Fans were saddened this weekend to learn that funk music superstar Clarence Eugene "Fuzzy" Haskins suffered a fatal stroke at the age of 81.
PBS noted that Haskins rose to fame as a member of the musical collective Parliament-Funkadelic alongside founder and producer George Clinton.
Clinton's website features a biography of Haskins which credits him with co-writing "some of Funkadelic’s earliest classics, including 'I Got A Thing' (featuring his vocals) and 'I Wanna Know If It’s Good To You.'"
The biography hailed Haskins as being "a good drummer as well," something that "he proved on 'Can You Get To That,' which he also co-wrote."
It recalled how Haskins "was known, during live P-Funk shows, to don skin-tight bodysuits and gyrate against the microphone pole as he whipped the crowd into a frenzy."
I just discovered (on YouTube) this rare 1971 promo clip of Funkadelic for “You and Your Folks, Me and My Folks.” Here, vocalist Fuzzy Haskins is not singing, but playing drums. The audio is not live, but the studio recording of the song. pic.twitter.com/eDXMTAA3mK
— DJ Soul Sister (@djsoulsister) March 18, 2023
Haskins was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame alongside other Parliament-Funkadelic members in 1997, and the institution released a statement in the wake of his passing.
In Memoriam: Clarence “Fuzzy” Haskins started making music with George Clinton in the late 1950s as an original member of the doo-wop quintet the Parliaments. He continued to sing alongside Clinton for decades, as a key member of Parliament-Funkadelic, inducted in 1997. 1/2 pic.twitter.com/fMB8VtT0Oj
— Rock Hall (@rockhall) March 18, 2023
"Clarence 'Fuzzy' Haskins started making music with George Clinton in the late 1950s as an original member of the doo-wop quintet the Parliaments," the statement explained.
"As P-Funk pushed boundaries further and further on classic albums like Mothership Connection and Maggot Brain and set a futuristic pace for Black music, Haskins kept things connected to their street corner harmony roots," it declared.
Fellow Parliament-Funkadelic veteran Bootsy Collins tweeted that the world lost Haskins' "frequency today." He went on to call the late musician his "friend" and "soul brother."
Prayer's going out to Clarence "Fuzzys" Haskins family & friends.🙏 We lost his frequency today
3-17- 23. He was an original Parliament/Funkadelic inducted in the RHOF.🤘We will miss u my friend, bandmate & Soul brother!😢 Thx u for ur guidance in my pup year's. Bootsy baby!!!🤩 pic.twitter.com/IQI6crS8sS— Bootsy Collins (@Bootsy_Collins) March 18, 2023
Individual fans also took to Twitter and expressed praise for Haskins, describing him as being "one of the funkiest" people in music.
We lost one of the most funkiest man alive Clarence Eugene Fuzzy Haskins passed away at a funky age of 81 years old 😢. He was the lead singer of Parliament Funkedelic. RIP 🙏 pic.twitter.com/p33FMRp1hr
— DCGOGO58 (@LeeButl05543302) March 18, 2023
