Bootsy Collins is not a funky bass player. Bootsy Collins is the funky bass player.

From setting the soul foundations of funk while playing with James Brown in the late 60’s, to building the definitive funky-bass sound with George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic in the 70’s, to inspiring a another decade of sound in 90’s G-funk, Bootsy and his signature Space Bass have been on a journey of musical pioneering for over five decades now and have clearly never looked back.

While his discography over the last 40 years has it’s fair share high profile sample credits (Childish Gambino – Redbone, 2Pac – Ratha Be Ya N____, Eazy-E – I’d Rather F*** You, just to list samples from a single song) and a fair number of throwbacks, they hardly overshadow Bootsy’s illustrious arsenal of wildly-ranging side projects. If you ever needed one degree of separation from Keith Richards, Herbie Hancock, Iggy Pop, Buckethead, Viktor Wooten, Fatboy Slim, Snoop Dog, George Duke, Cornel West, and Kali Uchis, you’ve found it in Bootsy Collins. In addition to having probably one of the wildest potential entourage rosters of all time, his collab genres range from funk to R&B to metal to Christmas music and Halloween music to even bluegrass.

His most memorable collaborative works are likely his narrative contributions in 1990’s Deee-Lite – Groove Is In The Heart and his Dune references in 2000’s Fatboy Slim – Weapon of Choice, but he’s also made waves on the charts in the last five years or so, with songs like Kali Uchis – After the Storm, Silk Sonic – After Last Night, and credits in Childish Gambino – Red Bone.

Although his more popular songs are great, I personally prefer the weird and wild elements of his music, and think they deserve equal attention in representing his career as a musician so far. So without further ado, here is 56 years of bass in chronological order as brought to you by the OG Funkateer – bass legend Bootsy Collins. I enjoyed putting this playlist together, and I hope you enjoy listening to it.

Until next time,

-WellTree