23 Facts About Bernie Worrell

Bernie Worrell is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, inducted in 1997 with fifteen other members of Parliament-Funkadelic.

Bernie Worrell was born in Long Branch, New Jersey, and grew up in Plainfield, New Jersey, where his family moved when he was eight.

Bernie Worrell went on to study at the Juilliard School and received a degree from the New England Conservatory of Music in 1967.

Bernie Worrell played grand piano, Wurlitzer electric piano, Hohner Clavinet, Hammond B3 organ, ARP String Ensemble and Moog synthesizer, co-wrote, and wrote horn and rhythm arrangements on hit recordings for both groups and other associated bands under the "Parliafunkadelicment Thang" production company, and many of his most notable performances were recorded with Bootsy's Rubber Band, Parlet, The Brides of Funkenstein and The Horny Horns.

Bernie Worrell recorded a 1978 solo album, All the Woo in the World, with the musical backing of P-Funk's members.

When Parliament-Funkadelic took a hiatus from touring in the early 1980s, Bernie Worrell was recruited, along with other musicians from differing musical genres such as guitarist Adrian Belew, to perform and record with Talking Heads.

Bernie Worrell was later invited to perform with Talking Heads as part of their 2002 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

In 1983, Bernie Worrell provided keyboard parts for Mtume's hit song "Juicy Fruit".

Bernie Worrell co-produced Fred Schneider's 1984 solo album Fred Schneider and the Shake Society and played keyboards and synthesizers on some of the album's tracks.

Bernie Worrell worked with Jerry Harrison on his other releases.

Bernie Worrell appeared on several Jack Bruce albums, including A Question of Time, Cities of the Heart, Monkjack and More Jack than God.

Bernie Worrell was a founding member of the CBS Orchestra when the Late Show with David Letterman launched in August 1993, playing lead synthesizer.

In 1994, Bernie Worrell appeared on the Red Hot Organization's compilation album, Stolen Moments: Red Hot + Cool.

Bernie Worrell joined the rock group Black Jack Johnson, with Mos Def, Will Calhoun, Doug Wimbish and Dr Know.

Bernie Worrell appears with the band on Mos Def's 2004 release The New Danger.

Bernie Worrell appeared in the 2004 documentary film Moog with synthesizer pioneer Bob Moog and several other Moog synthesizer musicians.

In 2012 and 2013, Bernie Worrell played a series of concerts with guitarist Steve Kimock, bassist Andy Hess, and vocalist-percussionist Camille Armstrong.

In 2015, Bernie Worrell appeared in the movie Ricki and the Flash as the keyboard player in Meryl Streep's band.

Bernie Worrell was a judge for the 12th, 13th, and 14th annual Independent Music Awards.

In January 2016, Bernie Worrell was diagnosed with a "mild form" of prostate cancer, stage-four liver cancer and stage-four lung cancer.

Bernie Worrell relocated from New Jersey, his long-time home, to Bellingham, Washington.

Bernie Worrell died at his home in Everson, Washington, on June 24,2016, at the age of 72.

Stranger: Bernie Worrell on Earth is a documentary film about Worrell's life, music and impact.