Kicking Off a New Series: Bass Players You Need To Know

George Porter, Jr.

Over the past year, I’ve dug deep into the nether-regions of my brain, week after week, to figure out all of those things I wish I knew. Lucky for me, the crazy turmoil that is life as a professional musician has been inspiration enough. My goal in writing this series was to highlight those things I’ve learned the hard way… the crazy situations that happen to arise on a gig, the necessity of knowing your gear and keeping it in working order, and the ways to constantly improve as a musician. I have tried to justify my love affair with Mr. Metronome, the fact the my practice session isn’t always based on learning something new, and the fact that I’m obsessive compulsive when it comes to setting up and taking down my gear.

One thing I always try to be aware of is you, the reader, and how to relate these concepts to players of all levels. Perhaps you have a family and a full time job, leaving only an hour a week to pick up your instrument. Or perhaps you get to play bass every day, whether it’s in your practice room or on a bandstand. This finally got me thinking… what are some truly universal concepts for all bass players, those of us who are just starting out, or who have put a few years in and have a lifetime ahead of us, or who happen to be musical veterans? What is the one thing that ties us all together, that inspired us at the start and never ceases to get old? What, if anything, is the thing that we all need to know?

So I began going over different concepts in an effort to distill music, bass playing, and education… desperately searching for this universal.

At first I wondered if it was the notes on our instrument… strike one. I probably spent the first two years playing bass and not knowing many notes above the 7th fret. Could this “universal” be theory? Do we all need to know what a Dm7 chord is? Strike two… plenty of us play music without that.

What about technique? That’s the third strike. While many of us work very hard at technique, few of us pick up the bass for the first time and say “hm, I really need to figure out where to anchor my thumb.” Most likely, we just try to make a decent sound.

Each of these concepts, I realized, are far too formal. They’re too by-the-book, too particular, too… educated. I needed to take a more organic approach and decided that a change of location would be beneficial for my creative juices. So of course, I went to my favorite coffee spot, got an iced Americano, and sat down to think. Everything was going well, my beverage was perfect, I had a table to myself, and I didn’t see any familiar faces to distract me with conversation. And then, sabotage. My ears perked up to a funky groove playing overhead, the strut that is Cissy, the bass player that is George Porter, Jr. There was absolutely no way I could focus with Zigaboo laying down a beat and the rest of the Meters begging me to sing “Hey Pocky A-Way.”

My head began a-bopping and as I sung quietly to myself, I realized that I had to leave if I were to get any work done. I was so distracted by the bass line that I had the urge to pack up my computer, grab a to-go cup, and return home to my instrument.

Boom! That’s it! That’s my inspiration. A bass line; and more importantly, a bass player. That, my friends, just may be the universal. It is the music we listen to, the songs we love, and the bass players that we try to emulate.

As a novice, all we try to do is play something — a riff we hear in our head or a song we heard on the radio. We work and work until we can finally get the notes under our fingers to match the ones come from our headphones.

As an intermediate player, we have greater knowledge of our instrument and search for more music to challenge our abilities. We play with greater proficiency, learn with greater ease, and begin to establish a voice that is the sum of our influences.

And as a veteran, we may find ourselves head to head with other amazing players, where we discover that perhaps they can do something that we can’t, and we sit and listen in amazement. It is the person standing on the stage or sitting in the studio and the fact that they make music to inspire us to make music.

A No Treble meeting and brain storming session got the ball rolling on this concept and after a bit of discussion, we realized that there are some bass players that we just need to know. After all, how many times do you listen to a record and wonder, “hey, who played that?!”

So here it is… the beginning of a new series that focuses on the bass players that, we suggest, are some pretty cool cats to listen to. Hopefully you see a few familiar faces, a few that you wish you knew more about, and others that you’ve never heard before. You can expect a little bit of a bio, a few examples of their masterful playing, and hopefully, a good reason to check them out or revisit their catalogue.

While we begin to compile a list of some of our favorite bassists, we could certainly use your help!

Please let us know who some of your need-to-know players are, whether they are the guys who “wrote the book” or who happen to be new to the scene, and leave the research up to us. Share your favorite(s) in the comments.

Ryan Madora is a professional bass player, author, and educator living in Nashville, TN. In addition to touring and session work, she teaches private lessons and masterclasses to students of all levels. Visit her website to learn more!

Get daily bass updates.

Get the latest news, videos, lessons, and more in your inbox every morning.

Leave a Reply to Andy Helgason Cancel reply

  1. James Jamerson
    Ray Brown
    Carol Kaye
    Charles Mingus
    Jaco Pastorius
    Paul Chambers
    Aston Barrett
    Larry Graham
    Danny Thompson
    Jah Wobble
    Dave Allen
    Paul McCartney
    Flea
    Andy Fraser
    Norman Watt-Roy
    Holger Czukay
    Les Claypool
    Slam Stewart
    Herbie Flowers

  2. James Jamerson
    Duck Dunn
    Bob Babbitt
    Tommy Cogbill
    David Hood

    Joseph Karnes
    Adam Clayton
    Eric Avery
    Chris Chaney
    Justin Meldel-Johnsen
    Ethan Phillips
    Paul Simonon
    Verdine White
    Simon Gallup
    Larry Graham

  3. James Jamerson, Rocco Prestia, Carol Kaye, Paul McCartney, Charles Mingus, Ray Brown, Jaco Pastorius, Charlie Haden, Dave Holland, Willie Dixon, Bruce Palmer, Bootsy Collins, Donald “Duck” Dunn, John Entwhistle

  4. Victor, jaco, claypool, jpj, pino, flea, cliff, ryan martinie, larry graham, tommy shannon, billy cox, james jamerson, justin chancellor, paul chambers, willie dixon, billy gould,

  5. There is a bass player in Miami who has recorded over 500 albums and has played with from Arturo Sandoval to Julio Iglesias and everyone in between,his name is Julio Hernandez go to allmusic.com!

    • Reggie Hamilton

      Julio Hernandez is an amazing bass player and a wonderful human being. So was his father!

  6. John Gustafson – the “go to” guy for so many successful bands when they were looking for an experienced hand able to act professional, cope with a big tour, write great studio parts, and be reliable.

  7. Well, I am sure you Cats will cover all the greats, so my first suggestion is someone I don’t hear talked about much in bass circles, but I think should be. John Deacon always inspired me.

  8. John Myung, John Campbell

  9. Some more well-known bass players:
    Tony Levin
    Chris Squire
    Geddy Lee
    Jack Bruce
    John Entwhistle
    Colin Moulding
    John Myung

    Less-known, but inspiring to me …
    Ray Shulman
    Julie Slick
    Randy George
    Kerrry Chiccione (AKA Kerry Kompost)
    Roy Babbington

  10. Matt Osman
    Mike Mills
    Pete Agnew
    Steve Smith
    Dave Tregunna
    Jerry Jermmott
    Tommy Shannon
    Carol Kaye
    Ron Wood
    John Paul Jones
    All the bass players that were in The Damned

  11. Marcus Miller, Tony Levin, Stanley Clarke, Rocco Prestia, Lee Sklar, Victor Wooten,Ray Brown, Paul CHambers,DuckDunn,Charley Haden,John Patitucci,Michael Manring,Chuck Rainey

  12. Mick Karn
    Tony Franklin
    Hulk Hogan
    Billy Shean
    Trevor Dunn
    Juan Alderate

  13. Bill Laswell
    Micheal Henderson
    Paul Jackson
    Kira (Black Flag)
    Mike Watt

  14. No particular order: Jack Bruce, Tim Bogert, Mel Schacher, Benny Reitveld,

  15. Marcus Miller? Nobody mentioned him yet?
    Also, Esperanza Spalding
    Ben Kenney
    Stu Zender
    Robert Trujillo
    Rex Brown
    Doug Wimbish
    Me’Shell Ndegéocello
    Tony Levin
    Timmy Commerford
    Derrick Hodge
    Geddy Lee
    (are some of the names I didn’t see mentioned)

  16. I was actually just thinking about this last week. Here’s my list of favorites:
    Pino Palladino
    Marcus Miller
    Oteil Burbridge
    Francis “Rocco” Prestia
    Anthony Jackson
    Jaco Pastorius
    Victor Wooten
    Reggie Workman
    Chuck Rainey
    James Jamerson
    Bob Babbit
    Carol Kaye
    Sean Hurley
    David LaBruyere
    Ray Brown
    Nathan Watts
    Bernard Edwards
    Charles Mingus
    Jeremy Jemmott
    Paul Chambers
    Slam Stewart
    Janek Gwizdala
    John Clayton
    Christian McBride
    Brian Bromberg
    Paul McCartney
    Damian Erskine
    Derrick Hodge

  17. Andrew Levy, Tal Wilkenfeld, Rodney “Skeet” Curtis, Randy Hope-Taylor, Roger Waters, Aston “family Man” Barrett, Bootsy, Bill Laswell, Bruce Thomas, Bernard Edwards, Buddy Hankerson, Louis Johnson, Rocco Prestia, Alain Caron, Pino Palladino, Joe Dart, Juan Nelson, Michael League, Armand Sabal-Lecco. so many more

  18. Edie Jackson
    Charlie Colin
    Charlie Haden
    Michael Manring
    Doug Wimbish
    Carol Kaye
    Nathan East
    Victor Wooten
    Tal Wilkenfeld
    JUST A FEW LESSERS TO THINK ABOUT

  19. John Entwhistle, Berry Oakley, Paul Samual Smith, Paul Mcartney, Duck Dunn, Jack Bruce, Ronnie Wood, My old friend Gary Craddock, Boz Burrell.. Leon Wilkeson.. Hutch Hutchinson,, and Syd!!!

  20. Erlend Caspersen
    Jeroen Thesseling
    Robin Zielhorst
    Steve DiGiorgio

  21. Janek Gwizdala
    Tony Grey
    Matthew Garrison
    Jaco Pastorius
    John Entwistle
    Jayme Lewis
    Carol Kaye
    Felix Pastorius
    James Jamerson
    Marcus Miller
    Jon Stockman

    And of course there’s lots more!

  22. David Ellefson
    Lemmy Killmister
    Alex Webster
    Jason Newsted
    Rex Brown
    Flea
    Les Clayplool

  23. Andrew “the bullet” Lauer
    Bobby Vega
    Trip Wambsley
    Michael Manring

  24. Everyone lists the same people…how about a little love for bassists currently working?

    Rob McConnell of Papadosio
    Jessie Miller of Lotus
    John Ferrara of Consider the Source
    GARRETT SAYERS of the Motet. If you only check out one person from this post make it Sayers!!

  25. James Jamerson
    John Paul Jones
    Jack Bruce
    Larry Graham
    Stanley Clarke
    Bootsy
    Marcus Miller
    Victor Wooten etc.

  26. Instead of piling on the legends who we all know and love, I’ll add one of my favorites you might not know. Roy-Mitchell Cardenas from the band MuteMath. His bass lines are complex yet grove the whole time!

  27. A lot of good names here. I’ll add Stefan Lessard (for being a master of “the invisible bassline”) and Bill “The Buddha” Dickens (for pure, insane, unrelenting technique).

  28. Marcus Miller
    Stanley Clarke
    Victor Wooten
    Carles Benavent
    Flea
    Tiran Porter

  29. No Miroslav Vitous love yet… So yeah, Miroslav Vitous

  30. Mick Karn
    Jonas Hellborg
    Flim Johnson
    Jeff Berlin
    Andy West
    Mark Egan
    Michael Manring
    Dave Larue

    etc… etc…

  31. MODERN DAY Stars

    Aram Bedrosian
    Zander Zon
    John Myung
    David Ellefson

    ALL STARS of old

    Pino Pallidino
    Rocco Prestia
    Marcus Miller
    Stanley Clarke

  32. MODERN DAY Stars

    Aram Bedrosian
    Zander Zon
    John Myung
    David Ellefson

    ALL STARS of old

    Pino Pallidino
    Rocco Prestia
    Marcus Miller
    Stanley Clarke

  33. John McVie
    Ron Blair
    Leon Wilkeson
    Geddy Lee
    Paul McCartney

  34. There are a few guys in New Orleans, besides George Porter Jr., that people should know about: Marc Pero (Papa Grows Funk), Tony Hall ( Neville Bros., Dumpstaphunk), Nick Daniels III (Dumpstaphunk), Donald Ramsey (Dr. John and John Scoville), Cornell Williams (Jon Cleary and the Absolute Monster Gentlemen).

  35. Check out David Stoltz from Jaimoe’s Jasssz Band (yes, Jaimoe from the Allman Brothers). https://www.facebook.com/david.stoltz.9

  36. How about Jack Casady, Tommy Shannon?

  37. how about Guy Pratt of Pink Floyd ( when Roger left)

  38. Robert Deleo, Alan Gorrie, George Porter Jr, Steve Harris, Johnny Colt, Sven Pipien, Glenn Hughes, John Paul Jones, Phil Lynott, Andy Fraser, Cliff Williams, Michael Anthony, Tom Hamilton, Jerry “Wyzard” Seay, Doug Pinnick..

  39. Audun Erlien is pretty monstrous on the electric bass. Check out his playing with Matthias Eick.
    Charlie Haden will always be the king of bass for me though.

  40. Les Pattinson from Echo and the Bunnymen.

  41. So little love for metal.
    Alex Webster
    Steve Harris
    Jason Newsted
    David Ellefson
    Geezer Butler
    Byron Stroud

  42. King Mike of Screaming Females

    Mike Watt
    Paul Simonon
    Jaco Pastorius
    James Jamerson

  43. You nailed it on the first shot–George Porter, Jr.

  44. Lots of greats have been mentionned already. Two more that I think have been unfairly left out so far: Jimmy Haslip, Niels-Henning Orsted Pedersen.

  45. If I had to pick just three, they’d be John Paul Jones, Michael League, and Paul Chambers.

  46. Billy Sheehan, Victor Wooten, Jaco Pastorius, Chuck Rainey, Lee Sklar, Peter Cetera, Paul McCartney, Chris Squire, Stanley Clarke, Willie Weeks, Marcus Miller, Allen Woody, Mark King, John McVie, Stu Hamm, Carol Kaye, Duck Dunn, Bootsy Collins, and Jerry Jemmott.

  47. Helmut Hattler, Bruce Thomas, Jah Wobble, Paul McCartney, John Entwistle, Chris Squire, John Wetton, Tony Levin, Trevor Bolder, Tom Araya, Lemmy (yes, Lemmy!)

  48. Jamerson, Porter and Rainey. Plus a bunch more.

  49. I actually had this idea and already started a series on my blog last week: slabosaurusrex.com
    My first article is on Norman Watt-Roy … maybe you can check it out for inspiration.

  50. Rhonda Smith, François Moutin, Esperanza Spalding, Chuck Rainey, Bootsy Collins, Oscar Pettiford, Jeff Berlin, Charles Sherrell,

  51. Bridget Kearney from Lake Street Dive. Will Lee from Letterman’s band. Anybody from Steely Dan. Rick Danko. MIKE VOGELMANN (from almost every band in the Philly area) and of course, Charlie Mingus.

  52. Matt Arcaini, bass player and producer of Christian records in Nashville.

  53. John Paul Jones
    Paul McCartney
    Mingus
    Willie Dixon
    Jaco

    Note: they’re all musical beyond playing bass.

  54. Trevor Bolder
    Chris Squire
    Jon Campbell
    Graham Maby
    Greg Lake
    Paul McCartney
    Glenn Cornick
    Chris Hillman
    Stephen Stills
    John Entwistle

  55. Wow I look over almost all the comments. Not even one mentioned Abraham Laboriel.

  56. John Paul Jones, Jamerson, Martin Turner, Jeff Matz, Steve Harris, Geezer Butler, Jack Bruce, Berry Oakley, Al Cisneros, Cliff Burton, George Perry, Jeff Ament, Geddy Lee, and JPJ again, because the GOAT deserves a second mention…

  57. Besides all of the ones below, I’d say Bakithi Kumalo.

  58. A guy called Phil Small from legendary Australian band Cold Chisel (one of Australia’s biggest ever bands)

  59. Mike Watt, of course!!!

  60. Y’know, there was another one of these postings elsewhere, and someone was listing their top 10, and what occurred to me was I have favorites that I don’t know their names, but I know the bands they played in…what about the guys from these bands:

    Duran Duran, Joe Jackson, Foghat, Bad Company, Rose Royce, Rod Stewart(from either the Blondes have More Fun album, or the earlier stuff), The guy from the song”Third Rate Romance”(the Amazing Rhythm Aces, the guy from Atlanta Rhythm Section, and the guy from Steppenwolf…years before I knew who bass players’ names were…these guys’ lines were making mine and a lot of other heads bob, y’know what I mean?

  61. Glad someone acknowledged dUg Pinnick from KING’S X. He’s not flash, he’s all groove and tone, and voice, too, with loads of cool. Look up the song “Pray” (the intro of that is 12-string bass and vocal).

  62. Harlan Terson, long-time veteran of the Chicago blues scene. http://www.harlanterson.com/

  63. Pino Palladino, Mick Karn, Stanley Clarke, Tony levine, Robert /Jones/Ohio Players, Fudgie Kae Solomon/Mandrill, Nick Beggs, Rob Poor, Leroy Taylor/New Birth, Ben Shephard, Clint Conley/Mission of Burma, Darryl Jennifer/bad brains,

  64. Back in 1979, I heard this song on the radio. It was the first time I`d heard bass played like that and I immediately wanted to do what he was doing. The bassist..Norman Watt Roy, the band, Ian Dury and The Blockheads. The song..Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick. I`ve now been playing for over 30 years and Norman is still one of my biggest influences. I`ve met him countless times, booked him (with Wilko Johnson), opened gigs for him and shared equipment. He is an absolute gent of a bloke and is currently at the top of the UK charts with the Wilko Johnson & Roger Daltrey project. Which is where he should be! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WGVgfjnLqc#aid=P8aEyN6Zzpw

  65. Jonas Hellborg is one I haven’t seen anyone mention yet (though I’ve only skimmed)

  66. Let’s add Steve Swallow for fretted and John Giblin and Alan Thomson for fretless.

  67. Ryan, Congrats on the biggest response I’ve seen to any NT column. Bill Takus (Buzzy Linhart band), Tom Barney, Anthony Wellington…

  68. Terry Burns. If you don’t know who he is, you should. He’s played with the best of them. You can check him out here: http://www.mcnallysmith.edu/faculty/terry-burns

  69. I’d like to see something on James Jamerson and Will Lee

  70. I’m seeing lots of great choices – one that is always overlooked is Dave Hope of Kansas. Beast of a player, great tone, etc….

  71. Colin Hodgkinson who plays lovely funky chordy bluesy riffs with 70s trio back door.Jayen varma who finger slaps it like a tabla

  72. I love Janek Gwizdalas playing, Damian Erskine, Jaco, Scott LeFaro…

  73. Robbie Shakespeare (Sly & Robbie, etc.)

  74. Glad to see some lesser known and unknown bassplayers in the list: way too many of the ones we already know and can find loads of info about…
    A shame to see nobody’s mentioned RUTGER GUNNARSON (ABBA). You may not like ABBA, but listen to the basslines and you’ll probably be amazed.

  75. Don’t forget Armistead Burwell Smith IV of Pinback. amazing and underrated and Henrik Linder of Dirty Loops is extremely talented.

  76. James Jamerson, Scott LaFaro, Ray Brown, Tommy Shannon (SRV), Aston “Family Man” Barrett. Bernard Edwards, John Paul Jones, Richard Bona…

  77. not to forget Kenny Gradney, of Little Feat.

  78. Here’s some I haven’t seen mentioned:
    Bill Black
    Harvey Brooks
    Rick Danko

  79. Everyone else I’m thinking of are already mentioned but Casiopea’s Tetsuo Sakurai is quite a guy.

  80. And for someone in this century, Chris Wood is a mofo.

  81. Some that have already been mentioned;
    Jack Bruce
    John Deacon
    Steve Harris
    Willie Dixon
    Duck Dunn
    Tal Wilkenfeld

    Some that haven’t:
    Bob Daisley
    Greg Macainsh

    • JG Sheehan

      Thumbs up on this. Macainsh’s bass lines are the sound of my teenage years. Possibly a reason I got Hook’d on the Bass. :)

  82. Berry Oakley, bass player for the Allman Brothers Band. A fertile melodic imagination, an ear for a sweet groove and an ability to react to whatever happened around him made for a sweet bassist. Just check out “Melissa”, “Ramblin’ Man”, or “Mountain Jam”.

  83. Billy Haynes. I used to watch him play with the late great JJ Jones in LA. He brings it on all counts – bass & vocals.

  84. Jerry Rizzi, Plano Texas by way of NY. Warren Stolow, Quebec City Canada. Two amazing and inspirational bassists

  85. Ray Brown, Ron Carter

  86. A mention for Bernie Edwards

  87. Some often overlooked impressions for me:
    Jimmy “Flim” Johnson
    Abraham Laboriel
    Peter Cetera

  88. Carol Kaye , James Jamerson, Bob Babbitt …

  89. There needs to be more love for Larry Graham, people!

  90. Recently I was watching Blur Live At Glastonbury and I’ve got to put it out there – Alex James is definitely one of the most underrated bass players especially of our time. He’s playing so melodically and with such passion but no one ever seems to give him enough if any credit at all!
    Another bass player would have to be Robert DeLeo of Stone Temple Pilots – if anyone has heard the isolated track to “Interstate Love Song” they would understand why.
    The problem is, most of these bass lines are extremely overlooked and I think it would be a great breath of fresh air if these bassists were given their due of credit in this series.

    I could only find a cover of “Girls and Boys” by Blur, no isolated tracks yet!
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PaQRWKMGlv4

    “Interstate Love Song” by Stone Temple Pilots
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ts7exTxJ_PQ

  91. Pop-Punk bassist, Joe Keller from The Ergs! and Night Birds. Also, Felix Salinas from the Tejano band, Intocable.

  92. All so Nick Lowe, a great songwriter / singer / producer for sure but a fantastic bass player as well.

  93. David Hood for sure ; ) ~

  94. Plus, a week in and it looks like nobody’s yet mentioned Alphonso Johnson, Kai Eckhardt, Gary Willis, Rob Wasserman or even Phil Lesh….

  95. James “Hutch” Hutchinson. Man, what a life story. Perfect for this series.

  96. it all begins and ends with Wille Dixon, ’nuff said.

  97. James Jamerson, ‘nough said…

  98. Some that haven’t been mentioned that inspire me…….Robert Kearns (Cry of Love), Oteil Burbridge (Tedecshi Trucks Band), Allen Woody (Gov’t Mule), and Stu Hamm

    Most influential in my playing style:
    John Paul Jones
    John “The Ox” Entwistle
    Donald “Duck” Dunn
    Chuck Rainey

  99. The famous and fortunate always get press. The world is full of weekend warrior types who can play their azzez off. They should get some coverage. And that IMO would be some real valuable research and a very worthy project.

  100. It stumps me that all you American bass players fail to recognize the two greats that have played on thousands of songs….Joe Osborn and Carol Kaye….I am still figuring out ‘for all we know’ and ‘Ventura highway’….they are still around and I don’t see them in the cover of any bass or musician magazine…

  101. Although I eventually got around to Stanley Clarke and Jaco, I must admit that I wouldn’t have started on the bottom end had it not been for that bass drum rumble at parades and the God of Thunder, Gene the Consummate Performer Simmons!!!

  102. I find I have to drag myself kicking and screaming to give new guys a chance… with that spirit, I really like what Evan Marien is doing with the bass – his chops are sort of Jaco inspired, but really very original. Also dude from Snarky Puppy is interesting.

  103. Oh, and the late great Donald “Duck” Dunn.

  104. Here are a few electric bassist who, I believe, are unsung:
    Graham Maby
    Bruce Foxton
    Colin Moulding
    Tim LeFebvre
    Bosco Mann
    Bruce Thomas
    Jesse Murphy (his work with the Brazilian Girls)

    Acoustic bassists:
    Dave Holland
    He’s my main Upright player right now. Just amazing.

    Thanks!

  105. All the previous, and plus:

    Larry Gales,
    Paul Jackson,
    Jimmy Garrison,
    Jack Bruce,
    Sam Jones,
    Tom Kennedy,
    Ron Carter,
    Kevin Glasgow,
    Scott La Faro,
    Me,
    Albert Bush,
    NHØP,
    Paul Rogers,
    Jasper Hoiby,
    Habib Faye,
    Victor Wooten,
    JS Bach.

  106. Rick Carlos,Jack Bruce,Bill Wyman,John Paul Jones

  107. Hey!
    I love your latest article on No Treble?. I’m just very grateful you’ve started this feature. After this years Gerald Veasley’s Bass BootCamp? I realized that my knowledge and ear for bass lines is in desperate need of education. As much as I listen to music, it’s only since camp have I turned my ear to now only bopping to the bass line but actually hearing it as a musician. I’ve kind of been embarrassed to ask other bassists “who should I listen to” ? I’m hoping you’ll include not only who to listen to, but which song and what to listen for. (also posted on FaceBook)

  108. Mike Watt (Minutemen, fIREHOSE, Dos)
    John Wetton (King Crimson)
    Joe Lally (Fugazi)
    Bakithi Kumalo (Paul Simon)
    Gail Ann Dorsey (David Bowie)
    Timo Shanko (The Fully Celebrated Orchestra)
    Mark Sandman (Morphine)
    Monique Ortiz
    Kira Roessler (Black Flag, Dos)
    Charlie Haden (Ornette Coleman)
    Justin Meldal-Johnsen (Beck, NIN)
    Paul Jackson (The Headhunters)
    Doug McCombs (Tortoise)
    Reid Anderson (The Bad Plus)
    Holger Czukay (Can)
    Rockette Morton (aka Mark Boston; Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band)
    Tina Weymouth (Talking Heads, Tom Tom Club)
    John Stirrat (Wilco)
    Eric Axelson (The Dismemberment Plan)
    Trevor Dunn (Fantômas, Mr. Bungle, Melvins)
    Simon Hanes (Guerilla Toss)
    Joe Preston (Thrones, High On Fire, Melvins)
    Colin Greenwood (Radiohead)
    David Wm. Sims (The Jesus Lizard, Scratch Acid)
    Brian Gibson (Lightning Bolt)
    Rick Laird (Mahavishnu Orchestra)
    Cliff Burton (Metallica)
    Al Cisneros (Sleep, Om, Shrinebuilder)
    Steve Popson (Polvo)
    Gina Birch (The Raincoats)
    Sasaki Hisashi (Ruins)
    Phil Lynott (Thin Lizzy)
    Larry Graham (Sly and the Family Stone)

  109. Mark Hoppus and Pete Wentz. Arguably two of the pioneers of pop punk who assisted greatly in bringing this unique sound and genre to the masses. Both go hard live and have excellent Signiture Basses.

  110. JJ Brunel – hard to go past Peaches or Princess of the Streets. Chris Wolstenholme from Muse -I’d love to be able to play like that

  111. I would say that many more people need to know Janek Gwizdala and Richard Bona

  112. Well, too many to mention, so I’ll start with one that first popped up in my mind. It was the late 80s – early 90s, when guitar shredding was at its peak. I got my copy of Eric Johnson’s Ah Via Musicom & immediately got hooked by this punchy, funky bass sound sitting just right in the mix; anchoring Eric’s fleet runs while creating musical statements of its own. That performance drove me to strive for that particular bass sound, a quest that continues up to now. That bass player was Kyle Brock, I believe.

  113. Andrew Levy, John Taylor, Jam Artis, Randy Hope-Taylor, Yolanda Charles

  114. Jon Camp of Renaissance

  115. Carol Kaye should be spotlighted twice

  116. Flea
    Steve Harris
    Les Claypool
    Bob Daisley
    Gabe Nelson

  117. Richard Bona!!! Richard Bona!!! Richard Bona!!!

  118. Bobby Vega, Rich Brown, Derek Hodges, Tim LeFebvre, Jimmy Johnson, Panagiotis Andreau, Jeff Andrews, Avishai Cohen, Marc Johnson, Dave Holland

  119. J. Pastorius, J. Patitucci, J. Gwizdala, J. Jamerson, J. Andrews

  120. Rob Wright from No Means No is an absolute beast as well as criminally underrated.

  121. Ron Bender

    Leland Sklar, Abraham Laboriel, John Paul Jones, Phil Lynott.

  122. Jason Stewart

    Allen Woody.

  123. Ed Eberstadt

    Come on man …no mention of Paul Denman ?..Sade

  124. Les Claypool, Cliff Burton, Fieldy, Geezer Bulter, Ryan Martinie, Marcus Miller, Rex Brown, Troy Sanders, Justin Chancellor, Paul Gray, Dan Riggs, Ian Hill, Steve Harris, & Timmy commerford

  125. I hope John Deacon will also be featured in this series, I can’t believe how few have mentioned him !!! Would like to see more on John Entwhistle, Ian Hill, Flea, Steve Harris, Cliff Burton, John Mc Vie, Mike Oldfield, (tho he’s more of a multi instrumentalist), Greg Lake and Phil Lynott!!!