400 Years Of What

“400 Years of What became *the* party band in the Cincinnati area of the USA after the Houseguests (featuring Bootsy Collins & Catfish Collins) dissolved around 1972. Led by bassist Gordon Hickland, draftees from the House Guests included saxophonist Ralph ‘Randy’ Wallace and trumpeter Ronnie Greenway. With the addition of [future Zapp] keyboardist Greg ‘Tuffy’ Jackson, guitar slingers Big Jimmy Callery and Clarence Miller, and drummer Little Jimmy Roberts, the core of the crew was established. For the band’s mid-’70s airing on Shad O'Shea’s Counterpart label, the traps were manned by Frank Waddy, destined to be a key player in the triumph of the Parliament sprawl and especially Bootsy’s solo works. An early incarnation of this outfit backed Gloria Taylor on the singer’s rare single for the House Guests label, with her ‘Brother Less than a Man’ being a primitive, rough version of the band’s later release as ‘Do What You Like.'