Although they played together for less than a year, James Brown became somewhat of a father figure to bassist Bootsy Collins, pushing him to become a better musician with each show and take.

James Brown, (James Joseph Brown ... Byrd employed a new band that included future funk greats, such as bassist Bootsy Collins, Collins' guitarist brother Phelps 'Catfish' Collins and trombonist ...

playing with James Brown before joining Parliament and Funkadelic. With Funkadelic, Cat... His younger brother and fellow musician Bootsy Collins hailed him as the “happiest fellow I ever met on ...