Catfish Collins
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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Phelps "Catfish" Collins (1944 – August 6, 2010) was a rhythm guitarist known mostly for his work in the P-Funk collective. Although frequently overshadowed by his younger brother, Bootsy Collins, Catfish played on many important and influential records by Parliament, Funkadelic, and Bootsy's Rubber Band.
In 1968, the Collins brothers, along with Kash Waddy and Philippe Wynne, formed a group called The Pacemakers. Later the Pacemakers were hired by James Brown to accompany his vocals, at this they became known as The J.B.'s. Some of Brown's previous band members had walked out because of money disputes. During their tenure in the J.B.'s, they recorded such classics as "Super Bad", "Get Up (I Feel Like Being A) Sex Machine", "Soul Power", and "Give It Up or Turnit a Loose". By 1971, Collins and the rest of the J.B.'s had quit James Brown. The Collins bothers and Kash Waddy formed House Guests and shortly after joined Funkadelic and contributed to the Funkadelic album America Eats Its Young. Four years later, Collins joined Bootsy's Rubber Band, which included Waddy, Joel "Razor Sharp" Johnson (keyboards), Gary "Muddbone" Cooper (drums), and Robert "P-Nut" Johnson (vocals), along with The Horny Horns. Catfish is credited with playing the most widely known rhythm guitar part in R&B with his work on the 1978 Parliament classic "Flash Light". Collins has also played on albums by Deee-Lite, Freekbass, and H-Bomb.
On his early work with James Brown and Funkadelic, Catfish played a Vox Ultrasonic guitar with built-in effects.
