 Thomas started out in the late 1950s as one of The Parliaments, a doo wop barbershop quintet led by George Clinton.In 1977, Thomas (along with original Parliaments Fuzzy Haskins and Calvin Simon), left Parliament-Funkadelic after financial and management disputes with Clinton.In 1981, the trio caused confusion when they formed a new band, and released an album called "Connections and Disconnections" under the name Funkadelic.