 In 2019, he and Parliament-Funkadelic were given Grammy Lifetime Achievement Awards.Clinton was born in Kannapolis, North Carolina, United States, grew up in Plainfield, New Jersey, and currently resides in Tallahassee, Florida.During his teen years, Clinton formed a doo-wop group inspired by Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers called The Parliaments, while straightening hair at a barber salon in Plainfield

The West End of Plainfield, New Jersey was once home to a barbershop on 216 Plainfield Avenue known as ""Silk Palace"".