Garry Shider, the longtime musical director of Parliament-Funkadelic whose funky guitar work, songwriting skills and musical arrangements thrilled fans around the globe and earned him a spot in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, has died. He was 56.

Shider, who died Wednesday at his home in Upper Marlboro, Md., was known to millions of fans as "Starchild" or "Diaperman," the latter because of the loincloth he often wore onstage.

Shider's son, Garrett, said Thursday that his father had been diagnosed with brain and lung cancer in late March. He then briefly went out on tour one last time but had to stop because of his failing health.

"He was a beautiful man who had a beautiful heart, who loved his fans just as much as they loved him," Garrett Shider said. "I'm sure if he had the choice, he would have passed on a tour bus, because he loved playing music."

A New Jersey native, Shider started his musical career as a boy, performing mostly gospel music in churches in a group that included his brother and was overseen by their father. The band also played backup for many prominent gospel artists when they performed concerts in the area, but Shider's musical taste soon grew more diverse.

The teenager first met P-Funk mastermind George Clinton in the late 1960s at a Plainfield barbershop Clinton owned, where future P-Funk members would sing doo-wop for customers and counsel local youths. Then, when he was about 16, Shider and a friend went to Canada, where they formed a funk/rock band called United Soul, or "U.S."

Clinton, who was living in Toronto, heard about the band from people in the local music business, and took the band under his wing upon learning that Shider was a member. He helped produce some of their songs and eventually invited Shider to join P-Funk, a combination of two bands, Parliament and Funkadelic.

Shider soon became a mainstay of Clinton's wide-ranging musical family, eventually serving as its musical director and co-writing some of Parliament-Funkadelic's biggest hits.

"Thank you, Garry for all you have done. Forever funkin' on!" Clinton noted in a message posted on his website.

Shider first appeared on Funkadelic's 1971 album "Maggot Brain" and Parliament's second album "Up for the Down Stroke," and joined P-Funk for good in 1972. He became one of Clinton's most trusted lieutenants, co-writing and providing vocals on some of the band's biggest hits - including "Atomic Dog," "Cosmic Slop," "Can You Get to That" and "One Nation Under the Groove."



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