Cracked BuckeyeCracked Buckeye

Notable people · Music · Entertainment · African American History

Bootsy Collins

Cincinnati-born funk bassist who learned his trade as a teenager at King Records, played in James Brown's original J.B.'s, and became a star of Parliament-Funkadelic and Bootsy's Rubber Band.

Born October 26, 1951, Cincinnati

Bootsy Collins
MikaV / CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

At a glance

Born
October 26, 1951, Cincinnati (Hamilton County) source
Also known as
Bootsy Collins, Bootsy, Casper the Funky Ghost, Bootzilla
Known as
Music, Entertainment, African American History

Bootsy Collins is living. This page covers their public life only, from published sources. Correct this page · hello@crackedbuckeye.com

Life story

William 'Bootsy' Collins was born in Cincinnati in 1951. As teenagers he and his older brother Phelps 'Catfish' Collins hung around King Records after school, and their band, the Pacemakers, became session players there for producers such as Henry Glover and Charles Spurling, backing Hank Ballard and Bill Doggett. In March 1970, when James Brown's band walked out over pay, Brown flew the Cincinnati band to Columbus, Georgia, to become the original J.B.'s, who played on 'Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine', 'Super Bad' and 'Soul Power' in their eleven months with him. Collins then joined George Clinton's Parliament-Funkadelic, formed Bootsy's Rubber Band in 1976, scored a No. 1 R&B album with Bootsy? Player of the Year (1978), produced Zapp's debut for the Dayton band's Roger Troutman, and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with Parliament-Funkadelic in 1997. He has kept close ties to Cincinnati, writing the Bengals song 'Fear Da Tiger' (2005), lending his name to a downtown restaurant (2008-2010), and joining the first class of the city's Black Music Walk of Fame at The Banks.

Ohio ties

  • Cincinnati (1951-present)
    birthplace and lifelong home base; the Pacemakers were a Cincinnati band Hamilton County · source
  • Cincinnati (King Records, 1540 Brewster Avenue) (late 1960s-1970)
    where he and Catfish hung around after school and then played sessions as the label's backing band Hamilton County · source
  • Cincinnati (Bootsy's, 631 Walnut Street) (2008-2010)
    restaurant and club opened with restaurateur Jeff Ruby, with a museum of his career Hamilton County · source
  • Cincinnati (Cincinnati Black Music Walk of Fame, The Banks) (2021; 2023)
    inducted in the inaugural class in 2021; the walk, with an augmented-reality feature starring Collins, opened in July 2023 Hamilton County · source
  • Cincinnati (The Art Institute of Ohio - Cincinnati) (2007)
    gave the commencement address on 26 January 2007 Hamilton County · source
  • Dayton (1978-1980)
    after seeing the Troutman brothers' band Zapp, invited Roger Troutman to Detroit and produced Zapp's debut album Montgomery County · source
  • Cleveland (Rock and Roll Hall of Fame) (1997; 2023)
    inducted with Parliament-Funkadelic in 1997; launched the Funk Not Fight movement there in May 2023 Cuyahoga County · source

Timeline

  1. 1951 Born William Earl Collins in Cincinnati on 26 October; his mother nicknamed him Bootsy. source
  2. 1968 Formed the Pacemakers with his brother Phelps 'Catfish' Collins, drummer Frankie 'Kash' Waddy and singer Philippé Wynne. source
  3. 1969 With his brother and bandmates backed Bill Doggett on 'Honky Tonk Popcorn', recorded on 4 June, apparently at King's Cincinnati studio, and played on Hank Ballard's 'Butter Your Popcorn'. source
  4. 1970 In March, after James Brown's band quit over pay, Brown's aide Bobby Byrd flew the Pacemakers from a Cincinnati club gig to Columbus, Georgia, to become Brown's new band, the J.B.'s. source
  5. 1970 Played the bass line on 'Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine', cut at the Starday-King studio in Nashville and released by King Records in July. source
  6. 1971 Left Brown after about 11 months and, with Catfish and most of the original J.B.'s, joined George Clinton's Parliament-Funkadelic. source
  7. 1976 Formed Bootsy's Rubber Band, a P-Funk touring unit, with Catfish, Waddy, Gary 'Mudbone' Cooper and the Horny Horns. source
  8. 1978 Bootsy? Player of the Year topped the Billboard R&B album chart and produced the No. 1 R&B single 'Bootzilla'. source
  9. 1980 Produced the debut album of Dayton's Zapp, recorded with Roger Troutman at United Sound Studios in Detroit. source
  10. 1990 Appeared on and in the video for Deee-Lite's 'Groove Is in the Heart'. source
  11. 1997 Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with 15 other members of Parliament-Funkadelic; Prince gave the induction. source
  12. 2000 Sang lead on Fatboy Slim's 'Weapon of Choice'. source
  13. 2005 Co-wrote 'Fear Da Tiger' for the Cincinnati Bengals, rapped by Bengals players. source
  14. 2008 Bootsy's, a restaurant and club with a museum of his career, opened at 631 Walnut Street in downtown Cincinnati with Jeff Ruby; it closed in 2010. source
  15. 2016 Inducted into the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame. source
  16. 2019 Announced in January that he would stop playing bass in concert and work from the studio and as a coach for young musicians. source
  17. 2021 Inducted in the inaugural class of the Cincinnati Black Music Walk of Fame. source
  18. 2023 Saw the finished Black Music Walk of Fame at The Banks at its grand opening on 22 July, which includes an augmented-reality experience featuring him. source

Stories

After school at King Records

In a 2011 lecture Collins recalled that he and his brother knew James Brown recorded at King Records in Cincinnati, so they hung around the studio every day after school, 'waiting and watching for anybody'. A King A&R man, Charles Spurling, heard their band at a club and hired them to record for him, and soon other producers there, including Henry Glover, were using them behind Hank Ballard, Bill Doggett and Arthur Prysock. They toured with Ballard and with Brown's singers Marva Whitney, Lyn Collins and Vicki Anderson. Collins says it was in the King studio that they learned discipline, coming in ready to play whatever they were asked.

Source

A Learjet in 45 minutes

In March 1970 the Pacemakers were playing a benefit at a Cincinnati club called the Wine Bar when Bobby Byrd telephoned: James Brown needed them in Columbus, Georgia, right away, and Brown's Learjet would collect them in 45 minutes. They thought it was a joke until Byrd arrived and told them to come as they were. It was their first flight. At the arena the crowd was angry because Brown was late, and his old band, whom the young Cincinnati players regarded as heroes and friends, looked at them as strikebreakers. Collins said they had not realised they were crossing a picket line until they walked in.

Source

The stolen Space Bass

Collins's star-shaped 'Space Bass' became a trademark of his P-Funk years. The original, with a mahogany body, maple neck, white finish and mirror pickguard, was built by Larry Pless at Gus Zoppi's music store in Warren, Michigan, and appears on the cover of Stretchin' Out in Bootsy's Rubber Band (1976). It was later stolen. It turned up in a pawn shop in Cincinnati, his hometown, and was returned to him.

Source

Sites to know

Homes, graves, markers, museums and monuments; the numbered ones are on the map.

12
  • 1 Cincinnati Black Music Walk of Fame, The Banks (venue-level coordinates of the adjoining Andrew J. Brady Music Center)
    The Banks, Cincinnati riverfront Hamilton County · source
  • Former King Records headquarters and studio (Rock Hall historical marker, 2008) (unknown)
    1540 Brewster Avenue, Cincinnati Hamilton County · source
  • Former Bootsy's restaurant and club (2008-2010) (unknown)
    631 Walnut Street, Cincinnati Hamilton County · source
  • 2 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (Parliament-Funkadelic, 1997)
    1100 Rock and Roll Boulevard, Cleveland Cuyahoga County · source

Ohio places

Where Bootsy Collins was born, lived, worked and is remembered, with the ZIP code, town and county pages for each.

Myths and corrections

Things often said about Bootsy Collins, and what the record shows.

Often said 'Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine' was recorded at King's studio in Cincinnati.

The record It was released by Cincinnati's King Records, but Brown cut it at the Starday-King studio in Nashville; his King engineer Ron Lenhoff drove five hours from Cincinnati to record it. source

Often said Bootsy Collins played the bass riff on James Brown's 'Licking Stick' (1968).

The record The riff was played by Tim Drummond. Collins first appears in King's session records in 1969, backing Hank Ballard and Bill Doggett. source

Often said Collins was inducted into the Cincinnati Black Music Walk of Fame on 22 July 2023.

The record He was in the inaugural class inducted in 2021; 22 July 2023 was the grand opening of the finished walk at The Banks, when the 2023 class (including James Brown) was inducted. source

Documents

Primary records: patents, letters, court and government files, nominations and old county histories, each at the archive that holds it.

Pictures

Free to use with the credit shown. Select a picture for the original and its license.

  • Bootsy Collins
    Bootsy Collins
    Public domain
  • Rock Walk detail in West Hollywood, CA
    Rock Walk detail in West Hollywood, CA
    Public domain
  • Bootsy Collins and Fatboy Slim
    Bootsy Collins and Fatboy Slim
    Liton Ali / CC BY 2.0
  • Bootsy Collins im E-Werk in Köln
    Bootsy Collins im E-Werk in Köln
    MikaV (Diskussion) / CC BY-SA 3.0 de
  • Wall painting 'Bootsy Collins and Aretha Franklin', Gulden Wagengas, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
    Wall painting 'Bootsy Collins and Aretha Franklin', Gulden Wagengas, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
    FakirNL / CC BY-SA 4.0
  • E-Werk, Cologne/Germany 1998
    E-Werk, Cologne/Germany 1998
    MikaV / CC BY-SA 4.0

Sources

Confidence. High: the main facts were confirmed in sources we opened.

Every link goes to the original source. Profile researched 2026-10-15.

Correct this page · hello@crackedbuckeye.com