BY LARRY NAGER
The Cincinnati Enquirer

If you go Tickets for the First Enquirer Cincinnati Area Pop Music Awards (the Cammys) are on sale for $10 at Ticketmaster outlets. Phone orders: 562-4949. Ceremonies will start at 4 p.m. May 18 at Sycamore Gardens, 1133 Sycamore St., Over-The-Rhine. Local musicians will be honored in 30 categories, including the Lifetime Achievement Award.

William "Bootsy" Collins, who enters the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this week as a member of Parliament-Funkadelic, is the winner of the first Enquirer Cincinnati Area Pop Music Lifetime Achievement Award.

A mainstay of the Cincinnati music scene for more than 30 of his 45 years, Bootsy got his start playing bass in R&B groups with his older brother, guitarist Phelps "Catfish" Collins.

In 1969, their group replaced James Brown's original backup band, the Famous Flames. During Bootsy's two-year tenure with the Godfather of Soul, he recorded such modern funk classics as 1970's "Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine".

''When James Brown asked us to come in and cut a record with him, that was the greatest," the bassist says.

In 1972, Bootsy joined George Clinton's groundbreaking Parliament-Funkadelic, earning his place in the Rock Hall with his thumb-popping bass style and intergalactic fashion sense.

Retaining his trademark star-shaped glasses, Bootsy enjoyed a string of hits in the late '70s with Bootsy's Rubber Band.

For his past accomplishments and ongoing influence, Bootsy is the logical choice for the Cammys' first Michael W. Bany Lifetime Achievement Award, named for the slain bassist who spent more than 25 years performing in local clubs.