Introduction
William Earl “Bootsy” Collins was born on October 26, 1951 in Cincinnati, Ohio. He is one of the all time greatest American funk and R&B bassist, singer and songwriter. Bootsy was instrumental in the Parliament and Funkadelic era. He is known as one of the founding members of the P-Funk sound. He is also credited with resurrecting James Brown’s career in the late 60’s and 70’s, co-writing some of Brown’s of greatest hits.
Thesis
Though he rose to prominence with the support of James Browns career, Bootsy Collins asserted himself as a driving bass guitarist and vocalist in addition to becoming one of the leading names in funk.
Childhood and Education
Bootsy Collins once asked his mother, “Why he was named Bootsy?” and she responded “Because you looked like a Bootsy and I left it at that”. Bootsy also has a well known brother Phelps “Catfish” Collins who was also a musician. He and Bootsy were once apart of James Brown’s backing band, The Pacemakers.
Discovery
In 1968, Bootsy, with his brother Catfish, formed a funk band, called The Pacesetters, with Frankie “Kash” Waddy and Phillippe Wynne. In March 1970, after most of the members of James Brown’s band quit over a pay dispute, The Pacesetters were hired as Brown’s new backing and and they became known as The J.B.’s. The J.B.’s played on some of Browns most intense funk recordings, including “Get Up”, “Super Bad”, “Soul Power” and “Talkin Loud and Sayin Nothing”. It is said that Boots y clashed several time with the rigid practice system Brown put in place to discipline the band whenever he felt that they stepped out of line.
Fame & Success
After parting ways with James Brown, Bootsy returned to Cincinnati and formed “House Guests” with his brother Catfish, Rufus Allen, Clayton “Chicken” Gunnels, Frankie “Kash” Waddy, Ronnie Greenaway and Robert McCullough. The House Guests released “What So Never the Dance” and another single on the House Guests label. Next Collins moved to Detroit, Michigan, after Philippé Wynne suggested joining The Spinners. Singer and future Parliament member Malia Franklin, introduced both Collins brothers to George Clinton and in 1972 both of the Collins brothers, along with Waddy, joined the group Funkadelic. Bootsy 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. In 1976 Bootsy, Catfish, Waddy, Joel Johnson, Gary “Mudbone” Cooper, Robert Johnson and The Horny Horns formed a separate touring unit of Clinton’s P-Funk collective. The group recorded five albums together, the first three of which are often considered to be among the quintessential P-Funk recordings.The group’s 1978 album Bootsy? Player of the Year reached the top of the R&B album chart and spawned the #1 R&B single “Bootzilla”.
Extended Career
Bootsy's Famous Guitars
Collins has owned many bass guitars, and several of them were custom made. His original Space Bass and its first replacement were made in Warren, Michigan by Larry Pless of Gus Zoppi’s music store. The first Space Bass had a mahogany body and maple neck, white finish, and mirror pick guard. Bootsy’s original Space Bass guitar was stolen, but it was later recovered at a Cincinnati pawn shop and returned to Collins. Another one of Collins signature instruments is a custom-built star-shaped bass guitar he also calls the Space Bass, built for him by Manuel “Manny” Salvador of GuitarCraft in 1998. In 2006 Collins made an agreement with Traben to make a signature Collins model bass, the Bootzilla.
Bibliography
https://upclosed.com/people/bootsy-collins/
https://www.last.fm/music/Bootsy+Collins/+wiki
https://www.allmusic.com/artist/bootsy-collins-mn0000107139/biography