His latest release It’s Not Too Late (buy), which includes the single “A Soldier’s Story,” is a tribute and encouragement to all veterans who suffer from PTSD. Simon explains more about the single and living with PTSD , in this special Independence Day Q&A with husband, Hall Of Fame’r, music mogul, gospel artist, veteran, and fellow drummer, Calvin Simon.

CCM Magazine: You were raised in a Christian home, but ended up as one of the foun ding members of one of the super-groups of our era. Can you briefly describe how that came about?
Calvin Simon: The early Christian influences are actually what gave me my start in music. At eight-years-old, my family appeared on a gospel radio station every Sunday. When I moved from Beckley, WV to Newark, NJ at the age of 14, I was instantly introduced to Doo-wop on every corner and eventually started going to a barber shop where there was singing every Saturday. In the years that followed, I started hanging out more often at the barber shop. The group that sang there had a member pass away from pneumonia, and I was asked to sing the Lord’s Prayer with them at his funeral. From that point on, I was one of the group. That group was the Parliaments. We started recording and had a couple of local hits.

The move from the Parliaments to Parliament Funkadelic was a matter of survival. The name Parliaments and its members were signed with Revilot Records, and due to financial manipulations and mismanagement, we changed the band’s name to Funkadelic in order to continue our music careers. Several years later, after the issues with Revilot were resolved, we won back the name Parliaments and became Parliament Funadelic. Through the years, the music scene was starting to change and we became the forerunners of wanting to do what no one else was doing at the time.

CCM: Who were some of your early musical influences – both Christian/gospel and mainstream?
CS: The earliest influences of course were my family. In later years, Nat King Cole and Sam Cook became my go-to’s. I also took great stock in Dave Ruffin, Bernie Worrell, and the Isley Brothers.

CCM: Did you study music under anyone we might know?
CS: My musical gift was always there. It was definitely God’s plan for me. It was not until 2005 that I actually took any formal training in the field, and that was keyboards and composition. I had a private tutor at Windsor University in Ontario Canada.

CCM: Have you since taught any students that have gone on to enjoy fame?
CS: Throughout the years, I have had the pleasure of working with and producing so many wonderful acts. Some of them have had songs on the charts, some were local heroes and some just did what they did because they had no other choice but to sing. They were all stars in my book.

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