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Bootsy Collins

About Bootsy Collins Bootsy (born William Collins, October 26, 1951, Cincinnati) is one of the all-time great funk and R&B bassists/singer/bandleader. He formed his first group, the Pacesetters, in 1968, featuring Phelps “Catfish” Collins (his brother; guitar), Frankie “Kash” Waddy (drums), and Philippe Wynne (later of The Spinners fame). From 1969 to 1971, the group functioned as James Brown’s backup band and was dubbed the J.B.’s. In 1972, Bootsy joined George Clinton’s Parliament/Funkadelic. Collins and Clinton soon established a lifelong personal and musical friendship. He launched Bootsy’s Rubber Band as a spinoff of P-Funk in 1976, the band including his brother Phelps, Waddy (drums), Joel “Razor Sharp” Johnson (keyboards), Gary “Mudbone” Cooper (vocals), and Robert “P-Nut” Johnson (vocals), along with “the Horny Horns”. (He was sometimes billed alone as Bootsy, and sometimes as William “Bootsy” Collins.) Collins’ inspired, clever progressions and patterns were a vital part of such records as “Get Up, I Feel Like Being a Sex Machine.” The group became the House Guests after departing the JB’s, until Collins joined Clinton’s Parliament/Funkadelic empire in 1971. He co-wrote “Tear the Roof Off the Sucker” with Clinton and Jerome Brailey and established himself so effectively that Clinton urged him to form his own band. Bootsy’s Rubber Band emerged in 1976, a spirited ensemble that included Collins’ brother Phelps (“Catfish”), as well as fellow James Brown bandmembers Fred Wesley and Maceo Parker, Joel Johnson, Gary Cooper, Rick Gardner, and Richard Griffiths. (Collins also featured his alter egos “Bootzilla” and “Casper, the Friendly Ghost” as part of the stage act.) Their debut LP, Stretchin’ Out in Bootsy’s Rubber Band, and their second release, Ahh…The Name Is Bootsy, Baby! equalled anything issued during Clinton’s peak period for idiomatic diversity, clever, bizarre humor, and outrageous lyrics. Both Ahh… and the third LP, Bootsy? Player of the Year, earned gold records and made it into the Top 20 on the pop charts. The single “Bootzilla” was his lone R&B chart topper in 1978, although “The Pinocchio Theory” also made the Top Ten. Collins recorded as both a solo artist and with the Rubber Band in the ’80s. He also did some special projects, such as a 1984 collaboration with Jerry Harrison of Talking Heads — using the name Bonzo Goes to Washington — that produced “5 Minutes (C-C-C-Club Mix),” featuring Ronald Reagan declaring nuclear war on the Soviet Union over a skittering rhythm track. In 1988, he returned on Columbia with the appropriately named What’s Bootsy Doin’? In 1989, Bootsy was a member of the Bootzilla Orchestra on Malcolm McLaren’s album Waltz Dancing.

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Liner Notes

Bass Extremes: S'Low Down

Read "Bass Extremes: S'Low Down" reviewed by Chris Jisi


Thirty years ago, a simple pairing changed the trajectory of bass. Steve Bailey and Victor Wooten, bonded by their mutual fretboard wizardry, sharp wit, and teaching philosophies, formed Bass Extremes, and the instrument and its community were forever transformed. The concept was quite ambitious. Steve was a rapidly ascending anchor for Dizzy Gillespie, Paquito D'Rivera and the Rippingtons, who had found his voice on the 6-string fretless bass and was taking the instrument to uncharted heights, with a soon to ...

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The Jazz Session

Bootsy Collins: Couldn't Get The Spaceship Outta The Driveway!

Read "Bootsy Collins: Couldn't Get The Spaceship Outta The Driveway!" reviewed by Chris Comer


ListenChris Comer and co-host Rob Ervin spoke with funk pioneer Bootsy Collins in an outrageous interview from January, 1999. The release of his newest CD “Fresh Outta P University" was scheduled that week and Bootsy was supposed to come by The Chris & Rob Show's studio that night in person. However, there was evidently a snow storm and Bootsy couldn't “get the spaceship out of the driveway."In this broadcast Bootsy talks about some of the musicians ...

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Recording

Bootsy Collins: Tha Funk Capitol of the World

Bootsy Collins: Tha Funk Capitol of the World

Source: JamBase

LEGENDARY FUNKATEER TEAMS WITH GEORGE CLINTON, CHUCK D, SNOOP DOGG, REV. AL SHARPTON, DR. CORNEL WEST, SAMUEL L. JACKSON, MUSIQ SOULCHILD, ICE CUBE AND MORE Rock & Roll Hall Of Famer and legendary bassist Bootsy Collins, known worldwide for pioneering funk music with James Brown and Parliament Funkadelic, will release his first new album in five years, Tha Funk Capitol of the World, April 26 on Mascot Records. Collins collaborated with fellow P-Funkers George Clinton and Bernie Worrell on the ...

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