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 & [a157868]) 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 [a8887] 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.'