Dawn Silva: Behind the scenes with The Brides of Funkenstein

Dawn Silva: How it all began

March is the month when women are celebrated and Dawn Silva who is one of the original Brides of Funkenstein certainly needs to be recognized. She is a strong woman of color who survived some of the horrors of the music entertainment industry, made history, and is still standing.

Silva began her career as a background singer for Sly and the Family Stone and when the group was on tour with George Clinton, she received an offer she could not refuse. The P-Funk master asked the vocalist to join him and his funksters when the concert tour ended and she accepted. This decision proved to be bittersweet.

Dawn Silva: A different type of woman

Silva came from a middle-class background and sang classical music. Her mother, a lawyer was shocked that she wanted to join Clinton's band. Dawn who was born in 1954 joined Parliament-Funkadelic in 1977. At 24 she was older than other female singers who had been recruited as young as 16.

She has shared that she was at times mocked because she was not as hardcore as other band members. She was considered to be thinking herself better than those who had grown up in the hood. She was only being her authentic self but the difference brought her ridicule. The Brides of Funkenstein also dealt with male fans expecting sex with them after shows. Silva said she made it clear she was only there to sing.

The Brides of Funkenstein in all of their glory

In 1977 Silva along with Lynn Mabry, (as The Brides) provided vocals for the album Game, Dames and Guitar Thangs by P-Funk guitarist Eddie Hazel. Clinton, AKA Dr. Funkenstein produced the first album for his brides titled Funk Or Walk, in 1978 and their first single "Disco To Go", was certified gold after selling over five hundred thousand copies.

In 1979, Lynn Mabry left the group and Silva invited back up "Bridesmaids" Jeanette McGruder, and Sheila Horne, to become official "Brides." The trio released the hit single "Never Buy Texas From A Cowboy" which was on the album of the same name. The Brides received a Cashbox Rhythm & Blues award for Best New Female Artists and won over Cheryl Lynn, The Pointer Sisters, and Sister Sledge.

In 2001 Rolling Stone voted Never Buy Texas From A Cowboy as one of the top 50 coolest albums ever released. The album received a Rhythm and Blues Award in 1981 making the Brides of Funkenstein the only group within the P-Funk organization to receive the honor. In spite of the accolades, this girl group was slighted when it counted the most.

Treated as second class

In 1997, when Parliament-Funkadelic was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame only 16 members were honored and they were all men. There was not one woman and Silva has pointed out that Clinton’s music would not have had the same sound without the female singers. In addition to the Brides, Silva sang with another of Clinton's offspring bands the Horny Horns, and neither she nor the other 3 women Brides were recognized.

This was surely devastating for vocalists Jeanette Washington and Debbie Wright who had been the first female backup singers for Clinton in 1975. Along with Mallia Franklin, Wright and Washington became another spin-off group Parlet. The Brides of Funkenstein recorded a third album, Shadows On The Wall, Shaped Like The Hat You Wore in 1980. but it was never released. Even so, most of the songs from the album gradually began appearing elsewhere in the P-Funk catalog.

In the 2016 documentary Tear the Roof Off The Untold Story of Parliament-Funkadelic several former members of the popular funk band including Silva, make serious accusations against George Clinton. You can watch the documentary by clicking on the following link.

These accusations include band members not being paid royalties or being given drugs in place of money. The band was referred to as a "Boys Club" where women were treated as second-class citizens, sex objects, and expected to have sex with Clinton if they wanted to sing. Fans who attended the P-Funk concerts had no idea what was taking place off stage and this documentary is an eye-opener with many first-hand accounts.

Dawn shared legal documents in the documentary where her name was forged and The Brides of Funkenstein were incorporated with Silva as the owner. Numerous transactions were listed where money was being paid out to fictitious people who did not exist.

Silva found out about it all after the Feds came knocking at her door. Even after all of the drama Dawn ended up being the only original member of the Brides of Funkenstein to remain with the group until the end.

In 1982, Silva began recording and touring with The Gap Band, and in 1988 she signed a solo deal with Polygram Records but her debut album was never released. Dawn’s recording and touring credits also include working with Ice Cube, Roy Ayers, B.B. King, Snoop Dogg, Coolio, and the movie Boyz n the Hood, Her first solo album All My Funky Friends, was released in Europe on Musisoft (Paris France)in December 2000.

The following year Tower Records gave it the distinction of being the only authentic funk album that had been released in more than two decades. Despite her many successes, Silva will more than likely be remembered by her fans as an original Bride of Funkenstein. In an ironic twist of fate Silva now owns the rights to the name of the group where someone once forged her signature and claimed that she had incorporated.