Best Bass Players Ever!!!!!

volumenvolumen 2,532 Posts
edited January 2019 in Music Talk
No, not the one in your favorite band or the one that had one good riff on one good song. I'm talking about MF'rs that changed the game and made the bass a instument you can't live with out. People who's bands would not sound the same with out them.

  • John Entwhistle
  • Carol Kaye
  • Ron Carter
  • Lemmy
  • Flea
  • Cliff Burton
  • Larry Grahm
  • Bootsy
honorable mention.....Mitch Mitchell (maybe he should make the list????)Jimi Hendrix (really good on the couple things he did) Jerry Only (Actually pretty good if you can here him through the crud)Leroy Vinnegar (So many good Jazz bass players, but I think Ron is the one for the list)People you might want to say, but face it, you wouldn't notice if they unplugged their amps mid concert......the guy in Queen, the guy in Zep, the guy in Van Halen, Nikki Sixx, Sid Vicous
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  • inVrsinVrs 687 Posts
    the one and only jaco pastorius

  • no Jaco Pastorius??

  • the one and only jaco pastorius


  • Big_ChanBig_Chan 5,088 Posts
    Verdine White

    Steve Harris

  • James Jamerson[/b]

    Paul McCartney[/b]


    how have these guys been overlooked so far????

  • Though he's a bit out in left field, this sort of list isn't complete without mentioning Les Claypool. I mean, dude definitely changed the game. Not that I'm partial to all of the slap happy fools that worship this guy ...



  • People you might want to say, but face it, you wouldn't notice if they unplugged their amps mid concert......the guy in Zep

    I don't agree with that at all. John Paul Jones brought an interesting sort of ballsy melodic playing to the table. And, don't forget, Zep only had one guitar player. So when you hear Page soloing (at least live ... I know there were hundreds of guitar layers on the records) its Bonham and Jones that are doing the heavy rocking underneath . Watch some of that 5 hour dvd set ... you'll see what I mean.

  • akoako https://soundcloud.com/a-ko 3,413 Posts
    Carol Kaye

    i was listening to "picking up on the E string" as i clicked on this thread....

    she singlehandedly made me want to learn the bass guitar.

  • TomOTomO 169 Posts
    Paul Jackson should definitely be on there. Pure Fender Jazz funk, and his virtuosic technique adding licks at the top of the range of the instrument and picking out harmonics are second to none. Check out 'EBFS' by Roger Glenn...

    Louis Johnson.

    Chuck Rainey - unmistakeable muted sound on the bass, so many great recordings with Pretty Purdie, Harvey Mason and James Gadson...

  • ReynaldoReynaldo 6,054 Posts
    Mingus

  • inVrsinVrs 687 Posts
    Carol Kaye

    i was listening to "picking up on the E string" as i clicked on this thread....

    she singlehandedly made me want to learn the bass guitar.

    picking up on the e-string.. HUGE BREAKS!!

  • volumenvolumen 2,532 Posts
    no Jaco Pastorius??

    Yea, my list is by no means diffinative as is obvious by this blatant oversight!



  • Mingus

    He should be at the top of the list.


  • Paul McCartney[/b]

    Regardless of how much all other aspects of his musical career have been lauded (or hated) to death, I'd say he's still underrated as a bass player.

  • volumenvolumen 2,532 Posts


    People you might want to say, but face it, you wouldn't notice if they unplugged their amps mid concert......the guy in Zep

    I don't agree with that at all. John Paul Jones brought an interesting sort of ballsy melodic playing to the table. And, don't forget, Zep only had one guitar player. So when you hear Page soloing (at least live ... I know there were hundreds of guitar layers on the records) its Bonham and Jones that are doing the heavy rocking underneath . Watch some of that 5 hour dvd set ... you'll see what I mean.

    Yea, but this is kind of the line I'm drawing. Yes, there are tons of good bass players out there that keep the melody while the guitar player solos, but when heave you ever listened to a Zeppelin song FOR the bass? I'm talking about players that can overshadow the guitar players with their own ill playing.

  • volumenvolumen 2,532 Posts
    Mingus

    Doh!



  • changed the game

    EVERYBODY was copping licks from James.
    They didn't even know who his name, he was just "the motown guy."




  • TabaskoTabasko 1,357 Posts


    Mitch Mitchell (maybe he should make the list????)

    we talking bass players right?
    Am I missing a Mitch Mitchell besides the drummer of the Jimi Hendrix EXP?

  • volumenvolumen 2,532 Posts
    Paul McCartney[/b]

    Regardless of how much all other aspects of his musical career have been lauded (or hated) to death, I'd say he's still underrated as a bass player.

    No doubt he is really good. I think he suffers from the pop music thing where the Beatles were one big harmony group so while they were the biggest band ever they had such a blended sound the individual skill gets a little lost. George is also a under rated guitar play. His stuff is Bannanas!!!! He makes Eddie Van Halen look like a pre-schooler.

  • volumenvolumen 2,532 Posts


    Mitch Mitchell (maybe he should make the list????)

    we talking bass players right?
    Am I missing a Mitch Mitchell besides the drummer of the Jimi Hendrix EXP?

    Noel Redding.......Sorry, I always forget which is which of the two white boys with afros that back up Hendrix!

  • Duck Dunn
    Familyman Barrett
    Robbie Shakespeare
    Rocco Prestia
    Bobby Dall from Poison


  • I can't believe that nobody mentioned Bernard Odum, Tim Drummond, Charles Sherrell and Fred Thomas yet.

  • kalakala 3,358 Posts
    Jimmy garrison
    jack bruce
    jimmy cobb
    michel henderson
    michael manring
    geezer butler
    squarepusher
    anthony jackson
    cliff burton



  • Yea, but this is kind of the line I'm drawing. Yes, there are tons of good bass players out there that keep the melody while the guitar player solos, but when heave you ever listened to a Zeppelin song FOR the bass? I'm talking about players that can overshadow the guitar players with their own ill playing.

    Point taken. As a bass player, I've gotten a lot from JPJ's playing. I tend to prefer a simple, stylish player over the flashy dudes (I'll take the Stooges over most rock bands any day). So JPJ was good ... but he did not overshadow Page.



  • Mitch Mitchell (maybe he should make the list????)

    we talking bass players right?
    Am I missing a Mitch Mitchell besides the drummer of the Jimi Hendrix EXP?

    Noel Redding.......Sorry, I always forget which is which of the two white boys with afros that back up Hendrix!

    I've never thought he was very good. Apparently all the impressive shit that he supposedly did was actually done by Jimi himself.

  • leonleon 883 Posts
    Has George Porter Jr. been mentioned yet??

  • SPlDEYSPlDEY Vegas 3,375 Posts
    Yea, but this is kind of the line I'm drawing. Yes, there are tons of good bass players out there that keep the melody while the guitar player solos, but when heave you ever listened to a Zeppelin song FOR the bass? I'm talking about players that can overshadow the guitar players with their own ill playing.

    That's not the point of being a Bass player.

    - spidey

  • deLYSdeLYS 388 Posts
    I love them all and am happy to see steve harris actually make it in the first post! As a kid I did nothing but play electric and acoustic bass my world was steve harris, bootsy collins, jaco and this dude,

    even though he used dianetics, lol

    And wilton felder should get rennaisance man props for those big juicy slap pulloffs. At least, I think those are his.

    Oh and also, all the dudes from church bands talking shop after service/performance at Atomic music in College Park, MD on Sunday afternoon. They were the epitome of , casually having conversations while quietly messing around playing licks I had only heard recorded and never seen anyone get down on in person. I do get out, and I don't mean technical wizardry or claypool slap, I mean face melting soul. They knew all the feel parts of my favorite songs, I would go study some more bass again if it was with them.

  • Big_StacksBig_Stacks "I don't worry about hittin' power, cause I don't give 'em nuttin' to hit." 4,670 Posts
    Hey,

    Here are some more:

    -Rufus Reid.
    -Melvin Jackson.
    -Stanley Clarke.
    -Dave Holland.
    -Eberhard Weber.
    -Abraham Laboriel.
    -Marcus Miller.
    -Jack Bruce.
    -Cleveland Eaton.
    -Wilton Felder.
    -Henry Franklin.
    -Paul Chambers.
    -Alphonso Johnson.
    -Prince.

    Peace,

    Big Stacks from Kakalak

  • when heave you ever listened to a Zeppelin song FOR the bass?

    The Lemon Song (Led Zep II) - Awesome.
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