House Guests was an early-1970s

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

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 m ...

group that consisted of

bassist A bassist (also known as a bass player or bass guitarist) is a musician who plays a Bass (instrument), bass instrument such as a double bass (upright bass, contrabass, wood bass), bass guitar (electric bass, acoustic bass), synthbass, keyboar ...

William "Bootsy" Collins William Earl "Bootsy" Collins (born October 26, 1951) is an American bass guitarist and singer. Rising to prominence with James Brown in the early 1970s, and later with Parliament-Funkadelic, Collins established himself as one of the leading n ...

, 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, ...

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

, Frank "Kash" Waddy on

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

, Clayton "Chicken" Gunnells on

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

, and Robert McCullough on

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to pr ...

. House Guests was formed in 1971 after the Collins brothers left The J.B.'s,

James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, dancer, musician, record producer and bandleader. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th century music, he is often referred to by the honor ...

's band. The band released two singles on their own House Guests label in 1971, "What So Never The Dance" becoming a minor hit.What it is! Funky Soul and Rare Grooves liner notes. During 1971 several members of

Funkadelic Funkadelic was an American funk rock band formed in Plainfield, New Jersey in 1968 and active until 1982. The band and its sister act Parliament, both led by George Clinton, pioneered the funk music culture of the 1970s.John, Bush. Funkadeli ...

quit, and George Clinton invited the members of House Guests to join Funkadelic in their place. Their unique contributions to Funkadelic's sound can be heard on that band's 1972 release, ''

America Eats Its Young ''America Eats Its Young'' is the fourth album (a double album) by Funkadelic, released in May 1972. This was the first album to include the whole of the House Guests, including Bootsy Collins, Catfish Collins, Chicken Gunnels, Rob McCollough a ...

''. In 1976 several members of House Guests became members of

Bootsy's Rubber Band A group is a number of persons or things that are located, gathered, or classed together. Groups of people * Cultural group, a group whose members share the same cultural identity * Ethnic group, a group whose members share the same ethnic ide ...

, Bootsy Collins' band within the

P-Funk Parliament-Funkadelic (abbreviated as P-Funk) is an American music collective of rotating musicians headed by George Clinton, primarily consisting of the funk bands Parliament and Funkadelic, both active since the 1960s. Their distinctive ...

musical collective.

Discography

* "What So Never The Dance" pt. 1 /"What So Never The Dance" pt. 2 (1971) * "My Mind Set Me Free" pt. 1 / "My Mind Set Me Free" pt. 2 (1971)

Notes

References

* David Mills, Larry Alexander, Thomas Stanley, and Aris Thomas, ''George Clinton and P-Funk: An Oral History'' (New York: Avon Books, 1998). * Rickey Vincent, ''Funk: The Music, The People, and The Rhythm of The One'' (New York: St. Martin's Griffin, 1996). {{P-Funk American funk musical groups