This month, founding member of the beloved group ‘Parliament-Funkadelic,’ Billy Bass Nelson, passed away at the age of 75.
Born in New Jersey in 1951, Nelson fell in love with music from an early age, where he worked at future bandmate George Clinton’s barbershop, tidying up and entertaining customers. After Clinton saw success with ‘The Parliaments’ and their 1967 song “(I Wanna) Testify,” Clinton formed a group of backing musicians to accompany the group on tour, including Nelson.
Originally unnamed, the backing group later settled on the name ‘Funkadelic,’ a name that would be remembered for the rest of their lives.
After legal trouble in the early ‘70s, Clinton temporarily lost the rights to the name ‘The Parliaments,” and so the group produced three albums with Westbound Records. In 1971, after a financial dispute with bandmate George Clinton, Nelson left the band.
Before rejoining ‘Funkadelic’ briefly in 1975, Nelson performed with the legendary group, “The Temptations.” In his brief in-studio reunion, Nelson played on the track “Better By The Pound,” on the album “Let’s Take It To The Stage.”
Later in his career, Billy Nelson played alongside all-time great performers, such as Lionel Richie, Lenny Williams, Smokey Robinson, and Jermaine Jackson. He will always be remembered for his contributions to the music world.
In 1994, Nelson released an album titled “Out Of The Dark” under the name “O.G. Funk,” though he never had the same success as he did in his early career.
Nelson passed away on January 31st, just three days after his 75th birthday. Rest in peace!
