Catfish Collins 1944 - 2010

Phelps "Catfish" Collins died on Friday July 6, 2010 after a bout with cancer. Perhaps you don't know who he was. That means you're probably too young to remember James Brown calling out his name during one of those hardcore, funky guitar solos Catfish played so well.

If you didn't know Catfish, you may not know his brother, Bootsy Collins. You may not be at all familiar with Funk Music; and you're definitely not from Cincinnati, Ohio.

Bootsy's Big Brother

Cincinnati is where Catfish and his slightly more famous little brother, Bootsy Collins, were born and raised and learned to play guitar. It's the city where they developed the persistence that kept the two young musicians waiting outside King Records nearly every day for a glimpse of the great James Brown. That dedication to task was the beginning of a lifelong music career that never really faded.

Catfish and Bootsy were still quite young when they formed the group, the Pacemakers. They became the JBs in 1969, helping James Brown keep it funky when he needed a replacement band. 1972 saw their shift to pure Funk when the brothers joined the Parlaiment/Funkadelic (P-Funk) collective. The group helped shape the music sound that's had people dancing on cue since the 70s.

Catfish later joined Bootsy's Rubber Band, a group that turned out a string of 70s and early 80s hits. Bootsy's band had a nice run then regrouped as Bootsy's New Rubber Band, which has a new release coming out soon. The Collins brothers have toured the world together, performed for televised events such as the ESPN ESPY awards and were part of a P-Funk reunion at Woodstock 2.

Catfish Inspired Bootsy to Play

A few days ago, during the event, "A Conversation With Bootsy Collins," the legendary Funk bass musician spoke fondly of his early days growing up in Cincinnati. When the moderator, Faith Daniels, asked him how he got his start, the question launched an intimate discussion about his brother, " the Catfish."

Catfish was only a teenager; but Bootsy was "8 or 9" and saw his older brother as a "father figure." Catfish set the examples Bootsy would follow. "I wanted to dress like him," Bootsy said, "and be like him." Catfish delivered newspapers from a little red Radio Flyer wagon. He "had lots of girls" and he played guitar. "I wanted to play music and I wanted to deliver papers," Bootsy said with a smile.

While Catfish was out delivering newspapers from his little red wagon, Bootsy would fool around with his guitar. The big brother/little brother tiff that eventually followed had Bootsy begging his mother for a guitar of his own.

I Played on This Song

If you'd met Phelps "Catfish" Collins in recent years, you would never know he was the funky guitar player in all those youtube videos. In informal settings he was laid back and mellow and every bit the kind inspiration he was to Bootsy all those years ago.

A few years ago Catfish attended a birthday celebration with his friend's large family. It was a festive occasion, lots of laughter and conversation. The restaurant was part of the Dick Clark chain; so music streamed steadily over layers of laughter and chatter. When "Flashlight," the 70s P-Funk dance hit began to play you couldn't help notice heads all around bouncing to the beat.

Catfish knew the song very well. He leaned back in his seat, smiled just a bit and spoke softly, "I played on this song," he said. He wasn't bragging, just acknowledging a fact. He was part of something that would live forever.

Source:
"A conversation with Bootsy" July 31, 2010 event: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQ42YCYZOQ8

Bootsy Collins Bio on VH1: http://www.vh1.com/artists/az/collins_bootsy/bio.jhtml

Personal experience