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Bootsy Collins

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Bootsy Collins · William Earl Collins, known as Bootsy, is an American bass guitarist, singer and songwriter from Cincinnati, born in 1951. His mother gave him the nickname. In 1968 he formed the band The Pacemakers with his older brother Phelps, known as Catfish. When James Brown's band walked out in March 1970 after a row over money, the brothers and their group became his new backing band: the J.B.'s. They played for Brown for only eleven months, but on some of his fiercest funk records, such as Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine, Super Bad and Soul Power.

Music and breakthrough

Collins then joined George Clinton's collective Parliament-Funkadelic. In 1976 he started Bootsy's Rubber Band, with his brother and the horn section The Horny Horns, among others. The album Bootsy? Player of the Year, from 1978, produced the single Bootzilla. Like Clinton, he played characters, such as Casper the Funky Ghost and Bootzilla, a glittering pop monster from space. He played a star-shaped bass guitar, the Space Bass.

Influence

Collins's sound revolves around driving, rhythmic bass lines and funny, crazy vocals. Later he worked with the producer Bill Laswell, with Herbie Hancock and with Deee-Lite, for whom he sang backing vocals on Groove Is in the Heart. Fatboy Slim also brought him in. In 1997 he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with Parliament-Funkadelic. His hard, rhythmic bass playing had a great influence on funk, soul and even metal.

Listening

Listening tip. Listen to Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine by James Brown. Follow only Collins's bass: the song stays on virtually one chord, so all the movement comes from the rhythm of his short, constantly recurring figures.

Discography

Studio albums

In School of Rock

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See also

Categories: Artists