Editing Billy Bass Nelson

{{Short description|U.S. musician|bot=PearBOT 5}}
{{Other uses|Billy Bass (disambiguation)}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name            = William "Billy Bass" Nelson
| image           =
| caption         =
| image_size      = <!-- Only for images narrower than 220 pixels. Set the value as a number without "px". -->
| birth_name      = William Nelson
| alias           = Billy Bass
| birth_date      = {{birth date and age|1951|1|28|mf=y}}
| birth_place     = [[Plainfield, New Jersey|Plainfield]], [[New Jersey]]
| instrument      = Bass guitar; rhythm guitar
| genre           = {{Hlist|[[Funk]]|[[soul music|soul]]|[[psychedelic rock]]|[[psychedelic soul]]}}
| occupation      =
| years_active    = 1968–present
| label           = [[Warner Bros. Records|Warner Bros.]], Polystar Records, [[Casablanca Records]], [[Westbound Records]], [[Columbia Records]], [[Rykodisc Records]]
| associated_acts = [[Funkadelic]], [[Parliament (band)|Parliament]],<br />[[The Temptations]], [[George Clinton (funk musician)|George Clinton]], Axiom Funk
| website         = 
}}

'''William "Billy Bass" Nelson''' (born January 28, 1951) is an American musician, who was the original [[bass guitar|bassist]] for [[Funkadelic]]. He is a member of the [[Rock and Roll Hall of Fame]], inducted in 1997 with fifteen other members of [[Parliament-Funkadelic]].

== Career ==
Nelson was born in [[Plainfield, New Jersey]] and as a teenager worked at [[George Clinton (funk musician)|George Clinton]]'s barbershop, sweeping the floor and singing and dancing for the customers.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/billy-bass-nelson-mn0000092760/biography|title=Billy "Bass" Nelson {{!}} Biography & History|website=AllMusic|language=en-us|access-date=2020-04-02}}</ref> Clinton was a member of the [[doo wop]] vocal group [[the Parliaments]], who scored a nationwide hit in 1967 with the song "(I Wanna) Testify". Clinton put together a backing band as musical support for a tour and recruited Nelson, who in turn recommended his friend [[Eddie Hazel]]. Nelson and Hazel eventually took on bass and lead guitar roles respectively.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Bowman|first=Rob|title=''Liner notes to'' Music For Your Mother|year=1992}}</ref> The backing band was originally unnamed, but Nelson later coined the name "Funkadelic" to reflect the style ([[funk]]) and connect it with the then-burgeoning [[psychedelia|psychedelic]] music scene.<ref name="Larkin">{{cite book|title=The Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music|editor=Colin Larkin|editor-link=Colin Larkin (writer)|publisher=[[Virgin Books]]|date=1997|edition=Concise|isbn=1-85227-745-9|pages=497/8|title-link=Encyclopedia of Popular Music}}</ref>

By 1970, [[Funkadelic]] was a full band consisting of Nelson, Hazel, drummer [[Tiki Fulwood]], guitarist [[Tawl Ross]], and keyboardist Mickey Atkins (later replaced by [[Bernie Worrell]]). Since 1967 the band had been billed as the musical backing for [[The Parliaments]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|last=Bowman|first=Rob|title=''Liner notes to'' Live: Meadowbrook, Rochester, Michigan – 12th September 1971.|year=1996}}</ref> Due to legal problems, in the early 1970s Clinton had temporarily lost the rights to the name "The Parliaments" and instead signed the entire ensemble to [[Westbound Records]] under the name Funkadelic.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/funkadelic-mn0000187581/biography|title=Funkadelic {{!}} Biography & History|website=AllMusic|language=en-us|access-date=2020-04-02}}</ref> Nelson was a prominent contributor to the first three Funkadelic albums, ''[[Funkadelic (album)|Funkadelic]]'' (1970), ''[[Free Your Mind... and Your Ass Will Follow]]'' (1970), and ''[[Maggot Brain]]'' (1971).<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mycentraljersey.com/story/news/2016/03/27/doo-wop-hip-hop/80773126/|title=Parliament-Funkadelic: From doo-wop to hip-hop|last=Makin|first=Bob|website=MY CENTRAL JERSEY|language=en|access-date=2020-04-02}}</ref>

Nelson left the group in late 1971 after a financial dispute with George Clinton<ref name=":1" /> (making Nelson the first [[Parliament-Funkadelic]] member to defect over such concerns, foreshadowing a major problem that would haunt Clinton in the late 1970s). Nelson and Hazel next performed with [[The Temptations]].<ref name=":0" /> Nelson rejoined Funkadelic briefly in the studio in 1975, playing on the track "Better By the Pound" on the Funkadelic album ''[[Let's Take It To The Stage]]''.<ref name=":0" /> Nelson later played with [[The Commodores]], [[Chairmen of the Board (band)|Chairmen of the Board]], [[Fishbone]], [[Jermaine Jackson]], [[Parlet]], [[Lionel Richie]], [[Smokey Robinson]], and [[Lenny Williams]].<ref name=":0" />

In the 1990s, Nelson enjoyed a surge of name-checking by such legendary bassists as John Norwood Fisher (of [[Fishbone]]) and [[Michael Balzary|Flea]] (of the [[Red Hot Chili Peppers]]), while his early Funkadelic work was being sampled often by [[hip hop]] artists.<ref name=":0" /> Joining with some other [[P-Funk]] alumni, in 1994 Nelson released the album ''[[Out of the Dark (Billy Bass Nelson album)|Out of the Dark]]'' under the name O.G. Funk.<ref name=":0" /> Since 1994 he has served in various touring lineups of [[Parliament-Funkadelic]]. He  has also toured with P-Funk spinoff acts the 420 Funk Mob<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nashvillescene.com/arts-culture/article/13019621/420-funk-mob|title=420 Funk Mob|website=Nashville Scene|date=31 December 2009 |language=en|access-date=2020-04-02}}</ref> and Sons of Funk.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://theroanoker.com/api/content/4ca054ac-d989-11e9-b23e-12f1225286c6/|title=SONS OF F.U.N.K.|date=2019-09-17|website=TheRoanoker.com|language=en-us|access-date=2020-04-02}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{P-Funk}}
{{Funkadelic}}
{{Parliament}}
{{1997 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nelson, Billy}}
[[Category:P-Funk members]]
[[Category:American bass guitarists]]
[[Category:1951 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Musicians from Plainfield, New Jersey]]
[[Category:Psychedelic soul musicians]]
[[Category:Guitarists from New Jersey]]
[[Category:American male guitarists]]
[[Category:20th-century American guitarists]]
[[Category:American male bass guitarists]]