Gary ?Mudbone? Cooper is one of music?s few true individuals. In today?s rigidly formatted times his career has been so astonishingly varied you couldn?t make it up. A starring vocalist with Parliament Funkadelic and co-founder of Bootsy?s Rubber Band; a collaborator with Prince, Herbie Hancock, Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker, Keith Richards and Jimmy Cliff; co-producer of a Ramones album; with Dave Stewart co-wrote Freedom?s Coming for Nelson Mandela?s 46664 initiative and sang and provided vocal arrangements for Brian May and Bono for the project; worldwide pop star as Sly Fox; has written film music; co-wrote a song for the Peace For One Day soundtrack, the documentary about September 21 becoming the world day for peace; and is about to release his debut solo album ?Fresh Mud?, a modern blues/rock/soul album co-produced by Dave Stewart & Mudbone which has instrumental performances by Bob Dylan, Dave Stewart, Jools Holland and Candy Dulfer.

Until Atomic Dog in 1982 that is. Muddy returned to the fold to sing and play drums on this last huge P-Funk hit and stayed on until 1995, but this time took a step back by doing at least as much music away from George and Bootsy. He worked with Prince on the Paisley Park TV show The Ride Divine; with Prince again playing drums on the Graffiti Bridge soundtrack; With Bill Laswell on projects involving Bernie Worrell and Keith Richards, and Herbie Hancock; with Mtume; with Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker; he co-produced an album for The Ramones, and other soundtrack work included PCU and Stephen King?s Pet Semetary. Then, in 1986 Muddy had a worldwide pop hit under the name of Sly Fox, with Let?s Go All The Way.

In 2001, while visiting family in the US, Bootsy got Muddy involved with music he was working on for Dave Stewart. It was a year before he actually met Dave, at the Cannes Film Festival, and they hit it off in person as well as musically. Hence ?Fresh Mud?, as his newfound collaborator succeeded where his father had failed 40 years ago and turned Muddy on to the blues.

?Dave loves the blues, and him talking about it turned my head! I?d never allowed myself to think about it before because I always associated it with older people, but here was this hip guy of my generation dropping the blues on me. It came out so natural, and I got swept away with it. I could see how it could become part of today?s music like soul and funk, rock and hip hop, and be brought up to date.