One Nation Under a Groove

This article is about the album. For the song, see One Nation Under a Groove (song).

One Nation Under a Groove is the tenth studio album by American funk rock band Funkadelic, released on September 22, 1978, on Warner Bros. Records. Recording sessions took place at United Sound Studio in Detroit, with one song recorded live on April 15, 1978, at the Monroe Civic Center in Monroe, Louisiana.^[10] The album was the first album to include keyboardist and frequent songwriter Walter "Junie" Morrison.

One Nation Under a Groove
Studio album by Funkadelic
Released	September 22, 1978
Recorded	1977–1978
Studio	United Sound (Detroit, Michigan) Monroe Civic Center (Monroe, Louisiana)
Genre	Funk[1][2] rock[3][4] R&B[3][4] black rock[1]
Length	42:10 (original album) 17:26 (bonus EP) 59:36 (total)
Label	Warner Bros.
Producer	George Clinton
Funkadelic chronology
Hardcore Jollies (1976) One Nation Under a Groove (1978) Uncle Jam Wants You (1979)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Billboard	(favorable)[2]
Blender	[5]
Christgau's Record Guide	A[6]
Entertainment Weekly	A[7]
Rolling Stone	[8]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[9]
Sputnikmusic	4/5[3]

One Nation Under a Groove was Funkadelic's most commercially successful album, reaching number 1 on the Billboard Magazine Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, number 16 on the Billboard 200, and being certified platinum in the US. It reached number 58 in Canada.^[11] It was praised by critics, and appears in several "best album" lists. It was featured on Vibe magazine's 100 Essential Albums of the 20th Century and 51 Essential Albums lists.^[4][12] The album was ranked number 177 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time in both 2003 and 2012 editions,^[13][14] before moving to number 360 in the 2020 edition.^[15] The album is listed as one of the 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.^[16]

Music

According to the academic Bill Martin, One Nation Under a Groove is indebted "a good deal more to progressive rock than most critics are willing to admit, as well as progressive soul, Hendrix, and Sly Stone".^[17]

Original LP track listing

In the US, the original album came with a bonus 7-inch EP.^[18] In Europe, the Bonus-EP was replaced by a bonus 12-inch 45rpm mini-album containing the 3 EP tracks on one side and an extended version of "One Nation Under a Groove" on the other.

Side One

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"One Nation Under a Groove"	George Clinton, Walter Morrison, Garry Shider	7:33
2.	"Groovallegiance"	Clinton, Morrison, Bernard Worrell	7:00
3.	"Who Says a Funk Band Can't Play Rock?!"	Clinton, Morrison, Michael Hampton	6:21

Side Two

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Promentalshitbackwashpsychosis Enema Squad (The Doo Doo Chasers)"	Clinton, Shider, Linda Brown	11:00
2.	"Into You"	Clinton, Morrison, William Collins	5:43
3.	"Cholly (Funk Getting Ready To Roll!)"	Clinton, Morrison, Collins	4:33
Total length:			42:10

Bonus EP side one (listed as side three on the label, side four on the cover)

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Maggot Brain/Chant (Think It Ain't Illegal Yet!)" (Live at Monroe Civic Center, Monroe, Louisiana 15-4-78)	Clinton, Edward Hazel	8:30

Bonus EP side two (listed as side four on the label, side three on the cover)

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Lunchmeataphobia (Think! It Ain't Illegal Yet!)"	Clinton, Worrell	4:16
2.	"P.E. Squad/Doo Doo Chasers"	Clinton, Shider, Brown	4:40
Total length:			17:26

US Priority CD track listing

(note that the UK Charly Groove presents side one of the EP (Lunchmeat/PE) as tracks 7 & 8 and side two (Maggot Brain) as track 9.

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"One Nation Under a Groove"	George Clinton, Walter Morrison, Garry Shider	7:29
2.	"Groovallegiance"	Clinton, Morrison, Bernard Worrell	7:00
3.	"Who Says a Funk Band Can't Play Rock?!"	Clinton, Morrison, Michael Hampton	6:18
4.	"Promentalshitbackwashpsychosis Enema Squad (The Doo Doo Chasers)"	Clinton, Shider, Linda Brown	10:45
5.	"Into You"	Clinton, Morrison, William Collins	5:41
6.	"Cholly (Funk Getting Ready To Roll!)"	Clinton, Morrison, Collins	4:27
7.	"Maggot Brain/Chant (Think It Ain't Illegal Yet!)" (Live)	Clinton, Edward Hazel	8:28
8.	"Lunchmeataphobia (Think! It Ain't Illegal Yet!)"	Clinton, Worrell	4:12
9.	"P.E. Squad/Doo Doo Chasers"	Clinton, Shider, Brown	4:18
Total length:			58:38

Personnel

Funkadelic Main Invasion Force (as given in the liner notes):

• Throbbasonic Funkgeetarists:
  • Mike 'Kidd Funkadelic' Hampton, Gary Shider
• Banjo'd Muthaplucker:
  • Bobby Lewis
• Avatarian
  • Mike Hampton
• Keybo' Dans & Synthezoidees:
  • Bernie 'DaVinci' Worrell, Walter 'Junie' Morrison
• Rotofunkie Drum & Percussionatin' Thumpdans:
  • Jerome Brailey, W. Bootsy Collins, Larry Fratangelo, Tyrone Lampkin
• Bass Thumpasaurians:
  • William 'Bootsy' Collins, Rodney "Skeet" Curtis, Cordell 'Boogie' Mosson
• Funkadelic Blamgusta Vocaloids (Voices For Da Nation!):
  • George Clinton, Raymond (Stingray) Davis, Ron Ford, Mallia Franklin, Lynn Mabry, W. 'Junie' Morrison, Cordell Mosson, Dawn Silva, Gary "Dowop" Shider, Greg Thomas, Jeanette Washington, Debbie Wright

See also

• List of number-one R&B albums of 1978 (U.S.)

References

1. Huey, Steve. One Nation Under a Groove at AllMusic
2. "Top Album Picks: Soul". Billboard. September 30, 1978. p. 86. Retrieved May 3, 2024.
3. FlawedPerfection (August 21, 2006). "Funkadelic - One Nation Under a Groove (album review )". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved May 3, 2024.
4. "51 Essential Albums". Vibe. Vol. 12, no. 9. New York. September 2004. p. 205. ISSN 1070-4701. Archived from the original on September 12, 2016.
5. Christgau, Robert. "The Guide: Funkadelic – One Nation Under Groove". Blender. Archived from the original on April 20, 2009. Retrieved July 20, 2009.
6. Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: F". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved February 24, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
7. Tucker, Ken (December 17, 1993). "One Nation Under a Groove". Entertainment Weekly. No. 201. Archived from the original on July 19, 2013.
8. Touré (October 3, 2002). "Prime Funk". Rolling Stone. No. 906. p. 106.
9. Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian, eds. (2004). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. New York: Fireside Books. p. 316. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8. Retrieved January 21, 2024 – via Google Books.
10. Tower.com: One Nation Under a Groove Archived March 10, 2009, at the Wayback Machine. Tower.com. Retrieved on August 11, 2008.
11. "RPM Top 100 Albums - November 25, 1978" (PDF).
12. "The Vibe 100". Vibe. Vol. 7, no. 10. New York. December 1999. p. 160. ISSN 1070-4701.
13. 177) One Nation Under a Groove : Rolling Stone. Rolling Stone. Retrieved on August 11, 2008.
14. "500 Greatest Albums of All Time Rolling Stone's definitive list of the 500 greatest albums of all time". Rolling Stone. 2012. Retrieved September 18, 2019.
15. "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. September 22, 2020. Retrieved June 27, 2021.
16. Robert Dimery; Michael Lydon (March 23, 2010). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die: Revised and Updated Edition. Universe. ISBN 978-0-7893-2074-2.
17. Martin, Bill (2015). Listening to the Future: The Time of Progressive Rock, 1968-1978. Open Court. p. 243. ISBN 9780812699449.
18. "Funkadelic – One Nation Under A Groove". discogs.com. Retrieved October 14, 2015.

External links

• One Nation Under a Groove at Discogs
• The Motherpage