In his 74 years on this planet, funk bass hero Bootsy Collins has survived James Brown’s frivolous fines, kept it on the one with George Clinton in Parliament and Funkadelic, and, as a solo artist, become the avatar for a whole genre since his influence echoes in the music of Prince, Dr. Dre, and Red Hot Chili Peppers. The title of his upcoming memoir, due March 23, is a nice summary of his existence: Funked Around, Found Out. But Collins says the book goes way deeper than that.
“Alright y’all pay attention, because here’s the key change: You’ve heard the records, but it’s finally time to tell my story — the whole truth, nothin’ but the truth, straight up, real deal,” he said in a statement. “If I’m lyin’, I’m dyin’ — and I ain’t ready to go yet.”
Publisher Mariner Books says the book will cover Collins’ youth in Cincinnati, where he and his brother, Phelps “Catfish” Collins, played in the Pacemakers before joining Brown’s band and becoming the JB’s. With Brown, he backed up the Godfather of Soul on “Sex Machine” and other recordings, before he and Catfish quit to play with Clinton. As a member of P-Funk, Collins played on classic albums like Mothership Connection and One Nation Under a Groove. While touring with P-Funk in the mid-Seventies, Collins also launched his solo act, Bootsy’s Rubber Band, and continues to record as a solo artist. He became so popular that he had multiple impersonators.
Collins’ book will cover his drug use within the JB’s, his split with Brown, an examination of the rift between Clinton and him, and a reflection on the motorcycle crash that nearly killed him and made him clean up his act. He also writes about how his collaboration with Deee-Lite, “Groove Is in the Heart,” saved his career “but not his soul.”
