Jerome Brailey | |
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Birth name | Jerome Eugene Brailey |
Also known as | Jerome Bigfoot |
Born |
August 20, 1950 (age 66) Richmond, Virginia, U.S. |
Occupation(s) | Drummer, Songwriter, Producer, Vocalist |
Instruments | Drums, Percussions, Vocals |
Years active | 1968 to the present |
Labels | Casablanca, Arista, Westbound, Columbia, Rykodisc, P-Vine |
Associated acts | Parliament-Funkadelic, Mutiny, The Five Stairsteps, The Chambers Brothers, The Unifics |
Jerome Eugene "Bigfoot" Brailey (born August 20, 1950) is an American drummer, best known for his work with P-Funk, which included the bands Parliament, Funkadelic, and numerous related projects. Brailey is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, inducted in 1997 with fifteen other members of Parliament-Funkadelic.
Jerome Brailey started performing around 1968 with the R&B group The Unifics continuing with The Five Stairsteps and The Chambers Brothers. Jerome played on the original studio recording of the classic R&B song "O-o-h Child" by The Five Stairsteps, later joining George Clinton's P-Funk collective in 1975 and appeared on many of their most popular recordings label as the impact years of Parliament/Funkadelic. He co-wrote one of Parliament's biggest hits, “Give Up the Funk (Tear the Roof off the Sucker)", with George Clinton and Bootsy Collins. Samples from that body of work have since appeared on hundreds of hip-hop and contemporary R&B songs. After leaving P-Funk in 1978 due to bad financial management decisions by George Clinton, Brailey started working closely with Glenn Goins who also left the P-Funk unit and started production for the funk group Quazar featuring Kevin Goins. Brailey and Glenn Goins started working on the concept of Mutiny as they entered the final completion date for the Quazar album on Arista Records but Glenn's untimely death in 1978 placed Jerome in the position to finalize the production work on the Quazar album because the recording was not completed. After the Quazar album was completed, Brailey continued on with the concept and the group Mutiny was formed and sign to Columbia Records.
“Mutiny on the Mamaship” includes some of Jerome’s most creative recordings while working alongside guitarist Donald “Lenny” Holmes and bass guitarist Raymond Carter. The recordings were outlined in a way not far removed from the classic P-Funk style, with emphasis placed on dual lead guitar work similar to other Funk & Rock bands. They released their debut album Mutiny on the Mamaship 1979, followed by Funk Plus the One in 1980. The first album was seen as very successful in musical terms, though some critics complained about the lack of originality connected to that body of work. Brailey has appeared as a session drummer with a diverse group of artists, including Keith Richards, Bill Laswell, James Blood Ulmer, Dave Stewart, and Lucky Peterson. The connection of Bigfoot Brailey’s drum style & techniques has led him and other members of the Funk Mob to The Smithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture Center which opens on Sept. 24, 2016 in Washington DC. The most iconic stage props: The P-Funk Mothership will be on display at The Smithsonian Museum alone with footage of its history and other monumental outlines related to African American History. Jerome Brailey is a close relative of Matt Brailey, who lives in the UK.