Original Article: Hunterdon County Democrat
by: Rick Epstein
When celebrated keyboardist Bernie Worrell moved to Lebanon Township in 1999, it was not to retire and look back on a triumphant career. That career began when Bernie sat down to his first keyboard at age 3 and learned to play the piano and proceeded to write a concerto while still a child.
In Catholic school the nuns couldn’t help but notice his continual desk-drumming, which foretold his percussive style on the keyboard. Bernie continued his education at Juilliard and the New England Conservatory of Music.
In the ’70s he joined Parliament-Funkadelic, playing keyboards and co-writing and arranging a lot of the band’s music. He and the rest of the group were inducted into the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame. In the ’80s he performed and toured with the New Wave group, Talking Heads.
Since then, his band affiliations have included Gov’t Mule, the WOO Warriors, Red Hot Organization, Black Jack Johnson, Praxis, Colonel Claypool’s Bucket of Bernie Brains and many more.
The Worrells did come to Hunterdon County to enjoy the peace and beauty of the countryside. Judie, who was raised in a rural part of Long Island, had admired the landscape when she used to drive to Frenchtown to shop for clothes at Bluefish.
"In Living Colour drummer and producer Will Calhoun talks to legendary composer Bernie Worrell about a storied career that began as a founding member of Parliament/Funkadelic. Worrell's keyboard can be heard accompanying everyone from the Talking Heads to Keith Richards and, thanks to hip hop artists like Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg, he is one of the most sampled musicians of all time."
I’m serious: graft a bunch more arms and legs on the man – with everything answering to that groovemonster brain – and this is what the result would be. Worrell’s three bandmates in SociaLybrium – bassist Melvin Gibbs, drummer J.T. Lewis, and guitarist Blackbyrd McKnight – are perfect formation flyers when it comes to brain-syncing with Worrell and their debut album