“He played upright but wanted to play the P-Bass. Motown said, ‘Nah, you ain't making no money playing that.’ But he said, ‘If you want me, I'm playing the P-Bass’”: Bootsy Collins on the musician that totally “changed his mind” about bass playing

Left-Motown bassist James Jamerson a key member of the studio band known as the Funk Brothers poses for a photo circa 1965 in Detroit, Michigan; Right-Bootsy Collins performs on stage at Nice Jazz Festival in 1998 in France. Image is part of David Redfern Premium Collection.

Bootsy Collins' larger-than-life persona and driving funk basslines have graced many a record, including most of the early Funkadelic and Parliament albums, a plethora of James Brown hits – including Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine and Super Bad – and of course, his own Bootsy's Rubber Band repertoire.

However, as Collins himself admits, his far-reaching influence wouldn't have been possible if it weren't for James Jamerson, the game-changing Motown bass player who went largely uncredited at the time, despite making an immense contribution to the musical landscape the ’60s and ’70s.