Garry Shider

Garry Marshall Shider (born 1953) is an American musician and guitarist. He has been musical director of the P-Funk All-Stars for much of their history. He is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, inducted in 1997 with fifteen other members of Parliament-Funkadelic.

Childhood

Shider was born in Plainfield, New Jersey. At the age of ten and under the guidance of his father, Jesse, Garry and his brothers played and sang behind many gospel artists of the time including legends such as Shirley Caesar, The Five Blind Boys, The Mighty Clouds of Joy, and others.

Moving to Canada, Joining Parliament-Funkadelic

By the time he was sixteen, it became obvious that Plainfield, New Jersey was a dead-end as Shider watched his friends become victims of various crimes, so he and his good friend Cordell "Boogie" Mosson left their hometown for Canada. While there, they became an integral part of a funk/rock band called United Soul, or "U.S.". Shider already knew George Clinton from his days in the Plainfield barber shop, where George and his partners counseled area youths and sang doo-wop songs in between clients. Garry's soulful, gospel-rooted vocals and his ability on guitar were impressive for someone so young. Clinton was living in Toronto, Ontario while Shider was in the country, and began hearing about United Soul from other area musicians and music business people. Clinton took the band under his wing and produced some early singles for the band in 1971, which were released by Westbound Records under the group name U.S. music with Funkadelic (probably meant to denote U.S. with music by Funkadelic). Clinton groomed Shider for an important role in the P-Funk roster, which Shider joined full-time in 1972.

Accomplishments

Garry became a member of Funkadelic, appearing on several of their most famous albums. During Parliament-Funkadelic performances he is known for appearing in a diaper, making him instantly recognizable on stage and earning him the nickname "Diaper Man". From hit songs like, "Cosmic Slop," to "Getting to Know You," "One Nation Under A Groove", his voice is recognizable. As co-writer of hits such as "Atomic Dog," and so many others, he has received several gold and platinum albums for his efforts. He was instrumental in the success of Bootsy Collins' first releases, as a solo artist, and his writer/producer credits are numerous. He has been featured in Guitar Player Magazine three times, and once in the Japanese version. Shider is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, inducted in 1997 with fifteen other members of Parliament-Funkadelic.He has been featured in Who's Who in Music and appeared on a compilation album by Paul Shaffer of the David Letterman band, and also on rock group The Black Crowes' 1996 album "Three Snakes and One Charm". Shider has also appeared on "Saturday Night Live" several times, "The Late Show with David Letterman", "The Arsenio Hall Show", "New York Undercover", "The Tonight Show", and others. He appeared in the film "P.C.U.", and "The Night Before". Both films also included songs he wrote and performed. He has also had songs featured in the film "Bad Boys", with Sean Penn, as well as being the recipient of several Grammy nominations in the past years for songs like "Stomp," by Kirk Franklin, which used "One Nation" as its musical inspiration. The song won "Song of the Year", at the Dove gospel awards.

Awards

*1998 Dove Gospel awards for "Song of the Year", "Stomp"
*Who's Who in Music, 1978
*Grammy nominee 1997, 1978

References

Liner notes to "Music For Your Mother" by Rob Bowman, 1992.