Ramone "Tiki" Fulwood. (drums, vocals; born May 23, 1944 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) The Original Funkadelic drummer Fulwood was featured on early-seventies albums and his style laid the foundation for much of what was to come in terms of P-Funk's rhythm sections.
Tiki Fulwood was the housedrummer in Philadelphia’s Uptown Theater in 1968 when he was noticed by Funkadelic bass player Billy "Bass" Nelson. He, together with Eddie Hazel, arranged a gig for Tiki with Funkadelic, which was unbeknownst to George Clinton until he started playing during a Funkadelic set. That resulted in the leaving of the then-Funkadelic drummer Stacey. Tiki played drums on Funkadelic’s first recording, "Good Old Music," and was invited, along with Eddie Hazel and Billy Nelson, by John Daniels to come play at his club Maverick Flats in Los Angeles. They played there for two weeks and every gig resulted in a packed house. Tiki left Funkadelic in 1969, however, to become the drummer in soul singer Tyrone Davis’ band. He played on two of his hit records, "Can I Change My Mind" and "Turn Back The Hands Of Time", though he was soon persuaded by Billy to rejoin Funkadelic in late ’69, which now also included Tawl Ross on guitar and Mickey Atkins on organ. Tiki played an important role on Funkadelic’s first LP, Funkadelic, most notably on the loud "I’ll Bet You". However, only after two more albums, Free Your Mind and Your Ass Will Follow and Maggot Brain, Tiki left from Funkadelic due to personal problems. Sadly, Tiki lost his mother in 1971 and his father in 1972. Both died of stomach cancer, which made Tiki say to Billy at his father’s burial that he was the next to go. The great trumpeter Miles Davis commissioned Tiki to perform with his band and Miles used to personally pick Tiki up from his mothers house. Miles admired Tiki's fast foot on the bass drum which Tiki was very popular for. Tiki's foot was phenomenal! Miles and Tiki were very close. However, In 1973, Tiki was asked to come back to Funkadelic once again, this time by Eddie Hazel. He made a great comeback with "Nappy Dugout" from the group’s Cosmic Slop album. In 1974 he was part of another super Funkadelic LP, Standing On the Verge of Getting It On. But in 1975, after one more LP for Funkadelic, he was fired again. Rumor goes that he had grabbed Clinton and threw him up against the wall, demanding to get paid. Although Tiki was dismissed in 1975 from Funkadelic, he still was part of some of P-Funk’s activities. He performed on Eddie Hazel’s Album " Games Dames And Guitar Thangs, (on the track "She’s so heavy). He played drums on several 70s P-Funk tracks which were left unreleased until the 80's. Also, 1990s reissues. He brought them to light. These include Funkadelic’s "Clone Communicado" from 1976, and the Brides of Funkenstein’s "Take My Love" and "Rat Kissed the Cat. " And he even made an appearance on Parliament’s Live Earth Tour album. In 1973, he had met a young and unknown guitarist, named Wil Harris. With Wil’s help in finding other Washington, D.C. local musicians they put together Tiki’s band called TIKI. He performed in and around the Washington, D.C, area. He also recorded an Album. Unfortunately the master tapes has mysteriously disappeared after Tiki’s passing. Tiki fell during a football game and was brought to the hospital, he was diagnosed with cancer in his right hip. After a hip operation to remove the cancer it was found that later the cancer had spread to his stomach. He married his long time girlfriend Crystal Purnell before he passed away on October 29, 1979 of stomach cancer in Washington D.C. at the Southern Greater Community Hospital. He was later inducted in The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with his fellow band mates in Parliament Funkadelic in 1997. His daughter was there to receive his award.
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