troubadour, Red Rocks, The Beacon, and Sydney Opera House.

Though best known for his role in the funk guitar pantheon, Hampton is also an accomplished multi-instrumentalist, with drums, keys, and synth programming credits across the Parliament discography. 

Parliament-Funkadelic legacy guitarist and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame member Michael Hampton's Into the Public Domain, is a mini album produced by 9-time Grammy Award winner and Ruffhouse Records co-founder Joe “The Butcher” Nicolo. A founding father of power-funk electric guitar, Hampton edges into new territory on Into the Public Domain, a meld of rock and world music with jazz and western overtones, hallmarked by Michael’s trademark sizzling leads.

PURCHASE

A founding father of power-funk electric guitar 

MICHAEL 

HAMPTON

‘INTO THE PUBLIC DOMAIN’

AT

https://michaelhampton.bandcamp.com/album/into-the-public-domain-2

FOR MORE INFORMATION

ABOUT

MICHAEL HAMPTON

VISIT

https://www.tiktok.com/@ma_wa_ha

TikTok

https://www.instagram.com/michaelwhampton/

Instagram

https://open.spotify.com/artist/5rhBe5DqUbACYzqerQa9R0

Spotify

https://www.facebook.com/p/Michael-Hampton-100040199001670/

Facebook

https://www.youtube.com/@MaWaHa

YouTube

https://georgeclinton.com/

George Clinton Official Site

https://www.facebook.com/georgeclintonpfunk

George Clinton Facebook

 

UPCOMING

GEORGE CLINTON

PARLIAMENT-FUNKADELIC

SHOWS

Sat, APR 11

The PFunk Festival 2026

Tallahassee, FL

Apr. 25 - 26, 2026

Austin Blues Festival 2026

Austin, TX

May. 21 - 24, 2026

Jacksonville Jazz Festival 2026

Jacksonville, FL

Sun, MAY 24

Hollywood Casino Joliet

 

FUNKADELIC

DISCOGRAPHY

Funkadelic (1970)

Free Your Mind... and Your Ass Will Follow (1970)

Maggot Brain (1971)

America Eats Its Young (1972)

Cosmic Slop (1973)

Standing on the Verge of Getting It On (1974)

Let's Take It to the Stage (1975)

Tales of Kidd Funkadelic (1976)

Hardcore Jollies (1976)

One Nation Under a Groove (1978)

Uncle Jam Wants You (1979)

Connections & Disconnections (1980)

The Electric Spanking of War Babies (1981)

By Way of the Drum (2007)

First Ya Gotta Shake the Gate (2014)

 

PARLIAMENT

DISCOGRAPHY

Osmium (1970)

Up for the Down Stroke (1974)

Chocolate City (1975)

Mothership Connection (1975)

The Clones of Dr. Funkenstein (1976)

Funkentelechy vs. the Placebo Syndrome (1977)

Motor Booty Affair (1978)

Gloryhallastoopid (1979)

Trombipulation (1980)

Medicaid Fraud Dogg (2018)

 

Notable songs

"Maggot Brain" (Funkadelic), 1971

"Up for the Down Stroke" (Parliament), 1974

"Chocolate City" (Parliament), 1975

"P-Funk (Wants to Get Funked Up)" (Parliament), 1975

"Give Up The Funk (Tear The Roof Off The Sucker)" (Parliament), 1976

"Do That Stuff" (Parliament), 1976

"I'd Rather Be With You" (Bootsy's Rubber Band), 1976

"Bop Gun (Endangered Species)" (Parliament), 1977

"Funkentelechy" (Parliament), 1978

"The Pinocchio Theory" (Bootsy's Rubber Band), 1977

"Aqua Boogie (A Psychoalphadiscobetabioaquadoloop)" (Parliament), 1978

"Bootzilla" (Bootsy's Rubber Band), 1978

"Flash Light" (Parliament), 1978

"One Nation Under a Groove" (Funkadelic), 1978

"(Not Just) Knee Deep" (Funkadelic), 1979

"The Electric Spanking of War Babies" (Funkadelic), 1981

 

MICHAEL HAMPTON

APPEARS

MARCH 31ST 2026

ON INTERVIEWING THE LEGENDS

WITH RAY SHASHO

RAY'S NEW NOVEL

'THE LIBERTY CODE'

The Liberty Code is a thrilling blend of science fiction, political intrigue, and military strategy. With its compelling characters, intricate plot, and timely themes, this novel offers a captivating journey through a world where the line between fiction and reality blurs. It's a must-read for fans of dystopian futures, extraterrestrial encounters, and high-stakes political drama.

Are you ready to decode the secrets of The Liberty Code and join the fight for Earth's future?

LIBERTY CODE TEASER

AVAILABLE 

NOW!

RAY'S INCREDIBLE NEW 

POLITICAL THRILLER

SCI-FI BOOK!

THE

 LIBERTY

 CODE

In a near-future America, where democracy has collapsed under the iron grip of the Commonwealth Party, redemption lies in the unlikeliest of places—a novel. The Liberty Code, penned by decorated Marine veteran and journalist Sam Edwards, uncovers the hidden truths of a dystopian world teetering on the edge of annihilation.

Guided by telepathic messages from two Centauri extraterrestrial ambassadors, J-Rod and Naxia, who secretly collaborate with the U.S. Air Force, Edwards reveals a master plan to save Earth. This gripping tale begins as fiction but evolves into a stark reality, reflecting real-world geopolitical conflicts and revolutionary military operations.

OFFICIAL TRAILER

A WARNING ABOUT THE LIBERTY CODE BY THE CENTAURIANS 

AVAILABLE AT

 bookbaby.com

amazon.com

and on audiobook 

at barnesandnoble.com

SPOTIFY.COM

PURCHASE HERE

https://store.bookbaby.com/book/the-liberty-code?srsltid=AfmBOoosm9yL_n_mIiQdRmnY5RgaxapZTnzc8iB1Jy0F7FDLixFQaNOp

NEW RELEASE

 BY THE CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED

 NEW ARTIST KYLIE WILLOW

AVAILABLE ON SPOTIFY

BROUGHT TO YOU BY

RAY SHASHO'S NEW PRODUCTION COMPANY

ROCK RAYMOND PRODUCTIONS

CHARLES WRIGHT LEGENDARY R&B SINGER & SONGWRITER KNOWN FOR THE MEGA HIT “EXPRESS YOURSELF” RELEASING BRAND NEW MUSIC: ZOOM TV SPECIAL EVENT ON INTERVIEWING THE LEGENDS!

 

C H A R L E S 

W R I G H T 

LEGENDARY R&B SINGER & SONGWRITER

RELEASING BRAND-NEW ALBUM!

WROTE THE MEGA HIT

"EXPRESS YOURSELF"

PERFORMED BY CHARLES WRIGHT

AND THE WATTS 103RD STREET RHYTHM BAND

ZOOM TV SPECIAL EVENT

on INTERVIEWING THE LEGENDS

Charles Wright was born in Clarksdale Mississippi, where he grew up and was musically inclined by playing the guitar and singing in several doo-wop groups, including, The Twilighters, The Shield, and The Gallahads.

Wright briefly worked as A&R Director for Del-Fi Records and was responsible for the hit recording of "Those Oldies But Goodies (Remind Me of You)" by Little Caesar and the Romans in 1961. By 1964, Wright formed his own band called Charles Wright & the Wright Sounds, which included John Raynford, and Daryl Dragon, the "Captain" of Captain & Tennille. Wright added more members to the group, and they became known as the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band, and they played in several venues across Los Angeles. In the 1970s the band was best known for their world-renowned hit, "Express Yourself.” It was written by Wright and distributed by Warner Bros. TM, where it would hit #3 and #12 on the R&B and Pop charts, respectively.

Another hit record under Wright's reign was Do Your Thing, which set the stage for a 1970s pornographic study of Boogie Nights. To date, Wright's songs have been covered by legendary artists around the globe, including Ray Charles, Les McCann, Della Reese, Roger Troutman & Zapp, The Ohio Players, and the Swiss Lon Genes Symphony Orchestra. During the rise of Hip-Hop in the 1980s, many rap artists sampled chunks of funk from Wright's wax, including N.W.A. and their smash track, "Express Yourself" Brand Nubian Funk, Naughty By Nature, Gang Starr, and Sean "P. Diddy" Combs also gleaned inspiration from Wright's work.

Charles will be releasing a brand new album very soon!

WATCH FOR THE BRAND-NEW ALBUM

BY CHARLES WRIGHT

'A LITTLE BIT OF EVERYTHING'

COMING SOON!

PURCHASE

THE RECENT RELEASE

BY 

CHARLES

 WRIGHT

‘TAKING

 IT

 BACK’

at amazon.com

Also

Charles best-selling book

UP 

From where we've come

AN EVENTFUL JOURNEY

by 

Charles Wright 

amazon.com

"UP" contains historical moments, where the reader will experience inserts of the author's life long before he gained his status as a musical legend. And like his music, Wrights' story is a historical account of events that could only be told in his own personal and unique style.

Wright’s book is about a young boy and his family's trials and tribulations on a cotton plantation owned by a cruel sharecropper named Edward Miles, who was born with an unfair advantage, which he uses to dominate his subjects. At the critical age of eight, the boy's father demanded he pick no less than a hundred pounds a day, which according to the author, he has yet to be able to deliver. But any time he failed, he faced yet another one of his father’s vicious whippings. His father was involved with the cruel hearted landowner, who owned four hundred acres of fertile land, which he and his family were obligated to work 40 acres of. This, of course, called for an oversized family, which at that time was a sharecropper's dream.

The beatings continued practically on a daily basis and continued even after the family relocated to California due to the fact that his father had developed a habit of taking his personal frustrations out on the boy.

During the late forties and early fifties, his parents decided to opt out of the cotton business for good, but soon realized Mr. Miles was not so willing to let go. They plotted a scheme and leaving the plantation, they moved into Clarksdale, but only to realize how relentless the old sharecropper actually was. So in an effort to subdue the family, Mr. Miles used his influence among other white southerners to deny the boy's father employment.

Their saga continued due to one incident after another until finally, the child's mother sought help from her oldest daughter, who'd already moved out of state. The rest is history. His story takes too many twists and turns to explain in a brief synopsis, yet in the end it has a surprisingly pleasant way of resolving itself.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

ABOUT

CHARLES WRIGHT

VISIT

https://expressyourself.net/

Official website

www.facebook.com/charleswrightmusic

FACEBOOK

www.youtube.com/user/charleswrightz1

YouTube

https://open.spotify.com/artist/6fN2KrVTKQmaJPNWfIiIuh?si=6yf8nhONRXC296guwV128w&nd=1

Spotify

 

Discography

CHARLES WRIGHT

Singles

Act   Title Release   Year

Charlie Wright "Help Yourself" / "Number One" (1966)

Charles Wright         "(I'm Living On) Borrowed Time" / "Keep Saying (You Don't Love Nobody)" (1966)

Charles Wright         "Soul Train" / "Run Jody Run" (1972)

Charles Wright         "You Gotta Know Whatcha Doin'" / "Here Comes the Sun" (1972)

Charles Wright         "(Well I'm) Doin' What Cums Naturally" Part 1 / "(Well I'm) Doin' What Cums Naturally" Part 2 (1973)

Charles Wright         "You Threw It All Away" / "The Weight Of Hate" (1973)

Charles Wright         "Is It Real?" / "Don't Rush Tomorrow" (1975)

Charles Wright         "You Gotta Know Whatcha Doin" / "Here Comes The Sun"

Happiness (2014)

Just Fine (2020)

 

CHARLES WRIGHT

Albums

Act   Title   Year

Charles Wright         Rhythm And Poetry (1972)

Charles Wright         Doing What Comes Naturally (1973)

Charles Wright         Ninety Day Cycle People (1974)

Charles Wright         A Lil' Encouragement (1975)

Charles Wright of The Watts 103rd St. Rhythm Band Going To The Party (1997)

Charles Wright         Music For The Times We Live In (2002)

Charles Wright of The Watts 103rd St. Rhythm Band High Maintenance Woman (2003)

Charles Wright of The Watts 103rd St. Rhythm Band with The Gallahads          My Love Affair With Doo-Wop (2004)

Charles Wright         Finally Got It... Wright (2007)

Music For The Times We Live In (2007)

Rhythm and Poetry (Remastered & Expanded) (2007)

Something to Make You Feel Good (2016)

Taking It Back (2021)

A Little Bit of Everything (2023) Coming soon!

 

As Charles Wright

and the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band

Album    Year

Express Yourself (1970)

You're So Beautiful (1971)

CHARLES WRIGHT

APPEARS WEEK OF 

MAY 9TH 2023

ON INTERVIEWING THE LEGENDS

WITH RAY SHASHO

ORDER NOW

 WHILE SUPPLIES LAST!

RAY’S BEST-SELLING BOOK

ENTITLED

THE ROCK STAR CHRONICLES

SERIES ONE  

CHRONICLES,TRUTHS

 CONFESSIONS AND WISDOM 

FROM THE MUSIC LEGENDS 

THAT SET US FREE!

BY MUSIC JOURNALIST ...TALK SHOW HOST...  

AUTHOR ... TV SITCOM SCRIPT WRITER 

RAY SHASHO

…Order yours today on (Collector edition) Hardcover or E-book at bookbaby.com and amazon.com

Featuring over 45 intimate conversations with some of the greatest rock legends the world will ever know.

CHRIS SQUIRE... DR. JOHN... GREG LAKE... HENRY MCCULLOUGH... JACK BRUCE … JOE LALA…  JOHNNY WINTER... KEITH EMERSON... PAUL KANTNER...  RAY THOMAS... RONNIE MONTROSE... TONY JOE WHITE... DAVID CLAYTON-THOMAS… MIKE LOVE... TOMMY ROE... BARRY HAY... CHRIS THOMPSON... JESSE COLIN YOUNG... JOHN KAY... JULIAN LENNON... MARK LINDSAY... MICKY DOLENZ… PETER RIVERA ...TOMMY JAMES… TODD RUNDGREN... DAVE MASON... EDGAR WINTER... FRANK MARINO... GREGG ROLIE... IAN ANDERSON... JIM “DANDY” MANGRUM... JON ANDERSON... LOU GRAMM... MICK BOX... RANDY BACHMAN… ROBIN TROWER...  ROGER FISHER... STEVE HACKETT... ANNIE HASLAM… ‘MELANIE’ SAFKA... PETULA CLARK... SUZI QUATRO... COLIN BLUNSTONE… DAVE DAVIES... JIM McCARTY... PETE BEST

 

THE ROCK STAR CHRONICLES

BOOK TRAILER

 

BOOK REVIEW

-By Literary Titan (5) STARS

The Rock Star Chronicles by Ray Shasho, is a splendid book written by a music enthusiast who has poured their heart and soul into it. It’s a story of a boy who loved rock music, and his obsessive passion of it earned himself the name Rock Raymond. He went to school but instead was schooled in all matters of music while his peers were buried chin-deep in coursework. He then became a radio DJ and has now compiled a book on all interviews he held with Rock gods who raided the airwaves back in the 70s and 80s. It’s a compilation of interviews with outstanding vocalists, legendary guitarists and crazy drummers in the rock music scene. Each interview gives a reader an in-depth view into their personal lives and the philosophies that guide their lives which all serve to humanize these great icons. For readers who are old enough to call themselves baby boomers this book will bring old memories back to life. Millennials, on the other hand, may think of this book as a literal work of the Carpool Karaoke show. 

The Rock Star Chronicles is a book I didn’t know I was waiting for. To come across a book that will talk me into trying something new. One brave enough to incite me to venture into new frontiers. This book made me a believer- I am now a bona fide Rock and Roll music fan. 

Ray Shasho masterfully gets the interviewees talking. He smartly coaxes answers from them with crafty questions designed to get a story rolling out of them. The artists talk about diverse issues ranging from music, politics, and their social engagements. Having been on the music seen all his life, Ray Shasho knows the buttons to press, how to get them comfortable about talking about their lives. 

The book’s cover is befitting of its subject matter with the leather look offering a royal background to the golden letter print. It speaks to how high a level rock music holds in the pecking order- arguably, modern music as we know it has originated from blues and rock music.  The second noteworthy thing is the use of high-definition pictures to reference the musician being interviewed in every sub-chapter. This ensures that the book is for both original rock and roll lovers and aspiring new ones. Together is makes for a refreshing and consistently enjoyable read.

I recommend this book to rock music enthusiasts, aspiring musicians wondering what it takes and all readers curious to learn new things by going back in time.

https://literarytitan.com/2020/05/03/literary-titan-book-awards-may-2020/   

Gold Award Winner

MORE BOOKS BY RAY SHASHO