Bootsy Collins

by William Ruhlmann
Bootsy (born William Collins, October 26, 1951, Cincinnati) is a funk/R&B bassist/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. From 1969 to 1971, the group functioned as James Browns backup band and was dubbed the J.B.s. In 1972, Bootsy joined George Clintons Parliament/Funkadelic. He launched Bootsys Rubber Band as a spinoff of P-Funk in 1976, the band including his brother Phelps, Waddy, Joel Razor Sharp Johnson (keyboards), Gary Mudbone Cooper (drums), and Robert P-Nut Johnson (vocals), along with the Horny Horns. (He was sometimes billed alone as Bootsy, and sometimes as William Bootsy Collins.)
Signing to Warner Bros., he enjoyed the first of his 15 R&B singles chart entries in 1976 with Stretchin Out (In a Rubber Band). His most successful singles were The Pinocchio Theory (1977) and the chart-topping Bootzilla (1978). He also released six albums on Warners through 1982, including the gold-sellers Ahh...The Name Is Bootsy, Baby! (1977) and Bootsy? Player of the Year (1978), then took a six-year recording hiatus, and returned on Columbia in 1988 with the appropriately named Whats Bootsy Doin? In 1989, Bootsy was a member of the Bootzilla Orchestra on Malcolm McLarens album Waltz Dancing. In 1990, Bootsy was a featured guitarist and bassist with the dance music trio Deee-Lite. Bootsys New Rubber Band released Blasters of the Universe on August 2, 1994. Fresh Outta P University followed four years later. Numerous Collins live shows and reissues appeared as the 21st century opened, and in 2006 the bassist actually released a Christmas album, Christmas Is 4 Ever, on Shout Records.