Garry Shider, Funk Pioneer, 1953-2010

Sad day in funk yesterday: Rock-n-Roll Hall of Fame guitarist Garry Shider, a longtime lieutenant in George Clinton’s Parliament/Funkadelic empire, died of cancer at the age of 56. Born and raised in Plainfield, New Jersey, Shider joined Clinton’s outfit for 1972’s Maggot Brain album, and went on to co-write and perform on classic material like “Can You Get to That?,” “One Nation Under a Groove” and “Atomic Dog”-during the recording of which, he held a particularly intoxicated Clinton up in front of the microphone while he sang. Shider was famous for wearing nothing but a diaper on stage. Doesn’t get much funkier than that.