Uncle Jam Wants You: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A 33 1/3 rpm record album titled “Uncle Jam Wants You,” recorded by Funkadelic and produced by George Clinton with the record label Warner Brothers then later reissued by Charly Groove Records. The double-sided vinyl disc (2022.31.3a) has a white [Charly / Groove] label with the album information in black text. The front cover of the record jacket (2022.31.3b) is printed in color and features a photo taken by Diem Jones of George Clinton sitting on a rattan throne chair in a reimagining of the iconic image of Huey Newton of the Black Panthers. Clinton is dressed in military attire and flanked by a cartoonish silver and glitter gun on the right and a large silver and red flashlight on the left. Behind the chair is a colorful rendition of the United States flag hanging vertically. There is text in the black canton, presumably reading [ONE NATION / UNDER / GROOVE]. At the bottom of the record jacket, in blue text, it reads [RESCUE DANCE MUSIC “FROM THE BLAHS”]. Decorative text at the top right reads [UNCLE / JAM / WANTS / YOU].

Inside of the record jacket (2022.31.3b) are colorful hand-drawn cartoon graphics set amidst pointillist ribbons of bright color. On the left are two disco dancers as well as two futuristic collage scenes including photographs of the bandmembers and the moon landing and a cartoon scene at bottom right titled [SINDRONE ATTACK!]. On the right is a a colorful illustrated rendition of the image of Clinton from the cover surrounded by various small cartoon drawings. The back of the record jacket also features a colorful cartoon version of Clinton posed in front of an red octagon space vehicle with two "Funkadelic Comix" scenes at the bottom.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1979, reissued 1993
• Published by: Warner Bros. Records, Inc., American, founded 1958
• Published by: Charly Groove, British, 1974 - 2001
• Recorded by: Parliament-Funkadelic, American, founded 1955
• Produced by: George Clinton, American, born 1941
• Written by: DeWayne McKnight, American, born 1954
• Written by: Pete Bishop
• Written by: Bernie Worrell, American, 1944 - 2016
• Written by: Bootsy Collins, American, born 1951
• Type: long-playing records
• Medium: (a) vinyl with ink on paper
• Medium: (b) ink on cardboard
• Dimensions: Diameter (a, disc): 11 7/8 in. (30.2 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W (b, jacket): 12 × 12 in. (30.5 × 30.5 cm)
• Place made: United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Composers (Musicians)
• Topic: Funk (Music)
• Topic: Instrumentalists (Musicians)
• Topic: Music
• Topic: Musicians
• Topic: Rhythm and blues (Music)
• Object number: 2022.31.3ab
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Caleb and Eli Tucker-Raymond
• Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The underlying object's rights statement is: © 1993 Charly Records Ltd. Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.