The Enquirer

We might want the funk, but one of its greatest purveyors no longer will be playing it in front of live audiences.

William “Bootsy” Collins, the Cincinnati native who laid down the bass tracks on some of James Brown’s biggest records and rose to fame in the 1970s as a member of Parliament-Funkadelic, announced Wednesday on Facebook that he’s unable to perform for health reasons.

“Time has come for me to tell all our Funkateers that I will not be playing bass in concerts anymore” Collins wrote. “Doc said too much pressure on my inner ear and right hand.”

Collins, 67, won’t be leaving music completely, saying in the post that he will be a coach for up-and-coming musicians and continue to do studio work.

“Just remember that this year will be the funkiest year of them all,” he wrote. “Watch for it.”

Collins has remained a presence in Cincinnati over the years, appearing at last summer’s Cincinnati Music Festival at Paul Brown Stadium and supporting local causes through his foundation. In April, the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer and his wife, Patti, were named honorary co-chairs of the Hamilton County Oral Health Coalition, which works to improve and increase access to oral care.

“The fact that I grew up here and the love that I got, the tutoring, it all helped me establish my humbleness, discipline, and the joy of being able to come and go pretty much as you please,” he told Cincinnati Magazine in an interview that appeared in the March 2018 edition. “Cincinnati allowed me to do that.”