Available September 30, 2025, from UT Press
Mothership Connected: The Women of Parliament-Funkadelic
by Seth Neblett
"They were turned down in the mix of Music History. This book turns them all the way up!" 🛸
Praise for "Mothership Connected"
Daphne A. Brooks, Yale University, author of Liner Notes for the Revolution: The Intellectual Life
Mothership Connected is an absolute triumph. A pathbreaking, alternative history of funk and rock, it uncovers the story of bold, brilliant music-making innovated by Black women artists who made crucial contributions to the P-Funk sound. Seth Neblett has produced a work of pop music history that is, by turns, thrilling and riveting, illuminating as well as occasionally heartbreaking. As a work of candid oral history, this book weaves together a tapestry of voices of everyone from legendary icons to the sisters whose names we all should know, the ones who determinedly rode the highs and the lows of a recording industry rife with intersectional inequalities. Any reader of Mothership Connected will come away with a profound appreciation for their electrifying art and steadfast labor. An absolute revelation.
Rickey Vincent, author of Funk: The Music, The People, and the Rhythm of The One
Legendary P-Funk singer Mallia Franklin's one and only son, Seth Neblett, tells the tale of the women of Parliament-Funkadelic in the only way a funk-tale can be told: raw and real and in the pocket. This insider’s account shines a light on that female funk that has always been a part of the P-Funk Experience. Through it all, Mothership Connected does justice to the power these women possessed, and the outrageous pressures they were under, as foot soldiers on the front lines of the P-Funk Army.
George Tillman Jr., director and writer, Soul Food
I wasn't just a fan of Parlet, The Brides, and the P-Funk family; I read about them, studied their music, and knew all the players. This book makes clear there's so much more to the story—including triumphs, setbacks, rebounds, and grand achievements—illustrating how we all face challenges in life and the importance of finding the strength to bounce back. I've been waiting for this book for a long time.