R.I.P. Billy Bass Nelson, 1951-2026

Sadly, founding Funkadelic bassist "Billy Bass" Nelson has passed away days after his 75th birthday. Billy played on many more recordings than you know. 

Session bassist Bob Babbitt shared his memories of Billy Bass...

Story Time: Billy Nelson recruited Eddie Hazel to join the Parliaments rhythm section on August of 1967. About a month later they picked up Tiki Fulwood at the Uptown in Philly. A few months after that those three decided to become their own group Funkadelic. But a year later they all left Detroit. Tiki went to work for Tyrone Davis. Eddie & Billy tried a thing called Sparky & the Pimpadelics (with Brad Innis & Herb Sparkman) that didn't work-out. Billy went to work for Bill Doggett. And Eddie went back to Detroit to put a live "Funkadelic" band together while studio musicians (Babbitt, Monette, Coffey, Hunter, Van Dyke & Andrew Smith) played on the the sessions for 6 of the albums 7 tracks (Music for My Mother was already done). Tracks like What is Soul & Mommy What's a Funkadelic were jams Billy & Eddie put together in rehearsals during the summer of '68. GC took the entire writing credit for both!

Studio musicians were used because there was NO band at the time, not because they couldn't play. Anyhow, when Eddie Hazel returned to Detroit in early '69 he brought Tawl Ross with him from Plainfield to play bass. They picked up Mickey Atkins (organ) and drummer Zachary Frazier (or Slater) from the 20 Grand Lounge house band. But the band never really clicked like before. GC begged Billy to come back and sort out the band as the album was being completed. Billy took bass, Tawl moved over to rhythm, Tiki agreed to come back and Billy recruited Bernie Worrell from Plainfield. Billy, Eddie, Tiki, Tawl & Bernie became the band. Those are the five pictured on the back of the first album even though they played on little of it. Frazier-Slater was free to go join McKinley Jackson's Politicians where he was the drummer on a number of H-D-H & Motown sessions through the mid-70's. I've never heard any more about Mickey Atkins.

Funkadelic stayed intact for about two years recording Free Your Mind & Maggot Brain as well as Parliament's Osmium album & their singles Red Hot Mama & Breakdown for Invictus (uncredited until a few years back), they were also recorded on most of the sessions for Ruth Copeland's two Invictus albums, although others did participate. Again uncredited until just a couple of years ago. Its often claimed that the Parliaments sang on Free Your Mind & Maggot Brain but Funkadelic did their own lead vocals. In the fall of '71 it ended, period! Tawl left the group, Tiki Left the group. Billy & Eddie quit to go work for Motown. Eddie was there for about seven years, Billy over 10. Funkadelic's '72 follow-up "America Eats its Young" was in part recorded from rehearsal tapes by the made original band.

Billy Bass & George Clinton with Chairmen Of The Board

While at Motown Billy & Eddie can be heard on the "finished" recordings by so many well known artists and on so many hit records. Norman Whitfield loved Funkadelic especially Billy and used him on tons of sessions from '71 - '83. Norman never saw fit to give Billy a single credit until the Tempts Back to the Basics LP in '83!! 12 Years!! The only proof we have that Billy played Bass on Car Wash is that his name is listed at the end of the movie. But he plays bass on nearly every Rose Royce track from the film. Norman used Billy & Eddie on Undisputed Truth & Temptations albums all the time. But it wasn't until the Jeffrey Bowen produced A Song for You & Wings of Love LPs (as well as Bonnie Pointer's '78 solo LP) when they got FINALLY got credit. Billy got that bass sound on Happy People & Shakey Ground by plugging directly into the mixing board. The sound was so out-front that they had to give him credit. Billy is all over the Commodores stuff. He had to play a majority of the bass lines on their first three albums (Machine Gun, Caught in the Act & Mobvin On). After that, Billy had to often teach Ron LaPread the bass-lines to songs like Brick House note for note, and Ron gets a writing credit!! LaPread even went as far as to go out and get himself a BC Rich bass like Billy's to try to copy "his own" sound. They either recorded or re-recorded the bass & guitar parts on so many sessions.

Yet, so many think that the only thing they played on was A Song for You. Of course who'd believe they're on Love Machine, Eddie Kendricks, Smokey Robinson, Rose Banks, Jackson 5ive, Willie Hutch, etc. Same thing at Invictus after the earlier studio guys went either east or west. Guys like Billy, Eddie, Bernie & Donald Baldwin stepped-in and played on a lot of sessions recorded for Invictus during '73 & '74 including the Chairman of the Board's Skin I'm In LP which features the hit Finder's Keepers. Again, no credit. I spoke to Billy about 10 days ago, and the bruh is still working and struggling. We have a very good mutual friend who was present at many of the sessions that Billy played on including just about all of the Commodores sessions. (professionally speaking) I've been asked to look into a few "financial" matters and I KNOW EXACTLY how much Billy has made from residuals & Royalties for all his contributions to P-Funk, Invictus & Motown.

So I got nothing but empathy for Bob Babbitt & so many other musicians who've added so much to the enjoyment of our lives because, other than a band salary while on tour and the session fees they were paid 25-30-35 years ago MOST of these players NEVER got paid anything else. And they don't have the face or name recognition to trade-on, like singers or vocal groups. They only have their resume's, which appear to be a "pack of lies" on the surface because there's no credit to be found hardly anywhere.