It may not be the equal of Detroit, New York, Seattle, or Cleveland as a wellspring of popular music, but Plainfield, N.J. earns its place in history as the birthplace of Bernie Worrell.
His greasy, squealing synthesizer sounds erupted from Parliament/Funkadelic records throughout the 1970s, then went on to power the grandest phase of Talking Heads. That mid-80s period produced Speaking in Tongues and Stop Making Sense, the greatest concert movie ever made (that's Bernie up there on that huge, looming bank of keyboards).
Two-thirds of the hip-hop records now in existence would never have been made if Worrell hadn't thought up that insanely catchy descending riff for "Flash Light" (from Parliament's peak, Funkentelechy vs. The Placebo Syndrome). If you don't believe me, check out Stranger: Bernie Worrell on Earth, a documentary now touring the festival circuit and destined for DVD sooner or later. I hope.
Meanwhile, John Hickey, Worrell's guitarist, also has his own band, staffed exclusively with musicians from Plainfield. Now that's what I call a local hero!
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Originally posted at The Opinion Mill.
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