Your 5 most influential/inspirational bassists

[grayn]

I suspect this has been done before (more than once, probably)

But I thought I'd give newbies, like myself , a chance to say who inspired them to take up the bass.

1. CHRIS SQUIRE (Yes): Inspired me to get a Rickenbacker, in my teens. A dynamic, ensemble player.
2. MARTIN TURNER (Wishbone Ash): A solid player with a sense of the dramatic and melodic.
3. PAUL McCARTNEY: In his mid-late beatles days, he wrote some great bass-lines. Counter-melodic and great song enhancers, too.
4. DANNY THOMPSON (Pentangle): Master double bassist, who played with many of my favourites, Nick Drake, David Sylvian, John Martyn etc.
5. TONY LEVIN (King Crimson): A real entertainer and gifted bassist, who has played with many of the greats.

[JakeBrownBass]

1. Flea - This is the guy that made me want to play bass.
2. Victor Wooten - This guy still blows me away just as he did the first time i saw him.
3. Nathan East - I was a massive fan of this guys lines before i even knew it was him playing them.
4. Oteil Burbridge - Pretty much the same as Nathan, Had a disc of Col. Bruce Hampton, amazing bass playing but always forgot to find out who played on it.
5. Jaco Pastorius - I was quite late into discovering Jaco but i loved his big bang stuff.

[tino]

[quote name='grayn' post='1076457' date='Jan 3 2011, 04:46 PM']I suspect this has been done before (more than once, probably)

But I thought I'd give newbies, like myself , a chance to say who inspired them to take up the bass.

1. CHRIS SQUIRE (Yes): Inspired me to get a Rickenbacker, in my teens. A dynamic, ensemble player.
2. MARTIN TURNER (Wishbone Ash): A solid player with a sense of the dramatic and melodic.
3. PAUL McCARTNEY: In his mid-late beatles days, he wrote some great bass-lines. Counter-melodic and great song enhancers, too.
4. DANNY THOMPSON (Pentangle): Master double bassist, who played with many of my favourites, Nick Drake, David Sylvian, John Martyn etc.
5. TONY LEVIN (King Crimson): A real entertainer and gifted bassist, who has played with many of the greats.

[/quote]
1.Me
2.ME
3.ME mE
4. ME ME ME
5.MOI>>>!

[skej21]

1. Pino Palladino - 'Nuff said.

2. Danny Thompson - I was lucky enough to be called up as a replacement for Danny and got to meet him. Nice bloke and great player too.

3. Baghiti Khumalo - One word. [i]Graceland. [/i]

4. Charles Mingus - Again, 'nuff said.

5. Jaco Pastorius - Just because I don't think there's a bassist on the planet that doesn't owe him some credit for their playing.

Edited January 3, 2011 by skej21

[Bassman Sam]

[quote name='grayn' post='1076457' date='Jan 3 2011, 04:46 PM']I suspect this has been done before (more than once, probably)

But I thought I'd give newbies, like myself , a chance to say who inspired them to take up the bass.

1. CHRIS SQUIRE (Yes): Inspired me to get a Rickenbacker, in my teens. A dynamic, ensemble player.
2. MARTIN TURNER (Wishbone Ash): A solid player with a sense of the dramatic and melodic.
3. PAUL McCARTNEY: In his mid-late beatles days, he wrote some great bass-lines. Counter-melodic and great song enhancers, too.
4. DANNY THOMPSON (Pentangle): Master double bassist, who played with many of my favourites, Nick Drake, David Sylvian, John Martyn etc.
5. TONY LEVIN (King Crimson): A real entertainer and gifted bassist, who has played with many of the greats.

[/quote]

Have you been looking over my shoulder, the 1st 3 are in the same order on my list also.

4. Greg Lake: another Prog rock hero to me.
5. Jack Bruce: Cream: just the best at the time

[fretlessguy]

1. Chris Squire-The first time I heard "Roundabout" I knew I had to play bass.
2. Stanley Clarke- Turned me on to playing fusion and jazz in my youth.
3. Greg Lake- Not the flashiest or most technically adept, but always played well and had everything in the right place. He was really more a guitarist.
4. John Giblin-His fretless work with Chris DeBurgh really encouraged me to play the fretless.
5. Dave Hope- Dave's bass lines with the original Kansas were epic, and like Chris Squire's, were songs within the song. America's greatist prog bassist.

[bigjohn]

Jamerson
Trevor Bolder
McCartney
Entwhistle
Jack Bruce

Hard to pick 5.

[Bassassin]

1 - Tino
2 - T. Eno
3 - Tea? No!
4 - TeNo
5 - Tineaux

[JimBobTTD]

1. Cliff Burton

Then
2. Hetfield & Hammett
3. Chuck Schuldiner
4. Stevie Ray Vaughan
5. John Lee Hooker

who made me want to be good enough on bass to support them. Still a long way to go!

[Cat Burrito]

Off the top of my head

1) Rick Danko for just being cool as hell.

2) Carol Kaye for playing on so many great things

3) Paul McCartney for helping me develop a sunconscious interest in bass

4) Skip Battin for waking up The Byrds and going on to play on so many great records

5) Steve James (who?) for making me want to be in a band whilst growing up.

[tino]

[quote name='Bassassin' post='1076533' date='Jan 3 2011, 05:39 PM']1 - Tino
2 - T. Eno
3 - Tea? No!
4 - TeNo
5 - Tineaux[/quote]
Obviously not necesarrily in the given order ....But its the thought that counts
gAWD Bless Yer Guvnor

Edited January 3, 2011 by tino

[steve-soar]

[quote name='J.R.Bass' post='1076479' date='Jan 3 2011, 05:05 PM']1. Flea - This is the guy that made me want to play bass.
2. Victor Wooten - This guy still blows me away just as he did the first time i saw him.
3. Nathan East - I was a massive fan of this guys lines before i even knew it was him playing them.
4. Oteil Burbridge - Pretty much the same as Nathan, Had a disc of Col. Bruce Hampton, amazing bass playing but always forgot to find out who played on it.
5. Jaco Pastorius - I was quite late into discovering Jaco but i loved his big bang stuff.[/quote]Loving Jaco's big bang stuff too.

[bluesman]

NOT IN ORDER BUT....
1.JERRY JEMMOTT.
2.TOMMY COGBILL.
3.WILLIE WEEKS.
4.JAMES JAMERSON.
5.BOB BABBITT.
TO BE HONEST COULD ADD STACK MORE.

[imaccer]

Sting - for showing that a bass is not a guitar (Lynott, Quattro, etc, I didn't notice the instrument)
Paul Simonon - for making me want to play
Bruce Thomas - for making me want to practise
Duck Dunn - for showing that less is more
Sibyl Buck - for reminding me about what I'd always wanted

[Pete Academy]

Verdine White
Alan Gorrie (AWB)
Stanley Clarke
Bernard Edwards
Mark Adams (Slave)

And millions of others.

[Wylie]

Peter Cetera -- Absolutely amazing on [i]Chicago[/i]'s first album (way before they went to soft pop ballads)

Paul McCartney

Bruce Thomas of the [i]Attractions[/i]

Dan Broad -- my bass teacher

The late Rick Danko of [i]The Band[/i]

[analog kid]

Geddy Lee
JJ Burnell
Glenn Hughes
Chris Squire
Phil Lynott

[LiamPodmore]

Cliff Burton (Metallica)
Johnny Christ (Avenged Sevenfold)
Chris Wolstenholme (Muse)
Steve Harris (Iron Maiden)
Kasim Sulton (Ex. Neverland Express(Meatloaf)/Solo)

All of those have influenced me to play bass over the past 3 years.

Liam

[Lylodile]

•Flea (made we want to start playing and still amazes me)
•Les Claypool (very imaginative player, and writes amazing songs)
•Norman Watt-Roy (amazing bassist, created some of my favourite bass lines)
•Bruce Thomas (the stuff he did in the attractions was amazing)
•Sneaky (Double Bass player in a band called Fingathing. Great feel, great tone and great player)

Edited January 3, 2011 by Lylodile

[ras52]

[quote name='LiamPodmore' post='1076625' date='Jan 3 2011, 06:52 PM']Kasim Sulton (Ex. Neverland Express(Meatloaf)/Solo)[/quote]
Nice to see Kaz getting a mention - best known to me as one of Todd Rundgren's long-time associates, solo and in the various incarnations of Utopia.

[socrates]

mmm . . . in no particular order:

1. James Jamerson - created pop/soul bass guitar with one finger, one bass and the same set of strings . . . oh and because that root/fifth/octave sweep thing is still what I do when I can't think of anything else to play.
2. Geezer Butler - because when I was teaching myself to play those early Sabbath riffs were a better education than any tutor book
3. Jaco - for the playing of course but also for the composing - Three Views of a Secret is the song I find myself humming in the shower.
4. Herbie Flowers - for that gorgeous floppy, funky sound and basslines that alwasy just sound both really musical and downright fun to play . . . Histoire de Melody Nelson, Space Oddity and - my favorite - Nick Harrison's theme for Budgie, "the Loner" (check it out:

[url="http://open.spotify.com/local/Nick+Harrison/The+Music+Library/The+loner/162"]http://open.spotify.com/local/Nick+Harriso...y/The+loner/162[/url]

5. Steve Terebecki (White Denim) - for renewing my faith in great clangy/fuzzy basslines that can lead a song . . . plus taking the rickenbacker and musicman into indie rock . . . check out "I start to run" and in fact the whole Fits album on spotify:
[url="http://open.spotify.com/album/22qmL9JpkRhk7IAAG6heRo"]http://open.spotify.com/album/22qmL9JpkRhk7IAAG6heRo[/url]

[LiamPodmore]

[quote name='ras52' post='1076667' date='Jan 3 2011, 07:25 PM']Nice to see Kaz getting a mention - best known to me as one of Todd Rundgren's long-time associates, solo and in the various incarnations of Utopia.[/quote]

Yeah, i had my dads Meatloaf Live DVD on about a year ago and was just sat there thinking how have i not heard of this guy before? Definately underappreciated.

Liam

[lee650]

Hard to pick 5 as ive so many, but the ones that changed my perception of the instrument and whose lines inspire me to this day have to be

1- Abraham Laboriel - fantastic feel always a great authentic tone and technique in abundance and -never has to prove it
2- Louis Johnson- he is the man for me for slap bass, not a million notes just funky rythmic grooves and a tone to die for
3- Will Lee - just love his feel,tone and note choices a very funky man, his early playing is how a fender jazz should sound!!
4 - Jaco pastorious- we all owe him a great debt for setting the bar so high, a true genious
5- Chuck Rainey - when i first heard "greenflower street" it changed my life and everything else he,s done is just sublime

TBH still a million other players to mention , he,s not on the list but when i first saw a picture of gene simmons with a pedulla bass that was the moment i knew i wanted to play bass, at the same time i saw Stanley Clarke and i realised thats HOW!!!! I wanted to play bass, that was 20 years ago and im still nowhere near great thread!!!

[Lozz196]

In no particular order

Bruce Foxton - great melodies
JJ Burnell - great sound
John Deacon - great melodies
Glen Matlock - great melodies
Sid Vicious - the image of the Pistols, and SV made me question what the instrument he played was - once I realised it was the sound that I automatically gravitated to, I was hooked.

Typical of Mr Vish - he inspired me to pick up the bass, without being able to play (very well) himself

[Buzzy]

1. John Entwistle
2. Duck Dunn
3. James Jamerson
4. Jim Lea
5. Norman Watt-Roy