Bootsy's Rubber Band -

Bootsy’s Rubber Band was an American funk band from Detroit that released four albums between 1976 and 1979 on Warner Bros. The band was headed by namesake bassist Bootsy Collins, a Parliament mainstay who also played with James Brown, Funkadelic, and Parlet.

Members: Bootsy Collins (bass, vocals, guitar, percussion), Catfish Collins (guitar, vocals), Frank Waddy (drums, percussion, vocals), Joel Johnson (keyboards, vocals), Gary “Mudbone” Cooper, (vocals, percussion), Robert “P-Nut” Johnson (vocals), Bernie Worrell (keyboards), Garry Shider (guitar), Michael Hampton (guitar), Cordell Mosson (drums), Maceo Parker (saxophone), Fred Wesley (trombone), Richard Griffith [aka Kush] (trumpet), Michael Brecker (saxophone), Randy Brecker (trumpet), Rick Gardner

Background

Bootsy’s Rubber Band formed within the Parliament-Funkadelic organization in 1975–76 when bassist-singer William “Bootsy” Collins and George Clinton developed a separate Collins-led act around guitarist Phelps “Catfish” Collins, drummer Frankie “Kash” Waddy, singer-percussionist Gary “Mudbone” Cooper, singer Robert “P-Nut” Johnson, keyboardist Frederick “Flintstone” Allen, trombonist Fred Wesley, saxophonist Maceo Parker, and trumpeter Rick Gardner. Collins based the group on musicians from his Cincinnati circle and the wider P-Funk organization.

The Collins brothers and Waddy played Cincinnati clubs in the late 1960s as the Pacemakers, whose lineups included singer Philippé Wynne and horn players Robert “Chopper” McCullough and Clayton “Chicken” Gunnels. They spent after-school hours at King Recording Studios, where Gene Redd and Charles Spurling provided contacts with the Cincinnati recording scene.

James Brown knew the Pacemakers from Cincinnati clubs and King Records. In March 1970, Bobby Byrd flew the musicians from Cincinnati to Columbus, Georgia, after most Brown band members quit over a pay dispute at the National Guard Armory. Brown hired the Cincinnati musicians into the new J.B.’s lineup.

Collins, Catfish, and Waddy left Brown after roughly a year and reassembled in Cincinnati as the House Guests. The group self-released the 1971 two-part singles “What So Never the Dance” and “My Mind Set Me Free” on the House Guests label. They used the name Bootsy, Phelps & the Complete Strangers for the 1972 Philmore Sound single “Fun in Your Thang.”

P-Funk singer Mallia Franklin connected the musicians with George Clinton, who brought the group into Funkadelic for America Eats Its Young. From 1974–75, Collins served as bassist and writer on the Parliament albums Up for the Down Stroke, Chocolate City, and Mothership Connection. Clinton increasingly placed Collins at the front of the expanding P-Funk stage operation.

Formation

Gary “Mudbone” Cooper came from Baltimore, where he sang as Baby James Brown and played with the Jetsons and Madhouse. Collins and Waddy brought Cooper to Cincinnati in 1973, and the musicians began demo sessions with “I’d Rather Be With You,” “Say Something Good,” “Together in Heaven,” and “Love and Understanding.” The Cincinnati demos supplied material that Collins carried into the Rubber Band repertoire.

Robert “P-Nut” Johnson came from Baltimore, where he played in local groups. Frederick “Flintstone” Allen played the designated Rubber Band keyboard chair on the first Warner sessions. Collins also recruited fellow former Brown sidemen Fred Wesley and Maceo Parker, both JB’s alumni. In Collins’ search for a high-register trumpeter, Wesley recommended Chase survivor Rick Gardner, a onetime member of the Fabulous Flippers.

In July 1975, Funkadelic signed with Warner Bros. through Clinton’s Thang Inc. Clinton then encouraged Collins to front a separate act, and demos secured a contract with the label under the Bootsy’s Rubber Band name. Collins and Clinton began the debut album at United Sound Systems in Detroit.

Discography: