"Catfish" and his more famous brother Bootsy, grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio. It was Phelps who convinced his younger brother (born William Earl Collins) to fit an old guitar with bass strings – helping to create his signature funk sound. Of course, "Catfish" would create a sound of his own, too. After the Collins brothers were recruited by James Brown in the late '60s to join the J.B.'s, "Catfish" Collins brought the famous funky strumming to songs like "Super Bad," "Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine" and "Soul Power."

When the original J.B.'s and Brown parted company in 1971, the Collins boys joined Parliament-Funkadelic. He remained with the group through 1983. His most recent project of note was contributing his famous funk guitar licks to the soundtrack of the movie "Superbad." - more on this story

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