Calvin Simon was born in Beckley in 1942. He was raised there by his grandmother until his mother later moved in to New Jersey with her. It was there that he met George Clinton and helped found the doo-wop quintet The Parliaments, which achieved success with their single "I Wanna Testify." Simon eventually served in Vietnam and when he returned, The Parliaments had transitioned into the funk-soul collective Funkadelic. He re-joined as a supporting vocalist, and the group (later becoming Parliament-Funkadelic due to name rights) achieved international success with hits like "One Nation Under a Groove" and "Flash Light." Calvin Simon, who is in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with P Funk, is just another example of a lesser-known music legend from The Mountain State - there are plenty of those.
The Parliaments - "I Wanna Testify."
Parliament-Funkadelic - "Funkin' For Fun."
Calvin Simon on the 700 Club.
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