The funk collective Parliament-Funkadelic is often described as a wild, brilliant and world-changing musical collective. But when the group was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1997, none of the women who helped create the sound and performed in P-Funk were invited to the ceremony, and their contributions have been largely overlooked.
A new book, Mothership Connected, sets the record straight.
It tells the story of Mallia Franklin, Lynn Mabry, Dawn Silva, Debbie Wright, and Shirley Hayden, all women who were instrumental in making Parliament-Funkadelic, as well as the spin-off groups Parlet and the Brides of Funkenstein, into the legends they are today.
Author Seth Neblett is the son of the “Queen of Funk”, Mallia Franklin. The book weaves together the voices of funk legends like George Clinton, Sly Stone, Bootsy Collins, along with the women who were instrumental to P-Funk’s success.
Mothership Connected, said Neblett, was not supposed to be a book — but a documentary.
Neblett met director Paul Justman in 2003. At the time, Justman had made an award-winning documentary called Standing in the Shadows of Motown.
Justman grew increasingly interested in Seth’s pitch and talked to some of the women, and wanted to film the documentary. However, after a year of work, no one was biting on the idea.
Justman suggested that Neblett write a book to create interest around the topic. However, Neblett was unable to find the right person to write the book.
“ I was having dinner with Bootsy and my mother, and I was griping about the fact that … we can't find the right writer,” he said. “And Bootsy just said, ‘Well, you've already started doing the work, you just do it, finish it.’ And that took me aback because I was never a person that fancied themself as a writer.”
Mallia Franklin passed away on February 5, 2010. Her passing pushed Neblett to write this book and cement his mother’s legacy for everyone to read.
Parliament-Funkadelic received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award from The Recording Academy. The women again were not inducted alongside the larger group.
Neblett said he believes everyone who was inducted should have been inducted, but his mother and all the other women were extremely disappointed at not being included both times.
The reason his mother was given for their exclusion from the 1997 induction was that you had to have been in the group for at least 20 years. Neblett said that the five original members of Parlet and Brides of Funkenstein would have been in P-Funk for 20 years in 1997, granting them the qualifications to be inducted.
“ I think that the women, at the very least, the original Parlets, and the original Brides of Funkenstein, who were The original five women that took that group through that whole Mothership era, should have been inducted with the guys,” he said. “ They had solo albums just like Bootsy Collins, just like Bernie Morrell.”
Junie Morrison, the musical director of P-Funk and The Brides of Funkenstein, was introduced to the band by Neblett’s mother. He came into the fold after all of them, and he was still inducted over the women.
The women of P-Funk had an impact on the group not only through their musical contributions but also by bringing others into the fold.
Legendary bassist Bootsy Collins and Morrison were both introduced to George Clinton, the face and bandleader of P-Funk, by Mallia Franklin
In Mothership Connected, Franklin said to her son that Clinton started calling her “the Geiger counter” because her “instincts were so good that I could feel how funky someone was or wasn’t.”
The P-Funk umbrella was full of issues, ranging from money to drug overuse. The book looks at these women as the glue that helped keep the collective afloat. However, it was hard for them to remain consistent figures in the group.
One of the original members of Parlet, who sang alongside Franklin, was the late Debbie Wright. Stress, drugs and more weighed on her, and she eventually suffered a mental breakdown. This led to Wright’s friend, Shirley Hayden taking over for her.
Even though Franklin was close to Hayden and was willing to show her the ropes, Franklin eventually left Parlet because Clinton was not paying her.
“ I think that if Debbie had never had that breakdown, Parlet probably would've gone a lot further than they did, ‘cause they sacrificed a lot with Debbie being sick,” Neblett said. “Even though with them bringing Shirley Hayden in, she was an unbelievable person to come in … you can't establish any kind of sense of a look for the group when the main people are leaving after an album or two.”
When Neblett started writing Mothership, Justman gave him advice that stuck with him throughout every interview. He said to keep in mind that Parlet and The Brides were not The Supremes. Because they were not The Supremes, he shouldn’t focus on their musical achievements.
“ ’ You have to focus on the human experience because a reader can attach onto that. If you focus on the human experience of these women and their journey through Parliament-Funkadelic, you'll have a successful book.’ So I took that advice and I ran with it,” Neblett said.
IF YOU GO
What: Mothership Connected - An Evening with Seth Neblett in conversation with Chris Proietti
When: Thursday, October 16, 2025
Where: Coral Gables Books & Books
Info: Books & Books
