The Pacemakers were a late-1960s American
funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...
group that consisted of
bassist
A bassist (also known as a bass player or bass guitarist) is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass (upright bass, contrabass, wood bass), bass guitar (electric bass, acoustic bass), keyboard bass (synth bass) or a low br ...
William "Bootsy" Collins
William Earl "Bootsy" Collins (born October 26, 1951) is an American bass guitarist, singer, and songwriter. Rising to prominence with James Brown in the early 1970s before joining the Parliament-Funkadelic collective, Collins established himse ...
, his older brother
Phelps "Catfish" Collins
Phelps "Catfish" Collins (October 17, 1943 – August 6, 2010) was an American musician. A lead guitarist and rhythm guitarist, he is known mostly for his work in the P-Funk collective. Although frequently overshadowed by his younger brother, ...
on
guitar
The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...
,
Philippé Wynne on
vocals
Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define sing ...
, and
drummer
A drummer is a percussionist who creates music using drums.
Most contemporary western music ensemble, bands that play Rock music, rock, Pop music, pop, jazz, or Contemporary R&B, R&B music include a drummer for purposes including timekeepi ...
Will Jackson (later replaced by Frankie "Kash" Waddy).
The Pacemakers were little-known outside
Cincinnati
Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...
, Ohio, until 1969. After most of
James Brown
James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, musician, and record producer. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th-century music, he is referred to by Honorific nick ...
's band quit over a pay dispute, The Pacemakers were hired in 1970 as replacements. They formed the cornerstone of Brown's new backup band,
The J.B.'s.
References
* David Mills, Larry Alexander, Thomas Stanley, and Aris Thomas, ''George Clinton and P-Funk: An Oral History'' (New York: Avon Books, 1998).
* Patricia Romanski and Holly George-Warren (editors), ''The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll'' (New York: Fireside, 2005).
* Rickey Vincent, ''Funk: The Music, The People, and The Rhythm of The One'' (New York: St. Martin's Griffin, 1996).
*R. J. Smith, ''The One: The Life and Music of James Brown'' (New York: Gotham Books, 2012).
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pacemakers
Pacesetters
Musical groups from Cincinnati