Boppin' with the Gals
Hi Bestie!!
In June, I started a dribs and drabs post, and a long explanation about Dave Parker ended up long enough for a newsletter of its own. (He's also since been inducted, posthumously, into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.)
BOPPIN WITH THE GALS
On the way to work, I saw this glorious photograph of Dave Parker on the Pittsburgh Pirates' Instagram.
I'm a very casual fan of the Pirates. First, it was because a weatherman said, casually, "No one cares about the Pirates," during his forecast last summer. I think people shit on Pittsburgh unnecessarily. If I had visited Pittsburgh in college, I would have tried to move there after graduation. So, I decided they're my No. 2 team. (No apologies to The Mets, its love for Kevin James, and its owner, my No. 1 enemy.) My No. 3 team is the Milwaukee Brewers, for their fisticuffs mostly, but also the way they surprise people (men) when they win. (Also for that SLIDE.)
In 1976, the Pirates needed a morale boost. Inspired by "Mothership Connection" by Parliament, Parker had a shirt made at a record shop in Squirrel Hill. You can read the whole story on MLB.com. The team finished the season second in their division, behind their rivals, the Phillies.
Parliament was formed in 1968 by George Clinton and is the flagship act of his collective, Parliament-Funkadelic. Parliament, George Clinton, and bassist Bootsy Collins's influence can not be overstated. P-Funk's mythology influenced Afrofuturism. (Here's a Tiny Desk concert!)
The 1975 album Mothership Connection peaked at No. 13 on the Billboard 200. It was the centerpiece of the band's 1970s tour, and it featured a huge spaceship on stage.
Some of us first met Clinton in the seminal film PCU, in which his band plays a show at a frat house. This film is why you don't wear the shirt of the band you're going to see.
Does anyone else think Joe Rogan just wanted to be Jeremy Piven?
“Mothership Connection” was released as a single under the name "Star Child." It's been repeatedly remixed and sampled, and you might recognize it in Dr. Dre's "Let It Ride." You might also know Parliament's other influential hits include "Give Up the Funk (Tear the Roof Off This Sucker)" from the same album, "Flash Light," (No. 1 on the R&B charts). You surely know Clinton's hit “Atomic Dog,” which heavily influenced Snoop Dogg's "What's My Name?" (This song samples several songs from the collective.)
Collins was recruited from James Brown's backing band, which he played in with his brother, who also joined Parliament. I had the immense pleasure of interviewing Collins last month about toys as a companion feature to a print article I wrote about music licensing. (I have interviewed a lot of people and a lot of bands, and I've never been as moved as I was by Collins. He also had a wonderful team!) Collins's influence alone cannot be overstated! Here's how you know him: he rapped in Deee-Lite's "Groove Is In the Heart" (the best Planned Parenthood anthem of all time?), "I'd Rather Be With You" influenced Childish Gambino's "Redbone." He started a band with Buckethead and appeared in The Patrick Star Show as himself, Everybody Hates Chris, numerous commercials, Loonatics Unleashed, and Yo Gabba Gabba! (Which has been revived as Yo Gabba GabbaLand!)
Both bands are in the second season of Mike Judge Presents: Tales from the Tour Bus, which is no longer streaming and also not on YouTube. Listening to this music makes me so happy that I almost wish I were behind the bar.
Parker played for the Pirates from 1973 to 1983. (He had a minor cocaine scandal in the early 1980s; he testified against a drug dealer and was suspended as a result. Booooo.) He was a seven-time All-Star. He once hit the ball so hard into the outfield that the seam busted, and the opposing team struggled to throw it back. He won three Golden Gloves. He, like Willie Stargell, warmed up with a sledgehammer instead of a leaden bat. Parker was inducted into the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame, the inaugural class of the Pirates Hall of Fame, and the Cincinnati Public Schools Athletic Hall of Fame. He was voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame through the Classic Baseball Era Committee, with 87.5% of the vote; he was inducted this year. (I posted about it a lot on my stories.)
Versions of this shirt exist on Homage and Etsy, but I'd like to encourage you to get it from Yinzylvania, which is Pittsburgh-based.
All to say, I'm on the hunt for a blank shirt and iron-on letters so I can make my own because I love boppin' with the gals.
In late 1890, the Allegheny Base Ball Club signed a star player from Philadelphia. He wasn't on the reserve list, but Philadelphia complained about it anyway, calling the move "piratical." Newspapers around the country called the team the Pirates (though its nickname was already the Allies). Eventually, Pittsburgh reporters adopted the name, too, and in 1912, the name was added to the uniforms. Fun!
Always your friend, Katherine
"Flash Light." YouTube, YouTube, www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wBqWb43y6I. Accessed 7 Sept. 2025.
"P.C.U. - Meeting Droz and Gutter." YouTube, YouTube, www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtB2Kx7Rn4M. Accessed 7 Sept. 2025.
"Atomic Dog." YouTube, YouTube, www.youtube.com/watch?v=IyAEUWJlk1Q&t=1s. Accessed 7 Sept. 2025.
"Bootsy Collins - I'd Rather Be with You." YouTube, YouTube, www.youtube.com/watch?v=0tgYr03o3dE. Accessed 7 Sept. 2025.
Clair, Michael. "The Origin of Dave Parker's 'boys Boppin' Shirt." MLB.Com, MLB, 28 June 2025, www.mlb.com/news/origin-of-dave-parker-s-boys-boppin-shirt.
"Deee-Lite - Groove Is In The Heart (Official Video)." YouTube, YouTube, www.youtube.com/watch?v=etviGf1uWlg. Accessed 7 Sept. 2025.
"George Clinton & The P-Funk All Stars: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert," YouTube, www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxAcW7zgAD4 . Accessed 7 Sept. 2025.
"Groove Is In The Heart - Big Mouth." YouTube, YouTube, www.youtube.com/watch?v=wrG07omOx9A. Accessed 7 Sept. 2025.
"Gutter and George Clinton." YouTube, YouTube, www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdj5Ts8asdQ. Accessed 7 Sept. 2025.
Hill, Katherine. "Not Toying around: Legend in Plastic Bootsy Collins Talks Toys, New Music." The Toy Book, The Toy Book, 22 May 2025, toybook.com/bootsy-collins-licensing-feature.
Hill, Katherine. "Toys That Rock: Global Merchandising Services Makes Music Icons Shelfworthy." The Toy Book, The Toy Book, 20 May 2025, toybook.com/toys-that-rock-may-feature.
"If You Hear Any Noise It's Just Me and the Boys Boppin." Yinzylvania, yinzylvania.com/products/if-you-hear-any-noise-its-just-me-and-the-boys-boppin. Accessed 7 Sept. 2025.
"Redbone." YouTube, YouTube, www.youtube.com/watch?v=k49I5m1J6Is. Accessed 7 Sept. 2025.
"We're Going to Party Today - Bootsy Collins & Friends - Yo Gabba Gabba!" YouTube, YouTube, www.youtube.com/watch?v=tnvmvhOLeCY. Accessed 7 Sept. 2025.
"Give Up the Funk (Tear the Roof Off This Sucker)." YouTube, YouTube, www.youtube.com/watch?v=3HU-KdHmYeA. Accessed 7 Sept. 2025.