William "Bootsy" Collins
| Bootsy Collins | |
|---|---|
Bootsy Collins, 2009
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | William Earl Collins |
| Born |
October 26, 1951 Cincinnati, Ohio, United States |
| Genres | Funk, soul, rock, psychedelic soul, rhythm and blues, hip hop |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, singer-songwriter |
| Instruments | Bass guitar, vocals, guitar, drums, keyboards |
| Years active | 1968–present |
| Labels | Westbound, Ace, Warner Bros., Casablanca, Shout, Columbia, P-Vine |
| Associated acts |
Parliament-Funkadelic Bootsy's Rubber Band George Clinton James Brown Snoop Dogg Axiom Funk Praxis Material Fatboy Slim Deee-Lite Buckethead |
| Website | bootsycollins |
William Earl "Bootsy" Collins (born October 26, 1951) is an American musician and singer-songwriter.
Rising to prominence with James Brown in the early 1970s, and later with Parliament-Funkadelic, Collins's driving bass guitar and humorous vocals established him as one of the leading names in funk. He is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, inducted in 1997 with 15 other members of Parliament-Funkadelic.
With his elder brother Phelps "Catfish" Collins, Frankie "Kash" Waddy, and Philippé Wynne, Collins formed a funk band called The Pacemakers in 1968.
In March 1970, after most of the members of James Brown's band quit over a pay dispute, The Pacemakers were hired as Brown's backing band and they became known as The J.B.'s. (They are often referred to as the "original" J.B.'s to distinguish them from later line-ups that went by the same name.) Although they worked for Brown for only 11 months, the original J.B.'s played on some of Brown's most intense funk recordings, including "Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine", "Bewildered (1970)", "Super Bad", "Soul Power", "Talkin' Loud and Sayin' Nothing", and two instrumental singles, the much-sampled "The Grunt" and "These Are the J.B.'s".
After parting ways with James Brown, Collins returned to Cincinnati and formed House Guests with his brother Phelps Collins, Rufus Allen, Clayton "Chicken" Gunnels, Frankie Waddy, Ronnie Greenaway and Robert McCullough. The House Guests released "What So Never the Dance" and another single on the House Guests label, as well as a third as The Sound of Vision on the House Guests label.
Next Collins moved to Detroit, after Philippé Wynne suggested joining The Spinners, for whom Wynne had been singing. However, following the advice of singer and future Parliament member Mallia Franklin, Collins had another choice. Franklin there introduced both Collins brothers to George Clinton, and 1972 saw both of the Collins brothers, along with Waddy, join Funkadelic. Collins played bass on most of Funkadelic and all of Parliament's albums (with the exception of Osmium) through the early 1980s, garnering several songwriting credits as well.
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