PO Box 619999
Dallas, TX 75261-6199
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Dallas, Texas 75261-4127
(Northwest corner of W. Airport Freeway [HWY-183] & Valley View Lane)
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877-HERITAGE (437-4824)(214) 528-3500
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Auction Name: 2025 December 5 Vintage Guitars and Musical Instruments Signature® Auction
Lot Number: 85221
Shortcut to Lot: HA.com/7407*85221
James Brown/Bootsy Collins' 1969 Fender Jazz Bass Natural Electric Bass Guitar, Serial #266610.
1969 Fender Jazz Bass, sanded to a natural finish. This historically significant instrument was originally purchased by James Brown in 1970 for Bootsy Collins, then a young bassist in Brown's band, The J.B.'s. According to the consignor's detailed account, the bass was later used by Fred Thomas, another of Brown's longtime bassists, during the mid-1970s on numerous tours and studio recordings.
Originally finished in Sunburst, the bass was reportedly covered in red and black psychedelic contact paper during the band's disco-era stage period to match the group's costumes. The material later deteriorated, and the body was stripped to natural wood, which remains visible today. Notably, the lower horn features two strap button holes, a modification Bootsy Collins himself confirmed as unique to his early James Brown bass.
This bass retains the original strings that were on it when the consignor received it in 1977. Signed provenance from the consignor recounts that after a 1977 Miami concert, when James Brown abandoned his band and crew, the consignor provided lodging and transportation assistance for the stranded musicians. As compensation, Brown's road manager gave him this bass from a North Miami storage facility containing Brown's equipment.
Hard case included. Condition: Good.
This 1969 Fender Jazz Bass represents a cornerstone in the history of funk and soul music, directly connected to James Brown, the "Godfather of Soul," and Bootsy Collins, whose revolutionary bass work helped define the sound of 1970s funk. Bootsy's playing on James Brown's landmark recordings-including "Sex Machine," "Super Bad," "Give It Up or Turnit A Loose," "Soul Power," "Get Up, Get Into It, Get Involved," and "Talking Loud and Saying Nothing"-reshaped modern rhythm music.
Following Bootsy's departure from the band in 1972, the bass continued its life on stage and in studio with Fred Thomas, whose grooves powered such classics as "Hot Pants," "Make It Funky," "Papa Don't Take No Mess," "Get on the Good Foot," and "Pass the Peas." The two-strap-hole feature confirmed by Bootsy Collins himself and its consistent visual documentation make this bass an exceptional piece of verified music history.
With provenance tracing directly from the James Brown Band's 1977 Miami tour through multiple eyewitness accounts. Few instruments can claim to have contributed to the very birth of funk - this is one of them.
A museum-grade artifact, this bass embodies the rhythm, innovation, and cultural power that defined James Brown's band and forever altered the landscape of modern music.
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