Pedro Bell

Pedro Bell
Born(1950-06-11)June 11, 1950
Chicago, Illinois U.S.
DiedAugust 27, 2019(2019-08-27) (aged 69)
Evergreen Park, Illinois, U.S.
Other namesSir Lleb
Captain Draw
Occupations
  • Artist
  • illustrator
  • writer
Years active1973–1995

Pedro Bell (June 11, 1950 – August 27, 2019) was an American artist and illustrator, best known for his elaborate album cover designs and other artwork for numerous Funkadelic and George Clinton solo albums. Bell also wrote many of the liner notes of the records under the name Sir Lleb (his surname spelled backwards).[1]: 22 [2] The liner notes contributed to P-Funk's literary mythology[3]: 238  — a sampling of his contributions include "Thumpasaurus", "Funkapus", "Queen Freakalene", "Bop Gun", and "Zone of Zero Funkativity". Bell's work was preceded and partially inspired by Sun Ra[4] and was a precursor to the modern graphic novel and the Afro-punk movement.[5]

  1. ^ West, David (1987). "Pedro Bell (page 22)". SECONDS. pp. 20–26.
  2. ^ Spak, Kara (November 9, 2009). "Artist behind Parliament Funkadelic art struggles to get by". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on November 12, 2009.
  3. ^ Vincent, Rickey (1996). Funk: The Music, The People, and The Rhythm of The One. New York: St. Martin's Griffin. ISBN 978-0-312-13499-0. OCLC 893908844.
  4. ^ Grünhäuser, Amber (January 10, 2018). "Pedro Bell: Funkadelical Vibrations". Lodown magazine.
  5. ^ Gonzales, Michael (April 29, 2019). "Black Utopia: The Funkadelic Art of Pedro Bell". Afropunk.