Billy Bass Nelson

William Nelson Jr. was born in Plainfield, New Jersey, on January 28, 1951, to Cora Mills Nelson Grayson and William Nelson Sr. (The New York Times gave the date as January 26; most sources, including Rolling Stone, his family and George Clinton's camp, give January 28.) As children he and his brother David sang with the male choir at Shiloh Baptist Church, according to his family's obituary.

As a teenager he hung out at a Plainfield barbershop where George Clinton cut hair while trying to launch his doo wop group, the Parliaments. Nelson swept the floor and sang and danced for customers. His family said he met Clinton at about 15.

Nelson had no documented formal music training. He learned in church, in the barbershop and on the road. He began as a guitarist and switched to bass after recommending his friend Eddie Hazel as lead guitarist. Rolling Stone reported that he learned bass on tour with encouragement from James Jamerson, the Motown session bassist. Clinton described his playing as having "the Motown flavor with the aggressive rock attitude."

Nelson was part of the Parliaments' circle when the group scored its 1967 hit "(I Wanna) Testify", which reached No. 20 on the pop chart and No. 3 on the R&B chart. Clinton later wrote that the song grew out of an afternoon in the barbershop with Nelson strumming simple chords on guitar.

Nelson suggested the group hire its own touring rhythm section, recommended Eddie Hazel, and coined the name Funkadelic for the backing band. After a label dispute with Revilot, the ensemble signed to Westbound Records as Funkadelic. With Hazel, Tiki Fulwood, Tawl Ross and Bernie Worrell (who replaced Mickey Atkins), Nelson played bass on Funkadelic (1970), Free Your Mind... and Your Ass Will Follow (1970) and Maggot Brain (1971), singing lead on at least one track on each. He also played bass on Parliament's Osmium (1970) and guitar on Up for the Down Stroke (1974).

In late 1971 he left after a financial dispute with Clinton. With Hazel he worked with the Temptations, including "Shakey Ground" (1975). He rejoined Funkadelic in the studio for "Better by the Pound" (1975) and was credited on Tales of Kidd Funkadelic (1976). He worked with the Commodores, Chairmen of the Board, Fishbone, Jermaine Jackson, Parlet, Lionel Richie, Smokey Robinson and Lenny Williams, and on solo albums by Eddie Hazel, Ruth Copeland and Bernie Worrell.

As O.G. Funk he released the single "I Wanna Know" (1991) and the album Out of the Dark (1994). He rejoined Parliament-Funkadelic's touring lineups in 1994 and later toured with 420 Funk Mob and Sons of F.U.N.K.

Nelson was the father of a daughter, Ebony Nelson, and a son, William Nelson III, and had grandchildren Tyler Sudduth, Ryan Nicholas and Jaireh Nelson. His family's obituary described him as "a world class traveler" who "loved music more than life itself." He was survived by siblings Alise Nelson, Robert Lamb, Arlene Garnet Dockery and Sharon Nelson, and was predeceased by his brother David and sisters Willa Mae Nelson and Wanda David. His lifelong friend and bandmate Eddie Hazel died in 1992.

Guitar Player described Nelson as "the Wynton Marsalis of funk: an opinionated player with strong views about what is and isn't genuinely funky." He held that tempo was everything, pointing to "You and Your Folks, Me and My Folks" from Maggot Brain as the archetypal funk tempo and warning that many groups played too fast. He was also outspoken about money and credit in the P-Funk organization; he was the first member to leave over financial concerns, and he told Guitar World he had been "the most vocal about being unhappy." He was proud that Motown, as he put it, called the Temptations' Shakey Ground period "the Funkadelic Era."

Nelson named one of the most influential bands in American music and helped create its sound on three foundational albums, including Maggot Brain. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame said his blues, jazz and R&B influenced bass style was crucial to those records and that his influence can be heard in many bassists who came after him. Flea and Fishbone's John Norwood Fisher cited him, and his recordings were widely sampled in hip hop. Ultimate Guitar wrote that his contribution to funk and rock "remains very significant."

In 1997 Nelson was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Parliament-Funkadelic, alongside fifteen other members of the collective.

Key recordings: Funkadelic (1970); Free Your Mind... and Your Ass Will Follow (1970); Maggot Brain (1971); Parliament, Osmium (1970); Parliament, Up for the Down Stroke (1974, guitar); the Temptations, A Song for You (1975, including "Shakey Ground"); Funkadelic, Let's Take It to the Stage (1975, "Better by the Pound"); Tales of Kidd Funkadelic (1976); O.G. Funk, Out of the Dark (1994). He appears in the documentary One Nation Under a Groove, recalling the night Funkadelic opened for Vanilla Fudge on borrowed equipment: "That was the night that we found our niche."

Nelson left Funkadelic in late 1971 after a financial dispute with George Clinton, foreshadowing similar complaints by other P-Funk musicians later in the 1970s. In January 2026, a post on Clinton's Facebook page prematurely reported his death; it was removed after his family denied it, and his death was confirmed only after it occurred on January 31.

Nelson had been in hospice care in January 2026. He died on Saturday, January 31, 2026, aged 75, three days after his birthday. The place and cause of death were not made public. George Clinton's Facebook page wrote: "We have now received official confirmation. Rest in eternal peace and Funk." A memorial service was held at 6 pm on March 6, 2026, at Zion Hill Baptist Church, Piscataway, New Jersey, with arrangements by Judkins Colonial Home of Plainfield. His final resting place is listed as Rose Hill Crematory, Linden, New Jersey.