Bootsy Collins

William "Bootsy" Collins (born October 26, 1951 in Cincinnati, Ohio) is a pioneering funk bassist, singer, and songwriter. Bootsy was instrumental in Parliament and Funkadelic together with George Clinton and Bernie Worrell. He is well known as one of the founding members of the 'P-Funk' sound. He also played a major part in resurrecting James Brown's career in the late 60s and early 70s, co-writing some of Brown's greatest hits along with his brother, Phelps "Catfish" Collins.With his older brother Catfish Collins, and Kash Waddy and Philippé Wynne, Collins formed a group called The Pacesetters in 1968.

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 backing band and they became known as The J.B.'s. (They are often referred to as the "original" J.B.'s to distinguish them from later line-ups that went by the same name.) Although they worked for Brown for only 11 months, the original J.B.'s played on some of Brown's most intense funk recordings, including "Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine", "Super Bad", "Soul Power", and "Talkin' Loud and Sayin' Nothing".