Bass Player, Singer, Songwriter, and Producer. Born on February 7th, 1957, in Flint, Michigan, Lige Grant Curry is the eldest of six siblings. Lige developed a passion for music at an early age, influenced by his mother, who played music all the time at home, fueling his desire to be a part of the music world. He started out singing. He soon picked up the bass guitar. Lige went to schools in Cleveland, Ohio, and played in bands around the area.
After graduating from high school in 1975, Lige continued to study, perform, and develop his craft. Soon he became the bassist for “The Electric Sparks Band” locally, which led to a chance to meet one of their musical heroes: George Clinton and Parliament/Funkadelic. After going to a P-Funk show in Cleveland, P-Funk members attended an after-party given by the band Electric Sparks. Lige and Mike Hampton on guitar performed the Parliament/Funkadelic classic “Maggot Brain,” which impressed leader Mr. George Clinton and the band.
Charged by this experience and forging his own musical way, Lige enrolled as a music major at Central State University. Then, at the age of 21, Lige was looking for work. He hooked up with his cousin Michael Hampton, who had already begun working with P-Funk in 1974. “So Mike asked George Clinton, ‘Could I hang for a while?’ and he said sure. I met all the band and crew and got to know them. They started to remember who I was pretty fast. It was a great sense of family in those days. I got a job working on the staff and crew. It was great!”
In 1978, Lige was asked to join Parliament/Funkadelic as a studio back-up singer. Having to wait his turn as a bassist, Lige studied under former Parliament/Funkadelic bassists Billy “Bass” Nelson and Cordell “Boogie” Mosson. Opportunity knocked—that’s when Skeets Curtis, bassist at that time, left P-Funk to take a job with the famous Maceo Parker, and Boogie Mosson moved over to guitar. The door was open for the Lige Curry adventure to begin! “I was asked to play bass guitar by Garry Shider, lead singer/guitarist! I was honored. I knew it was my chance to dance. So I took it. And I will always be thankful for the job!”
Lige has been in the music business for 45 years now as he looks toward the future. He has produced a wealth of his own projects, including The Naked Funk Project and Ligedelic Band, among others. Projects he has worked on include George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic, Bernard Fowler, Rick James, Sly Stone, Sidney Barnes, Jessica Cleaves, Pat Lewis, Gary “Mubone” Cooper, Bootsy Collins, Bernie Worrell, Michael Hampton, Starr Cullars, Belita Woods, Amp Fiddler, 420FM with Clip Payne, and Danny Bedrosian’s Secret Army, just to name a few.
Enjoy and be grateful at all times. Thank you, universe.
Lige Grant Curry