Births on October 26

Bootsy Collins, American singer-songwriter and bass player

William Earl "Bootsy" Collins (born October 26, 1951) is an American musician, singer and songwriter.Rising to prominence with James Brown in the early 1970s, and later with Parliament-Funkadelic, Collins's driving basslines and humorous vocals established him as one of the leading names and innovators in funk. He later formed his own P-Funk side project known as Bootsy's Rubber Band. He was a frequent collaborator with other musicians from a variety of genres, including dance music (Deee-Lite's "Groove Is in the Heart"), electronic big beat (Fatboy Slim's "Weapon of Choice"), and alternative metal (Praxis's Transmutation (Mutatis Mutandis)), among others. He is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, inducted in 1997 with 15 other members of Parliament-Funkadelic. In 2020, Rolling Stone magazine ranked Collins number 4 in its list of the 50 greatest bassists of all time.