William "Billy Bass" Nelson (born January 28, 1951) is a U.S. musician, who was the original bassist for Funkadelic. He is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, inducted in 1997 with fifteen other members of Parliament-Funkadelic.Billy was born in Plainfield, New Jersey and as a teenager worked at George Clinton's barbershop, sweeping the floor and singing and dancing for the customers.