The Californer - Seth Neblett's Mothership Connected: Focuses on P-Funk's Women as Mothership Celebrates 50 Years

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HOLLYWOOD, Calif. - Californer -- Los Angeles, CA — Author, cultural historian, and son of P-Funk's Mallia Franklin— Seth Neblett continues to generate critical acclaim for Mothership Connected: The Women of Parliament-Funkadelic (September 2025- University of Texas Press), a groundbreaking work that reframes one of the most influential movements in American music by centering the women whose contributions shaped its legacy.

As the iconic P-Funk Earth Tour — and its legendary stage prop, the Mothership— approaches its 50th anniversary in 2026, Seth Neblett's groundbreaking book is a cultural oral history that restores the women of Parliament-Funkadelic to their rightful place in music history.

Mothership Connected – The Women of Parliament Funkadelic is the first book dedicated to the women who shaped, sustained, and electrified the P-Funk universe alongside visionary bandleader George Clinton and superstar bassist Bootsy Collins. Timed to coincide with the golden anniversary of the Mothership's first descent onto stages across America, the book reframes one of the most spectacular eras in live music through the voices of five powerful women who were there—Mallia Franklin, Lynn Mabry, Dawn Silva, Shirley Hayden, and Debbie Wright.

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In 1976, the landing of the Mothership revolutionized concert production. Emerging from the Afrofuturist imagination of Parliament-Funkadelic — fueled by the landmark album Mothership Connection — the tour blended sci-fi mythology, Black liberation aesthetics, and next-level stagecraft into a revolutionary live experience. But behind the mythology stood women as vocalists, connectors, and cultural anchors. Neblett's book brings their stories to light.

Praised by Yale scholar Daphne A. Brooks as:
"An absolute triumph… a pathbreaking, alternative history of funk and rock… An absolute revelation."

The Washington Post notes that Neblett's work:
"Shines a spotlight on the often-overlooked women of Parliament-Funkadelic — foundational to the band's success yet historically overshadowed."

Ms. Magazine chose the book as one of the top feminist books of 2025 and describes it as:
"An unbelievable archive full of strength, humor, tea, shade, and yes, funk."

The 50th anniversary of the Mothership is more than nostalgia — it's a cultural milestone. The 1976–1977 tour redefined what a Black live music production could look like at arena scale. Its Afrofuturist imagery anticipated aesthetic movements that now dominate music, fashion, and film. As fans, scholars, and institutions commemorate the half-century mark in 2026, Mothership Connected provides the missing narrative — ensuring the women of P-Funk are recognized as foundational architects, not footnotes.

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Seth Neblett has been on Podcast and radio interviews, discussions, and keynote appearances

The Mothership is landing again — and this time, the women are at the center of the story.

Contact:
Seth Neblett
Author, Mothership Connected – The Women of Parliament Funkadelic
www.sethneblett.com