Bernie Worrell got a hold of my musical mind at a very tender young age, turned it upside down, and shook it vigorously until the dust bunnies all fell out. Then he poured in his liquid light interplanetary funk-marinade elixir, sealed up the lid, gave it one more shake for good measure, and sent me on my way. I have never been the same. Nor has the world. Bernie Worrell was so influential that, like the fish who is unaware of the water in which she swims, most of the time we didn't even know he was there. And we simply cannot measure the impact that musical Titans like Bernie had on the shaping and education of our ears. P-Funk is among the most widely sampled musical entities in popular music's history. Their lyrics and beats and hooks and riffs and melodies are so commonly found at the heart of commercial radio hits that one could be forgiven for concluding that people decided to stop making new music after Pfunk came along. Because, why bother? No one could ever be funkier or more raw or more real than they got. And at the backbone of this massive musical assault on your D'VoidofFunk, no-dancin' ass were the dancing fingers and the luminous musical mind of one Bernie Worrell, the Wizard of Woo. Ride in Uhuru, Bernie. Thank you for everything, My Shining Guide through the Gaping Void.