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William Earl " Bootsy" Collins (born October 26, 1951) is an American bass guitarist, singer, and songwriter. Rising to prominence with James Brown in the early 1970s before joining the Parliament-Funkadelic collective, Collins established himself as one of the leading names and innovators in funk with his driving basslines and humorous vocals. He later formed his own P-Funk side project known as 'Bootsy's Rubber Band'. He was a frequent collaborator with other musicians from a variety of genres, including dance music (Deee-Lite's "Groove Is in the Heart"), electronic big beat (Fatboy Slim's "Weapon of Choice" and "The Joker"), and alternative metal (Praxis), among others. He is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, inducted in 1997 with 15 other members of Parliament-Funkadelic. In 2020, Rolling Stone magazine ranked Collins number 4 in its list of the 50 greatest bassists of all time.
His brother Phelps "Catfish" Collins (1943–2010) was also a musician. He and Bootsy were once part of The Pacemakers.
Collins has maintained a strong connection with Cincinnati.
After parting ways with James Brown, Collins returned to Cincinnati and formed House Guests with his brother Phelps Collins, Rufus Allen, Clayton "Chicken" Gunnels, Frankie Waddy, Ronnie Greenaway and Robert McCullough. The House Guests released "What So Never the Dance" and another single on the House Guests label, as well as a third as The Sound of Vision on the House Guests label.
Next Collins moved to Detroit, Michigan, after Philippé Wynne suggested joining The Spinners, for whom Wynne had been singing. However, following the advice of singer and future Parliament member Mallia Franklin, Collins made another choice. Franklin introduced both Collins brothers to George Clinton, and in 1972, both of the Collins brothers, along with Waddy, joined Funkadelic. Collins played bass on most of Funkadelic and Parliament albums through the early 1980s, garnering several songwriting credits as well.
In 1976 Collins, Catfish, Waddy, Joel Johnson (1953–2018), Gary "Mudbone" Cooper, Robert Johnson and The Horny Horns formed Bootsy's Rubber Band, 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".
Like Clinton, Collins took on several , from Casper the Funky Ghost to Bootzilla, "the world's only rhinestone rockstar monster of a doll", all as parts of the evolving character of an alien rock star who grew gradually more bizarre as time went on (see P-Funk mythology). He also adopted his trademark "space bass" around this time.
In 1984, he collaborated with Jerry Harrison of Talking Heads to produce "Five Minutes", a dance record sampled and edited from Ronald Reagan's infamous "We begin bombing in five minutes" speech. The record was credited to "Bonzo goes to Washington" (also referenced in the 1985 Ramones song "Bonzo Goes to Bitburg", derived from Reagan's starring role as Professor Peter Boyd in the 1951 comedy film Bedtime for Bonzo).
After a nearly five-year hiatus, he had a comeback in 1988 (with some help from producer Bill Laswell). What's Bootsy Doin'? flaunted a new sound that foreshadowed the 1990s, such as the dance floor smash "Party on Plastic". Laswell introduced Collins to Herbie Hancock, resulting in Perfect Machine (1988). The techno-funk they recorded featured turntables for scratch appeal, and the smoothly-stylized vocals of Leroy "Sugarfoot" Bonner of chart-topping Ohio Players. These were the first of many collaborations between Laswell and Collins on many albums and projects, with the prolific producer using Bootsy mainly as a bassist but sometimes as a .
In 1988, Collins appeared as a guest artist to play bass on Keith Richards and The X-Pensive Winos album Talk is Cheap. Also in 1988, Collins also has a cameo appearance in rapper Eazy-E’s music video for We Want Eazy.
In 1989, Collins played bass on and produced several tracks of Malcolm McLaren's album Waltz Darling, credited to Malcolm McLaren and the Bootzilla Orchestra.
In 1990, Collins collaborated with Deee-Lite on their biggest hit "Groove Is in the Heart", and he contributed additional vocals. Although he also appeared in the music video playing the bass, the bassline in the song is actually a sample of a Herbie Hancock song called "Bring Down the Birds". Bootsy's Rubber Band became the de facto backing musicians for Deee-Lite during a world tour. The Rubber Band also recorded the EP Jungle Bass, their first recording in 11 years.
In 1992, he joined with guitarist Stevie Salas and drummer Buddy Miles to form the funk-metal fusion group Hardware. The trio released one album, Third Eye Open, before disbanding. In the same year, Collins played bass guitar on the first Praxis album (produced by Laswell): Transmutation, alongside fellow Parliament-Funkadelic member Bernie Worrell, Bryan Mantia and Buckethead.
Bootsy's New Rubber Band formed in 1994, releasing Blasters of the Universe and also put forth the following live release "Keepin' dah Funk Alive 4-1995", recorded over two nights in Tokyo.
In 1995, Collins played in the remake of Jimi Hendrix's "If 6 Was 9", for Axiom Funk, a Funkadelic-like one-off supergroup produced by Bill Laswell and featuring (Funkadelic members) George Clinton, Bernie Worrell, Collins, (the guitar of the late) Eddie Hazel, Gary Shider and Laswell. The group released only one album ( Funkcronomicon), and the song also appeared in the soundtrack of the movie Stealing Beauty. He also featured on Jon B's song "Simple Melody" from his debut album, "Bonafide".
Collins collaborated with Del McCoury, Doc Watson and Mac Wiseman to form the GrooveGrass Boyz. They produced a fusion of bluegrass music and funk.
In 2004 Collins contributed to Christian rap artist TobyMac's Welcome to Diverse City album, collaborating on the "Diverse City" track, a song praised as one of the best on the album. The album won the 2005 Dove Award for Rap/Hip-Hop Album of the Year.
In October 2005, Collins co-wrote a song celebrating the resurgence of his hometown team, the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League called "Fear Da Tiger" which features "raps" written and performed by several Bengals players, including defensive end Duane Clemons, offensive tackle Stacy Andrews, and center Ben Wilkerson. An edited version of the song was made into a music video which features cameos by many other Bengals players. Collins appeared with Little Richard, Bernie Worrell, and other notable musicians as the band playing with Hank Williams, Jr. for the Monday Night Football opening during for the 2006 season. Collins was the only all star to return with Williams for the 2007 season.
He also sings "Marshal Law", the theme song of the Cincinnati Marshals indoor football team and debuted the song in 2006 at half time of the April 29 Marshals home game against the West Palm Beach Phantoms.
In 2006, ABC Entertainment/A Charly Films Release released a DVD and CD from Collins and the New Rubber Band's concert at the 1998 North Sea Jazz Festival. Soon after the release, Collins split from long-time friend and guitarist Odhran "The Bodhran" Rameriz, citing creative differences as the reason.
Later that same year, Collins released the holiday album Christmas Is 4 Ever. This represents the first Christmas-themed album made by a member of the P-Funk musical collective. The album features re-workings of Christmas standards as well as original compositions.
In April 2007, Collins announced plans to open Bootsy's, a restaurant/club with Cincinnati area restaurateur Jeff Ruby. The venue operated from 2008 to 2010. It featured live musical acts, a museum dedicated to Collins's musical career and Spanish, Central and South American cuisine.
In June 2007, Collins, along with Catfish Collins, Clyde Stubblefield, John "Jabo" Starks, and Bernie Worrell, participated in the recording of the soundtrack for the movie Superbad. In December of that year they (without Worrell) went on to perform the first tribute concert remembering James Brown.
In July 2007, Collins also told Billboard magazine that he was working on a project named Science Faxtion and an album called Living on Another Frequency in which he serves as bassist and co-producer along with his lead vocalist Greg Hampton. The band also features guitarist Buckethead and drummer Bryan Mantia. The album was released in November 2008. Collins promoted Rock the Vote for its 2008 campaign together with Buckethead.
Collins portrayed a radio DJ in the 2013 video game, Grand Theft Auto V, in which several of his own songs were featured. "The best part of GTA V will be the radio, again". The Globe and Mail (September 13, 2013). Retrieved 2014-04-25.
Collins has also collaborated extensively with Bill Laswell, Buckethead, and also frequently collaborated with fellow bassist Victor Wooten.
In 2018, Collins did a song with singer Kali Uchis called "After the Storm".
On December 14, 2018, Collins played a show with Detroit-based funk artist GRiZ, and also collaborated on a new song with GRiZ.
In January 2019, Collins announced on Facebook that he would be retiring from live performances for health reasons:
He wrote that he would be releasing a new album that year, and that he would continue to work in the studio and mentor young musicians.
On February 25, 2021, it was announced that Collins would be making an appearance as the "special guest host" of An Evening with Silk Sonic, the first studio album from Silk Sonic, a collaboration between Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak. He was the one who came up with the band's name (much like he did with Babyface), and acts as the album's narrator, "threading" the songs together.
On July 7, 2022, Collins served as emcee for the opening ceremony for the 2022 World Games in Birmingham, Alabama.
Another Collins signature instrument 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. During the 2010 NAMM Show, Collins's new signature bass was released by Warwick, a customized Infinity Bass called "Bootsy Collins Black Star Signature Bass" or "Bootsy Collins Orange Star Signature Bass", depending on the color of the stars on it.
Funk Not Fight Movement
In May 2023, Bootsy Collins and wife, Pepperminte Patti Collins, kicked off the national Funk Not Fight Movement at the Cleveland Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame with a key mission to calm the violence with the power of music and dance. The movement quickly spread to communities throughout the nation with chapters, discussions, round table events and performances including Cleveland, OH, Compton, CA, Detroit, MI, Fort Wayne, IN, Columbus, OH, Cincinnati, OH, Austin, TX, East Chicago, IN, Toledo, OH, New York City, NY, and Atlanta, GA.
Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea, who cited Collins as one of his primary influences, appeared in unmistakably Collins-style clothing in the video for RHCP's "Dani California".
In 2004 Collins was featured on the cover of "The Joker" on the Fatboy Slim album Palookaville. Collins served as AmsterJam curator and master of ceremonies on Randall's Island, New York. On January 26, 2007, Collins gave the commencement address at the graduation ceremony at The Art Institute of Ohio – Cincinnati.
In a 2011 episode of television's Saturday Night Live hosted by Jesse Eisenberg, "The Essentials" segment showed the movie Bride of Blackenstein in which Dr. Blackenstein (Jay Pharoah), assisted by the hunchbag Igor (Eisenberg), creates a bride (Nicki Minaj) for Blackenstein's Monster (Kenan Thompson). Pharoah's performance as Dr. Blackenstein is a vocal parody of Bootsy Collins (an oblique reference to the album The Clones of Dr. Funkenstein on which Collins performed).
In October 2010, he was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award by Bass Player magazine at the Key Club in Los Angeles. Collins was inducted in 2016 into the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame.
On July 22, 2023, Bootsy Collins was inducted into the Cincinnati Black Music Walk of Fame.
In October of 2024, Bootsy Collins and wife, Patti Collins were presented with the US Presidential Lifetime Achievement Awards and Honorary Gold Medals for their philanthropic work spanning decades including, most recently, the Funk Not Fight Movement.
In an April 2011 interview with The Guardian, Collins stated that, at one point in his life, he took LSD every day for over two years.
Collins was featured in the 2002 film Standing in the Shadows of Motown.
Collins voiced the character Boötes Belinda in the Loonatics Unleashed episode "The Music Villain".
In 2009, Collins appeared in the Everybody Hates Chris episode "Everybody Hates Tasha".
Collins played an alien version of himself in the R-rated Williams Street spring break special on Adult Swim in March 2010.
On April 15, 2011, he appeared on Later... with Jools Holland, performing a memorable snippet of funk with Jools Holland.
In the fall of 2011, Collins began being featured in a TV commercial for Old Navy in which he is making "" made by Bootsy to be sold at Old Navy.
He was also featured on an episode of Yo Gabba Gabba! on the Nick Jr. Channel
Collins guest starred as himself at the end of "Mid-Season Finale", an episode of The Patrick Star Show, a spin-off of Nickelodeon's SpongeBob SquarePants, in 2022.
Collins is the voice of Jimi Hendrix in the 2010 documentary, Jimi Hendrix: Voodoo Child, which is based on Hendrix's own words from letters, interviews and other printed materials.
Collins hosted Detroit Music Weekend's Funk Festival on August 26, 2023.
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