The foundational thump of funk has lost one of its architects.
William ‘Billy Bass’ Nelson, the pioneering original bassist for George Clinton’s Funkadelic, has died at 75, just days after his birthday.
Nelson’s deep, melodic grooves were the bedrock of funk’s psychedelic revolution, shaping the sound on the band’s first three iconic albums, Funkadelic, Free Your Mind… And Your Ass Will Follow, and the masterpiece Maggot Brain.
A Plainfield, New Jersey native who worked in Clinton’s barbershop, Nelson not only helped form the touring band for The Parliaments but reportedly coined the name ‘Funkadelic’ itself.
He lent his voice and songwriting to classics like ‘You And Your Folks, Me And My Folks’ before departing in 1971 over financial disputes, making him the first in a long line of members to exit the ever-evolving P-Funk collective.
His influential lines have echoed for decades, sampled endlessly, securing his immortal groove in music history.
