Ruth Copeland ‎– I Am What I Am

Funkadelic - Maggot Brain
Funkadelic – Maggot Brain
July 12, 1971
Funkadelic - America Eats Its Young
Funkadelic – America Eats Its Young
May 22, 1972
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Ruth Copeland ‎– I Am What I Am

Ruth Copeland ‎– I Am What I Am

01. The Medal
02. Crying Has Made Me Stronger
03. Hare Krishna
04. Suburban Family Lament
05. Play with Fire
06. Don’t You Wish You Had (What You Had When You Had It)
07. Gimme Shelter

At the same time as Ruth Copeland’s involvement with the Invictus Records, George Clinton’s Parliament was also signed to the label. She became involved with work on the group’s debut album, Osmium, co-producing the record with Clinton and writing two of the album’s tracks: ‘Little Old Country Boy’ and ‘The Silent Boatman’. These tracks are unusual in Parliament-Funkadelic’s catalogue, and show the influence of Copeland’s interest in country and British folk music.

Following the release of Osmium in 1970, Copeland continued to collaborate with Clinton, co-writing a further two singles for Parliament, ‘Come In Out of the Rain’ and ‘Breakdown’, which were released between 1971-1972.

The year 1972 also saw Copeland contribute to the self-titled album released by The Politicians featuring McKinley Jackson. She co-wrote the album’s opening track, ‘Psycha-Soula-Funkadelic’, a track subsequently sampled by Brighton-based band The Go! Team, on their 2007 album Proof of Youth.

Alongside her work on Parliament’s debut, Copeland also began working on solo material, and her first album Self Portrait was released by Invictus in October 1970. The album featured contributions not only from George Clinton, but from a range of other Parliament-Funkadelic musicians, including Bernie Worrell, Eddie Hazel, Tawl Ross, Billy Bass Nelson and Tiki Fulwood.

A second album, I Am What I Am, was released in July 1971, again featuring a range of P-Funk musicians, including several (such as Hazel and Nelson) who had recently left Funkadelic due to financial concerns. These former Funkadelic musicians remained with Copeland as her backing band when she toured to promote her album.
(Source : Wikipedia)