Bootsy Collins’ First Fender Bass Just Sold — and the Final Bid Shocked Everyone

Earlier this week, we shared that a piece of funk history was up for grabs. The 1969 Fender Jazz Bass that James Brown bought for Bootsy Collins went up for auction, and the sale has now been completed.

Fans were excited for the bass’s early bids of just $5,250, a reasonable price for any vintage Fender even without provenance. However, the price ballooned during the auction’s final moments, ultimately selling for $40,000. A button on the Heritage Auctions website lets you make an offer to the new owner, but you’ll have to cough up $50,000 or more.

The buyer is anonymous, but many readers expressed that they wanted to see the bass go to a museum. It is undoubtedly a pivotal bass in music history, and it has a wild story.

When Bootsy Collins joined Brown’s band, he was playing a $29 Silvertone guitar with bass strings slapped on. Brown bought the Fender (Bootsy’s first) at his request. It stayed in the Godfather of Soul’s band after Collins’ tenure and was used by Fred Thomas.

“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,” Heritage shared. “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.”

The consignor received the bass as payment in 1977 after providing housing and transportation to James Brown after the soul icon left them stranded following a concert in Miami. Read more about it and the consignor’s full letter on Heritage Auctions.