A Tale of Two Motherships

Status Report:

T-Minus 12 Days to Lift Off

Led Zep -- locked in rehearsals for the Dec. 10th Close Encounter.

Fran & Nate -- trying to find rain gear for London.

Meanwhile:
Nate Deciphers the Mothership Connection for You

Zep's new compilation is titled "Mothership."

However, the Mothership is already world famous as an alias of the Parliament-Funkadelic mob, piloted by George Clinton, as celebrated in the 1976 classic "The Mothership Connection".

Which means the Motherships are multiplying.

Of course, for disciples of both rock and funk, the more Motherships the merrier.

So what is the Mothership/Led Zep Connection?

The answer is "Bootsy, Catfish & Kash."

Check out "The Crunge" on "Houses of the Holy."

You'll hear Page, Jones and Bonham doing their best imitation/tribute to James Brown's amazing sex machine back-up band, then consisting of Bootsy Collins, Catfish Collins and Frankie "Kash" Waddy, a Cincinnati trio of upstarts hired by JB when his ace touring vets went on strike.

A couple years later when Bootsy and Kash quit James Brown, who did they join up with in the Motor City for their next level of Funk?

George Clinton is the answer, going Funkadelic, and adding the warp drive to the original Mothership.

When Plant, doing the Crunge, asks the musical question, "I'm trying to find the bridge -- has anybody seen the bridge?" -- the bridge is the boogie of Bootsy, Catfish and Kash -- and Kash is George's drummer to this very day.

Check out my 2003 interview with Kash laying the story out right here:

http://www.hollywoodfiveo.com/exclusive/funk/kash_waddy.shtml

I've witnessed George and the P-Funk many times in the last 20 years (but never landing the Mothership onstage like they did in '76!) -- next Monday 12/10 will be our first time landing the Mothership von Zeppelin.

Another thing both have in common? Righteous '50s Rock Medleys -- Zeppelin used to do them for encores on their first US Tours, and George was throwing down concoctions of "Whole Lotta Shakin'," Little Richard tunes and "At the Hop" last year during his 50th anniversary-in-music victory lap with P-Funk.

All respect to great musicians everywhere -- and let's give it up for The Godfather, a One Man Mothership if ever there was one.