Overlooked or nearly forgotten Bass Players

[Vibroluxer]

Overlooked and nearly forgotten? Isn't he more like one of the best known bass players in the history of rock music?

I'd say much the same about the guys posting Leon Wilkeson.

If I asked anybody that knew enough about music to name 10 bass players, John Entwistle and Leon Wilkeson would be among them. I wouldn't be surprised if they are better known among the general public than Lemmy.

I have a Who DVD called Six Short Ones. I forget what the 1st 2 were about but the last 4 are short biographies of the band. Not surprisingly, John and Keith end up last but I could watch John play all day.

John's isolated bass on Won't Get Fooled Again. He's not so overlooked and he sure can play. The music starts at 1:15. I listen to this and can't stop smiling.

 

[Robert H.]

Jeff Beck alumna:
Tal Wilkenfeld

 

[Spazzmaster]

Tasty! Tina's playing often reminded me of the Blues Project's Joe Bouchard: simple, steady, original grooves to anchor the other players' madness:

I think you mean Andy Kulberg. Joe Bouchard was the bassist in Blue Oyster Cult. Joe does belong on this list, he was fantastic.

 

[brookdalebill]

Glenn Cornick of Jethro Tull.

 

[Vibroluxer]

I think the band is overlooked as well but I only recently found out that Joe Schermie played with Three Dog Night. Always liked this song:

 

[GeorgiaHonk]

Criminally underrated and tragically forgotten: Greg Ridley, Humble Pie. One of my biggest influences.

 

[Scott57]

One name I haven't seen yet: Steve Smith of the Vapors.

 

[Vibroluxer]

One name I haven't seen yet: Steve Smith of the Vapors.

Im not familiar with those guys, can you recommend a good song?

 

[ndcaster]

a lot of those fat early grooves from Taj Mahal's band came from Gary Gilmore (bass) and Chuck Blackwell (drums)

impossible to sit still

 

[ZiggyZipgun]

David Gilmour.

In the '90s, he stated that he actually played a lot of the bass parts on Pink Floyd’s albums throughout the '70s, simply because he could come up with something quicker. Roger Waters said that he was never interested in playing any instruments, period - and hired an awful lot of session bassists for his solo albums since then. Gilmour played bass on a dozen tracks on The Wall alone, as well as the famous bass solo on "Pigs (Three Different Ones)", and...Syd Barrett's solo albums and BBC appearances.

 

[sonicsmitty]

Paul Goddard, Atlanta Rhythm Section
John Ciambotti, Clover
Andy Fraser, Free
Skip Batten, Byrds

RIP, and thanks, gentlemen.

I once ran across a video I can't find anymore that showed Skip Batten taking an extended bass solo. It was impressive. I had no idea he was that good.

Another bassist I like a lot, and who seems to have an extensive resume playing with everyone, is Willie Weeks.

 

[sonicsmitty]

Glenn Cornick of Jethro Tull.

I don't know why, perhaps because we're close to the same age and were listening to much of the same stuff growing up, but I notice that we have a lot in common in our influences and listening, and I'm not talking about just this thread either.

 

[ElvisNixon]

*Rick Danko-The Band
*Joey Spampinato-NRBQ
*Darryl Jenifer-Bad Brains
*Aston “Family Man” Barrett- Bob Marley & the Wailers
*Robbie Shakespeare- Sly And Robbie
*Lemmy Kilmister-Motörhead
*Tony Levin-King Crimson/Peter Gabriel etc,etc
*James Jamerson-Motown Funk Brothers
*Bootsy Collins-James Brown, Parliament/Funkadelic
*Chuck Dukowski-Black Flag
*Mike Watt-Minutemen, The Stooges

Even though Jamerson is revered by many (including me), he’s still not given the respect and credit that he deserves IMO. Without Jamerson, there would be no reggae.


Obviously, I put virtuosity in the equation, but I don’t judge strictly on chops.

 

[Vibroluxer]

Excellent listing!

 

[smartsoul72]

Doug Lubahn
Played in Clear Light, with the Doors on the first few records, some jazz-rock stuff (Dreams) & Billy Squier.
My focus was strictly on his Doors output, but he had an impressive pedigree nonetheless

 

[Dave W]

*Rick Danko-The Band
*Joey Spampinato-NRBQ
*Darryl Jenifer-Bad Brains
*Aston “Family Man” Barrett- Bob Marley & the Wailers
*Robbie Shakespeare- Sly And Robbie
*Lemmy Kilmister-Motörhead
*Tony Levin-King Crimson/Peter Gabriel etc,etc
*James Jamerson-Motown Funk Brothers
*Bootsy Collins-James Brown, Parliament/Funkadelic
*Chuck Dukowski-Black Flag
*Mike Watt-Minutemen, The Stooges

Even though Jamerson is revered by many (including me), he’s still not given the respect and credit that he deserves IMO. Without Jamerson, there would be no reggae.


Obviously, I put virtuosity in the equation, but I don’t judge strictly on chops.

Except for Chuck Dukowski, none of those are overlooked or nearly forgotten.

No reggae without Jamerson? You can't be serious. His bass tone and style weren't like reggae and AFAIK he wasn't a Rasta.

 

[oldunc]

You couldn't really call him obscure, but reggae annd some of its subgenres might never have happened without Robbie Shakespeare.

 

[Digital Larry]

Glenn Cornick - Jethro Tull
Jeffrey Hammond-Hammond - Jethro Tull
Dave Pegg - Fairport Convention/Jethro Tull

 

[Jeru]

Peter Cetera

Yes. Good example / deep cut below.

If you get bored, scroll to ~0:50, or 1:05, or 3:25 or 3:55. Hot damn.

 

[Swirling Snow]

He's not forgotten, but apparently it's been forgotten that Ron Wood played bass for Jeff Beck.