Bottom Feeders: The Bass Players of Parliament-Funkadelic

In January of 2000, Bass Player magazine devoted an issue of their publication to the evolution of the bass guitar during the 20th century. Divided into chapters, each section focused on a decade within the century and then divided those sections in terms of genre. When compiling the 1970’s, the issue listed Funk bass and then P-Funk bass. They approached P-Funk as a genre, not just a band.

The Parliament-Funkadelic bassists represent an army of thumpers, pluckers, and finger poppers. Four-string (sometimes five-string) groove masters that take the concept of P-Funk deep inside the Black Hole and beyond. An examination into how they catch the rhythm of the stroke is well overdue and surprisingly easy to understand. This list focuses on the bassists who spent substantial time in the studio and on the road with the U.S. Funk Mob.

BILLY BASS NELSON 

Originally from Plainfield, New Jersey (home of the original 10 members of Funkadelic), Billy Bass Nelson solidified his presence in the P-Funk legacy through his performances on the first three Funkadelic albums. In fact, it’s Billy Bass who invented the name “Funkadelic.” Through the self-titled debut album,  Free Your Mind and Your Ass Will Follow and Maggot Brain.

Aside from his work with the Commodores and Chairmen Of The Board, Billy Bass would occasionally return to P-Funk through albums by Parlet (Pleasure Principle), Fred Wesley and the Horny Horns (Say Blow By Blow Backwards), Eddie Hazel (Game, Dames and Guitar Thangs, Rest In P), Bernie Worrell (All The Woo In The World), Parliament (Up For The Down Stroke, Funkentelechy Vs. The Placebo Syndrome), and then eventually recording his first solo album in 1993 under the title O.G. Funk entitled Out Of The Dark.

 CORDELL “BOOGIE” MOSSON  

Plainfield-born bassist Cordell “Boogie” Mosson (born Cardell) quickly earned the title of the world’s first Black leprechaun bassist after arriving to the U.S. Funk Mob in 1972. Just in time for Funkadelic’s 4th album America Eats Its Young. For the following release Cosmic Slop, he is given the role of the sole bassist on the project.

But Boogie’s prime moment in the sun would be the double live album release Parliament-Live: P-Funk Earth Tour in 1977. On that particular release, he delivers a no-nonsense bass approach to tracks from both Parliament and Funkadelic releases.

Boogie Mosson would lend his bass chops to every Parliament album from Up For The Down Stroke to Motor Booty Affair and every Funkadelic album from America Eats Its Young to Uncle Jam Wants You. During the P-Funk comeback in 1993, Boogie Mosson would serve primarily as the rhythm guitarist for the P-Funk All-Stars touring entourage.

WILLIAM “BOOTSY” COLLINS  

Fresh from a year-long stint with James Brown’s JB’s, a young man originating out of Cincinnati, Ohio would arrive to the P-Funk Mothership in 1972 at the same time as Boogie Mosson. While he would take a break from the band in the next year, he would return with a vengeance in 1974.

Bootsy Collins would emerge as a top-tier songwriter within the P-Funk organization, co-writing Parliament’s first top-ten R&B hit in a decade with “Up For The Down Stroke.” As a songwriter, he would make up one-third of the “triangular crossfire of Funk” (Collins, George Clinton, and keyboardist Bernie Worrell), which would result in some of the band’s biggest hits including “P-Funk (Wants To Get Funked Up)”, “Chocolate City”, “Flash Light”, and “Aqua Boogie (A Pyschoalphadiscobetabioaquadoloop”).

His prominence as a songwriter and instrumentalist would elevate him to the next logical reality: fronting his own band. Bootsy’s Rubber Band would emerge as the most successful P-Funk spin-off act, generating their own brand of P-Funk classics “I’d Rather Be With You”, “The Pinocchio Theory”, and the number one R&B hit “Bootzilla”.

RODNEY “SKEET” CURTIS 

Baltimore, Maryland’s own Rodney “Skeet” Curtis, arrived at P-Funk in late 1977. His first studio session to be officially released would be the debut album Pleasure Principle by Parlet. Skeet would take over bass guitar chores on the P-Funk tours from 1978 to 1983 and then again from 1989 to 1991. He would return to P-Funk in 1995 and then stay until 1998.

During his time with P-Funk, Skeet would perform on damn near every release that emerged out of the P-Funk camp from 1978 to 1981, carving out a more Jazz-like approach to the overall P-Funk groove. After P-Funk, Skeet served as the bassist for James Brown/P-Funk alumnus Maceo Parker starting in 2000.

JEFF BUNN

One of the few members of P-Funk to have served in the armed forces, Jeff Bunn steps into the P-Funk arena as the bassist for the Brides Of Funkenstein (he’s prominently featured on the AEM/Sequel/P-Vine release Live At The Howard Theater, 1978). You can also find supreme bass work on the track “Freak Of The Week” by Funkadelic.

Jeff Bunn later became the bassist for the P-Funk All-Stars during the Dope Dogs/Smell My Finger tours from 1992 to 1994. He has returned to P-Funk periodically up to  2012.

LIGE CURRY

Arriving first as a vocalist in 1979, Cleveland, Ohio’s own Lige Curry (cousin of P-Funk lead guitarist Michael Hampton) gradually worked his way up through the ranks of Uncle Jam’s Army, sharing bass guitar duties with Jeff Bunn during the 1980 Gloryhallastoopid tour. He’s gone back and forth as a bassist and vocalist on every P-Funk live tour ever since. In 1988, Lige Curry would serve as the bassist for the P-Funk spin-off act the Incorporated Thang Band. Since 1999, he has served as the main bassist for the P-Funk touring entourage. In between that gig, he also leads his own unit known as Lige Curry and the Naked Funk Project.

There has been a gang of bassists in the Parliament-Funkadelic stable from day one. Those players include Richard Boyce (bassist in the early days of the Parliaments), Prakash John, Donnie Sterling, Jimmy Ali, Starr Cullars, and Blackbyrd McKnight. Innovative instrumentalists who have influenced multiple generations of bass players from Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers to MonoNeon.

In the words of Space Bassist, Bootsy Collins, “THY KINGDOM COME, THE FUNK HAS BEGUN, ON THE ONE!”

-Tim Kinley

Photo montage courtesy of the author