Singer/Songwriter, Mudbone, was born Gary Cooper on November 24, 1953 in Washington, D.C. (USA). Mudbone grew up in Baltimore, Maryland, approximately 50 miles from the nation’s capital. Muddy started singing publicly at the tender age of 3. He graduated from Baltimore City College, after which he joined legendary bassist and funk legend, Bootsy Collins, of the renowned JB’s (James Brown).
Together, they formed what became known as "Bootsy’s Rubber Band" in 1974. Bootsy and Muddy later collaborated with funk legend George Clinton and his P-Funk Allstars (Parliament/Funkadelic). Together, the trio co-wrote many classic songs including "I’d Rather Be With You" which has been covered by a wide range of artists including: Dr. Dre/NWA, Snoop Dogg, UK’s Suga Babes and most recently by Beyoncé Knowles.
The trios songs are still being sampled today by a variety of writer/perfomers, making them one of the most sampled (groups) in music history, second only to James Brown. Mudbone’s distinct voice and style of James Brown. Mudbone’s distinct voice and style of singing became a signature in Bootsy’s Rubber Band and George Clinton’s P-Funk hits throughout the 70's & 80’s. Muddy has collaborated with a wide range of artists including: Herbie Hancock, Prince, Keith Richards, Afrika Bambatta, Mtume, Roy Ayers, the Ramones and Bill Laswell to name a few. He has worked on albums, singles, television and film including "Pet Semetary" for Stephen King and the animated TV series "Funky Cops" for French television.
In 1994, Muddy performed on backing vocals with the P-Funk Allstars at the Grammy Awards ceremony. This performance was in support of the Red Hot Chili Peppers who were nominated that year.
In 1997, Mudbone appeared at the Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio, for the induction of P-Funk who performed with living legends - Al Green, Aretha Franklin, James Brown, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis and "the Boss" - Bruce Springsteen.
During a chance meeting with Eurythmics founder Dave Stewart at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival, Mudbone was invited by Mr. Stewart to record a solo album which was produced and co-written by Stewart. Dave also lent his legendary guitar riffs to the album. This Mudbone/Stewart collaboration bore the album entitled "Fresh Mud". The album is a hybrid collection of genres including: R&B, Rap, Hip Hop, Rock and Soul songs. The album also features the debut of "Nadz", a Jamaican MC and rap artist, along with some other "Univerzal Playaz" including Dutch saxophonist - Candy Dulfer.
In 2004, Mubone was invited to write and sing a song called "Darkness of Your Love" for the soundtrack to the film "Alfie" which was produced by Dave Stewart and Mick Jagger (Rolling Stones). The soundtrack became a critical success and won a Golden Globe Award for Stewart and Jagger for their single "Old Habits Die Hard" earlier this year.
"Fresh Mud" will be released in 2006, however, tracks will be available from I-Tunes and other digital services very shortly. Until then, check out some of the tracks by clicking the link.
http://www.mud-bone.com