I would have to say john paul jones and paul mccartney are really huge influences on me. Both write melodic, rockin bass lines that really work with the song and yet can still stand by itself as the sole rhythmic AND harmonic accompaniment.
Fwiw. Paul Simonon Sting Jah Wobble Bruce Foxton Paul MCcartney. Started playing bass in the late 70's and those are the guys (apart from MCcartney) That I got to see playing live around London and that had a huge impact on my early years. Many many more to add to the list.
The five bass players who influenced me and the way I play the most are: 1) Geddy Lee (Rush) for how he constructs his bass lines and fits them into a 3 piece structure, also I have been trying to learn and use his right hand technique, 2) Cliff Burton (Metallica) Simply put I would not be a bass player without Cliff. He made me want to pick up a bass. His melodic bass line in "Orion" has been in my practice routine almost from the beginning, 3) Steve Harris (Iron Maiden) because The Trooper was the first real song I learned on bass and I have incorporated triplets into a lot of my bass lines. 4) Paul McCartney (Beatles, Wings) who isn't influenced in some way by his songwriting. 5) Mike Mills (REM) his bass lines move the song along and they also serve the best interests of the song. He is often overlooked. Jamerson would be next on the list after those 5
I would absolutely say without a doubt especially coming from a guitar background, that Victor Wooten almost single handedly made me want to be a Bass player musically, then you see his interviews, or watch him talk and it sealed the deal. What an absolute gem of a human being. There's also musicians like Stanley Clarke and Marcus Miller and even Larry Graham that it's like its an extension of their body and it's inspiring to hear and makes you want that intimate connection with the instrument like they have. I also have to give love to Louis Johnson for the amazing bass lines on Michael Jacksons Off the Wall album, every time I hear Get on the Floor it makes me want to run to my bass and just do the thing, and that album really made me love music so much.
Here are my 5, no particular order: Kim Deal (Pixies), Paul Simonon (The Clash), Mike Watt (Minutemen), Rick Danko (the Band) and John Stirratt (Wilco). The through thread on these players, I suppose, is that they play with lots of personality, and they are such good supporters of the songs they play on.
It feels like every bassist I've ever liked has been inspired by Geddy Lee, so even tho I've never really dug into Rush I feel like I need to list him as, like, my bass Grandpappy. Otherwise my list would be: Tim Commerford Justin Chancellor Flea Les Claypool Krist Novoselic
Awesome video, you have good taste! For me, my top 5 would have to be: 1. Paul Mccartney 2. Carol Kaye 3. Jack Bruce 4. Scott Pilgrim (lol) 5. Chris Squire
My top 5 are as follows: 1. Mick Karn - So incredibly weird but also so funky as well. Such a unique voice with his tone and note choices, his bass lines often take a second or third listen to truly process but it's always rewarding to go back and see everything he's doing. 2. Andy Rourke - Very note-y but so groovy with a pick and always played something really interesting against the layers of Johnny Marr's guitar work and Morrissey's vocal 3. Bernard Edwards - Absolutely the grandmaster of funk bass in my opinion, he's somehow able to make Nile Rodgers's guitar parts groove harder than they already do 4. Paul McCartney - The master of counter melody and I just love his tone. His progression as a player is really interesting to track, you can see how he gets more adventurous and note-y while still serving the musical situation. 5. Jason Newsted - His picking is absolutely ferocious, he's the bedrock of whatever track he plays on. His sound is just monstrous but I also have immense respect for him as a person. He really understood his role in the group he was in on a musical and personal level.
Great list. James Jamerson, Donald "Duck" Dunn and Paul McCartney are three of my favorites as well. Five of my favorite bass players: James Jamerson Donald "Duck" Dunn Paul McCartney David Hood John Paul Jones
Only five is really hard…so without thinking too much about it: - Tony Kanal (No Doubt) - Andy Rourke (The Smiths) - Flea (RHCP) - Pino Palladino - Donald „Duck“ Dunn
Geddy Lee for his melody, rhythm, ablility to fill space, leave space and the best tone ever...who he lifted from Chris Squire...While i'm on the topic: Fish for his soloing off into counterpoint and back and keeping it all moving (proof that real bass players can use a pick). Jaco for his ability to consume chaos and exude order, dexterity and precision, and that stuffy rich compressed tone. The Ox for bringing the thunderfingers, complexity with context to a multitexture rhythm section all the while masquerading as a rock band. Lastly Chuck Rainey, he had Stanley Clarke's Jazz cred, Larry Graham's Funk, Duck Dunn's Soul rock Swing, and taste that went on for days...
Great list. Donald Dunn and James Jamerson are on my list too, but Naomi Yang from Galaxie 500 influenced me a lot growing up(a more thoughtful Peter Hook style of playing). She is the main melodic instrument in that band - "Decomposing trees" is a good place to start. Also Tina Weymouth for simple melodic baselines that really make a song (Like Dunn and Jamerson)
My top 5: 1. Paul McCartney (The Beatles/Wings) 2. Andy Rourke (The Smiths) 3. Simon Gallup (The Cure) 4. Peter Hook (Joy Division/New Order) 5. George Murray (David Bowie)
An excellent list, Philip! Each of these five gentlemen are worthy players,strong influencers and their works are burned into my brain. If I can offer several others for my personal preferences, I’d add John Paul Jones, Jack Bruce and Carol Kaye…Jamerson’s thump is probably ‘the’ bass tone in my head, above all others.
I think that your list really captures the most interesting people. Jamerson is definitely the king of Motown. Paul McCartney changed the face of BASS playing by being a composer of BASS lines. This is no small thing in those bands. It can be a power struggle in a band when the bassist crafts interesting melodic lines, mostl6 because it takes the attention away from the singer or guitarists. Listen also to Aston Family man Barrett the bassist who made Bob Marley become an international superstar. Familyman created the BASS style that identifies reggae music. Jack BRUCE was also a fantastic composer , listen to what he plays with Cream. Brilliant. I will mention also Mike WATT from the band Minutemen , Richard SINCLAIR from British fusion band Hatfield and the North, also Mike HOWLETT from French psychedelic band GONG. THANK YOU .
And being a child of the 70's and 80's, my own Top 5 influences are, in no particular order: - Geddy Lee (Rush) - Sting (during his time in The Police) - Adam Clayton (U2) - Simon Gallup (The Cure) - JJ Burnel (The Stranglers) plus so, so many more! 😊
Great list. Love the diversity. Of course I have to add mine lol Jamerson, Jaco, McCartney, John Paul Jones, Dee Murray! And Chris Squier was brilliant as well.
Jaco Janek Gwizdala Hadrien Feraud Thiago Espírito Santo Tim Lefebvre Being into fusion, these are the top 5 bass players that motivate me wanting to play more and better.
Anthony Jackson Wilbur Ware Sam Jones Pino Palladino Bootsy Collins I feel that these five bass players have played a major role in forming my bass sound and I am constantly striving to play more like each of them.
In no order- Mark Sandman, Meshell Ndegeocello, Tina Weymouth, Tom Hamilton, Larry Graham, with honorable mentions for Jamerson, Duck, Paul, and Entwistle
I'm lucky enough to count Victor Wooten on my list too, and for many of the same reasons. I got to spend a week at Wooten Woods camp and that sealed the deal. Don't meet your hero...unless he's Vic and then meet his whole, amazing, generous, inspiring family. Musically, I've not tried to do what Vic does, but as a human being, I try to do what he does every day: be a good person. Musically, the bass players who I've spent the most time musically learning from are Chuck Rainey, Nate Watts, Verdine White, and then in the jazz world the Maestro Ron Carter. I love the way they play bass lines, their time and and tone, and the way each contributes to the songs they play on in subtle ways that elevate the whole tune.
Great list, practically the same as mine, I guess. I would add Sting to my list. I was a fan of the Police and Sting in my youth, but since I started playing the bass in my forties I have come to realise what a musical genius he actually is. Bass player and lead singer at the same time, cool reggae and jazz influenced bass lines, sometimes minimalist playing, other times rythmically and technically quite challenging. But always defining the song. Genius song writer as well.
Crazy! I had a cat growing up my dad named Pino. That cat loved ten lives. He would greet me everyday when I got of the bus. Also live at the quick is how my dad introduced me to Béla Fleck and the Flecktones. That completely changed my view of how I played music. I met Victor at a show and I was so uncomfortable. I wasn’t ready for him to actually listen to me and what little I had to say. 15ish years and I’m still embarrassed about it.
Love the video today. My top 5 not in order(definitely not the best but ones I like and have stolen stuff from). John Entwistle (Who..... He's the GOAT) Steve Harris (Iron Maiden, nobody does triplets like him) John Taylor (Duran Duran, just listen to him and tell me I'm wrong!) Bernard Edwards (Chic) & Adam Clayton (U2...... I am Irish so I gotta go local for one. He's got a lot of bass haters but for me he is the king of good bass foundation in a band, restrained and solid) Though this list could change tomorrow depending on my mood. It's a hard top 5 to make. Honorable mentions to Geezer Butler, Jack Bruce & John Deacon
@@Andyanddiana467 He really is, gives the Edge so much freedom knowing the rhythm section is holding it all together. As a side note I adore that green Adam Clayton signature jazz bass ...Santa if you are reading this 😜
@@liamolowend - Adam Clayton had been a massive influence also on myself, when I was starting out on the bass in '84 🙂 Nice to see him mentioned, and that's also a great list otherwise! 😊👍
1. Michael Anthony - VH is my fav band and he was a huge influence on my early playing 2. James Jamerson - all bassists should pray at the alter of Jamerson 3. John Paul Jones - I was in a Led Zep cover band so his style rubbed off on me 4. John Myung - 1st time I saw Dream Theater live, seeing his playing I said to myself that I’d never be that good. Still trying. 5. Tony Franklin - he got me into playing fretless basses. Yea, my list is all over the place.
Hi, my list is very different, it's chronological from my earliest desires to play bass because of NP to current love of her innovation GS. 1. Nic Potter of Van Der Graaf Generator etc. The first album I ever brought, first bassist I really listened to, & a really nice guy RIP Nic. 2. Jaco Pastorius, for the realisation I can lead from the front as well as from behind, RIP Jaco. 3. Bootsy Collins, for THE ONE and slapin', and Transmutation with Praxis (a very important album at the time - shame I can't hear it the same way without her), thank you, both. 4. Les Claypool, innovation when necessary and when it isn't! 5. Georgia South, bang up to date, a well crafted extreme sound; never thought to wear magnetic rings and play bass like a theremin. Stanley Clarke, John Paul Jones, Tony Levin, Carol Kaye, Marcus Miller, Victor Wooten, Tina Weymouth, F Chopper Koga, Misa, Tony Pettit, Charles Mingus... love you all but the man said 5.
For me: John Paul Jones, Berry Oakley, Tom Hamilton, Ron Wood, Roger Glover, Joe Bouchard, Louis Satterfield, Paul McCartney; but Paul you can say is also my favorite drummer, guitarist, song writer, bassist....you get the picture ❤
As a old fart (61) here's the players who inspired and still inspire me. Mccartney- love the Beatles playing but the contrapuntal playing on Wings Over America is sublime. Jack Bruce- just wow especially his fretless work. David Hood- I'll take you there and all his stuff is amazing. Pino Palladino- love his fretless work with Paul Young and Don Henley. Stanley Clarke's upright and electric playing completely opened my world to different approaches on the bass. Loved your video!
Jack Bruce: I was introduced to a lot of the 60s acid rock by my mom as a kid, and Cream was a big part of that. Sunshine of Your Love remains one of my absolute favorite bass lines. Gene Simmons: Yes, he's absolute trash as a person, but his stage presence, song writing, and bass playing was a big part of my early bass playing years. Cliff Burton: It remains a shame that he was taken from us WAY too soon. His use of a classical background in speed metal was ground breaking and his work with Metallica continues to inspire and influence to this day. Jon Evans: I discovered Tori Amos when I was a freshman in college, and Jon Evans has been a large part of her music, playing bass on a most of her albums. Billy Sheehan: When it comes to over the top bass players, there are few who can equal Billy. I was fortunate enough to be able to book a private lesson with him not long after I picked the bass back up and I intend to book another when my life calms down (not to mention it means I get to head to Nashville to go digging through the music stores there).
Tom Scholz, Mars Cowling, Roger Waters, Dusty Hill, Michael Anthony. It's funny how you could probably guess our age by the influences. Although my first bass was a one-owner 76 walnut/maple Jazz, since we didn't play any Rush songs so Geddy Lee doesn't make the list. Too busy trying to make my Jazz sound like a P. I flat wore-out "Briefcase Full of Blues" after it came out. Come to think of it; he's a fairly strong unintentional influence. Victor Wooten is most influential as a music educator.
Great Video here's my top five and it was hard narrowing it down to 5 it's like asking which 5 out of your 10 kids do you love the most. 1) Bernard Edwards ( Chic ) he made me actually want to play bass. 2) Mark Adams RIP ( Slave ) astonished a 15 year old kid could be that funky 3) Marcus Miller ( Luther Vandross Aretha Franklin Miles Davis ect ) a style of his own. 4) Verdine White ( Earth Wind & Fire ) besides the mistake in September which nobody noticed until years later his basslines fit their songs perfectly. 5) Prince a surprise I know however he created and played every bassline in every song he wrote for himself or whatever band he was sponsoring
In my case, I would like to name some of those players that I think represent some kind of "fork in the road" to me: -Doug Wimbish made me want to play cool lines but also think in terms of sounds way further than just a bass (even if I'm just playing bass with no pedals); -Geddy Lee made me understand better how the bass can conduct a song; -Martyn P. Casey (from Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds) made realise the beauty of layering very simple lines but thinking in terms of texture, colour, etc.; -Hiromi Sagane (from tricot); I'm obsessed with her: she plays lots of times signatures and chords and sounds always so solid and enjoys every second... She made want to learn to play with the pick and I'm having a blast with it; -Jaco Pastorius made me realise that having cool lines and incredible chops may be awesome, but creating beautiful music is even better, whether you are composing or not (I can't stop thinking in "Three Views of a Secret", by The Word of Mouth band, or "Black Crow", by Joni Mitchell). Love this topic. It's so cool to read other people's choices and then try to imagine what they play like. Or what they took from here and there...
Phil Scheidt, Adam Nitti, Justin Hall, Leland Sklar, Victor Wooten all were huge in my love for the rhythm section. They all helped me hear the power in uniting bass guitar & bass drum so that a song can be built on a firm foundation & edified.
Jaco Pastorius, Berry Oakley, Tiran Porter, Kenny Gradney, Larry Graham and Chris Squire (yes that is a list of 6) come to mind as great bass players that I admire. Duck Dunn does have an impressive list of people/bands that he played with. Victor Wooten has a great perspective for music. He causes me to think outside the box. Great video!!!
Hello from the u.k. I worked in a large car plant, in the north of England for 35 yrs With pino palladino’s brother in law. My 2 sons now in their early 30s both play bass, the eldest will not use a pick, The youngest wont use his fingers. Played in local bands for years, I was an unpaid roadie I told my lads I worked with pino’s Brother in law, and they didn’t believe me. So I told my mate and he said “leave it with me” a week or so later, on my desk Was an envelope containing, pino autographed picks, Meyer c.d. Set of strings, And a letter! You should have seen their faces! I’ll never forget it!
I love that The Blues Brothers is one of your favourite movies of all time, Phil. It turns out that Dan Ackroyd, one of the main characters in that movie is from my hometown of Kingston, Ontario 🇨🇦. He is a really interesting guy in person. Sorry for getting a bit off topic but I thought I’d share that random bit. Lol Paul McCartney is someone I need to see live at least once before my time is up, or his. I’ve been fortunate enough to see Ringo live a couple months back with his All Star Band. As for your comments about James Jamerson, you’re spot on. Our lives would not be the same without the Motown recordings. I love the content!!
I’m a drummer but I think Sting is an underrated bassist. Stewart Copeland is a drumming legend but he’s a little erratic. Sting’s bass was the glue that held the sound together.
Interesting you think that about Stewart Copeland. He’s pretty much the antithesis of erratic to my ears. Tight as fk, but always able to fit in loads of nuanced dynamics without losing the beat.
Glad to see Duck on there! Blues Brothers comes up in my rotation very often for the musical contributions. My 1-3 are the same, but add Tony Levin and John Entwistle. Not that I don't like Pino and Victor, because I do, but I didn't find out about them until later. Same for Jaco. My top 5 were just the ones that I came across in a small town in the pre-internet days.
Very thoughtful list of people with the ability to cross genres. I started with my list but your list changed my mind on that. My add would be Jack Cassidy who’s far more of a virtuoso melodic player but he laid down a solid foundation for a bunch of folks who didn’t know where they were going (Airplane) and there’s something to be said for being the linchpin. But there’s no one I’d drop from your list, so…
My favorites definitely also include Jamerson and McCartney. To me, they are the most melodic bassists ever. I'm also a huge fan of Joe Lally of Fugazi and Robert DeLeo of Stone Temple Pilots. Picking that final spot is too hard for me. I think it would be cool if you did a video where you play your favorite bass lines. Maybe you just play one each of each of these guys. Or maybe it's not even restricted to these five bassists.
@@mtdawgy walking bass lines, call and response, chord tones and counterpoint, slides, one of the first to use distortion before it became mainstream...Gene in Kiss' '70s heyday was great.
Alphabetical order: John Entwistle Tony Levin Paul McCartney Chris Squire Leland Sklar I've been more influenced by players who find the right part for the song and obviously more from the pop rock side of the spectrum. Sklar is probably number one -- I've learned so much just watching his UA-cam videos. Entwistle was more likely to display his virtuosity onstage than on record, where he tended to be more restrained. Squire is the outlier, but he's definitely one of the first bass players I identified when I was a kid as having his own distinct style and sound, so I had to include him even if I don't play much like him.
Caveat - I listen to rock and am not too familiar with bassists of other genres. 1 - John Entwistle: opened my eyes to not needing to carry the chord progression - pretty sure he doesn’t on half of quadrophenia , if not more 2 and 3: counter-melody tastiness post- McCartney: Bruce Thomas (Attractions) and Mike Mills (REM) 4: Chris Squire - chops plus amazing parts (proto-Geddy?) 5: TBD
Mine are all over the place honestly. Fieldy, Mingus, Weymouth, Entwistle, and Martin Mendez (Opeth) lol. All completely different sectors. If I could expand it then I'd have more of the Funk guys in there but if we're sticking to strictly top 5 there ya have it!
Anthony Jackson Stanley Clark Chuck Rainey Tony Levin Dave Holland This list changes from time to time, but Anthony Jackson has been on there non-stop since the 80’s.
1. Les Claypool. Not that I can do what he does. But he’s the one I’ve listened to the most. I like his sense for rhythm and weirdness. 2. Abraham Laboriel. Just a wonderful human being, and so melodic and a great mix of rawness and smoothness. 3. Juliaplaysgroove. A UA-camr from Poland who I’ve been following for years. Such creativity and virtuous playing. But also so humble and a kind of “all about the bass” attitude. 4. Donald “Duck” Dunn. Oozing cool. 5. Jason Newsted of Metallica.
Well, if I could list just five, I would. As I go through my past, I realize that I have phases where one (or a few of the same ilk) are my biggest influences, then I'm in another place musically, and another few are the big ones. It's an honestly tough question. I just want to comment, as a new subscriber, that I think you'd be great to hang out with and just discuss the instrument, gear, and music in general. I've been a fan of Rhett's channel for a while, and I'm glad you've got some great, quality content here.
Great list!!! Mine are: Mike Dirnt, John Paul Jones, Billy Sheehan, Jaco Pastorius, Bootsie Collins. UA-camr Influences: Josh Fossgreen, Scott Devine, Adam Neely, the amazing Charles Berthoud and of Course the biggest influence on every bass player that has ever lived or will be alive soon, "Davie504" 🙂
@@philipconradmusic the young fella Stuart Zender who played bass on Jamiroquai’s first 3 albums was a beast considering he had only been playing bass for two years before the band formed in 1992 ua-cam.com/video/a0uRSQ8nAWc/v-deo.html 🔥
Great video! I like my Orange terror bass 500. It’s hybrid and the drive channel is sweet. The clean channel offers more headroom but it’s still got saturation. I love that dam amp
Jamerson, Kaye, both I didn’t know who they were. At the time. I was listening to these two in real time on a transistor radio glued to my ear in 1966. McCartney, I bought a bass within two weeks of seeing Beatles at candlestick. The last two would be Phil Lesh and Bob Moseley. I became musically savvy during 1968, the height of height ashbury music.. I’m 71 now. Honorable mention goes to Entwhistle
In no particular order, in terms of influence on me, the top five are: Simon Gallup (The Cure), Simon Raymonde (Cocteau Twins), Ian Masters (Pale Saints), Phil King (Lush), Nick Chaplin (Slowdive). Why? Because they were the bassists of the bands I liked best at the time I switched from guitar to bass after the original bassist in our band left (circa 1993-1994 ?), and we couldn't find anyone else who was a good fit. So, their songs were the ones I wanted to play and sound like.
I never respond to videos so I suppose this is testament to how good your videos are Philip! And I love this question of course - so excluding upright players and in no particular order: Jameson, Flea, Palladino, Anthony Jackson, Chuck Rainey, and a bonus to Jared Followill from Kings of Leon, cos I learnt a lot from him!
Some in common with you - James and Pino, but huge fan of Pete Trewavas in Marillion was a huge influence back when I started playing…then when I started down the blues genre, Tommy Shannon and Roscoe Beck both made me stop and rethink how to really play the instrument.
Great list. Here's mine in no particular order: Chris Squire Geddy Lee Sting Justin Chancellor John Paul Jones John Deacon Couldn't keep it to just 5. :D
Excellent choices. I love when a huge musical influence is universally loved and hyped AND lives up to the enormous hype. All the bass players on your list definitely fall into that category. My list is fairly similar (Jamerson Pino, McCartney), but I would add Oteil Burbridge and Rocco Prestia for mine. If you need some Oteil to check out, please check out the version of Midnight in Harlem from the Everybody’s Talkin’ live record for some of the best melodic, yet supportive, bass playing I’ve ever heard from anyone. The whole record is unreal from front to back, but that song specifically has some incredible stuff. Also, I picked up your bass course a few weeks ago but haven’t had a chance to dive in yet. I’m excited to check it out!
funnily enough, all my favorite bassist are 6 string player. anthony jackson off course, alain caron, Tetsuo Sakurai, Nathan East, melvin lee davis, henrik Linder, thundercat etc. but i didn't have a 6 string bass for the first 8 years of my bass journey and it killed me to not be able to play some of anthony jackson and nathan east solo. now i have a 6 string and i don't feel like i'm limited like i used to be.
1. Mike Dirnt: He's the reason I picked up the bass. His catchy melodies on Green Day's early stuff, combined with his thunderous support on their new stuff, inspires me still to this day. 2. Paul Simonon: He picked up the bass and was on stage in no time. His reggae-inspired bass lines were a huge driving force for The Clash. 3. Thundercat: His playing is phenomenal! I'm not sure if I could ever play like him, but his bass playing and music is so great and deserves more recognition. 4. James Jamerson: I wanna funk like this man. So foundational to the future of bass playing. I've even started using the one-finger technique he used a lot. 5. Victor Wooten: I started playing bass in '07, and any time I would look up anything about bass on UA-cam he was always right there at the top with something new to learn from. Cheers, Philip! I'm sure you're inspiring plenty of new bass players as well!
That's a great list. There are so many influential bass players from every style of music that it would be almost impossible to make a definitive top 5. My top 3 would be the same as yours but my other two would have to be The Ox and JPJ. As a child of the sixties and seventies, those five were a huge influence on me.
Lemmy for the distortion, nick oliveri for the songs, tom araya for the direct simple approach « it’s possible to do it », Dave curran of Unsane for the play Al cisneros of Sleep and Om for the unique hypnotic violent tones of his groove Heavy stuff
If you ask me tomorrow, the list will be different... and longer. But today Pino and his work with the Soulquarians is up there to be sure. NHØP and his work with Dexter Gordon, Joe Pass, and Oscar Peterson is there as well. When I was a kid, I wanted to be Stanley Clarke. He was the first to show me that (for better of worse) bass players could be front and center. Bruce Foxton had snarl and edge that I loved. And Anthony Jackson, that dude is 70 and still killing it. That's the problem with numbered lists and why I don't really like them, they always omit others that are amazing and deserve to be there.
My top 5 influences: Marcus Miller, Nathan East, Anthony Jackson, Jimmy Haslip, Pino Palladino. Bonus 5: Stanley Clarke, Tony Levin, Tim Commerford, Stevie Wonder, Dan Roberts (of Crush Test Dummies)
You got me listening to McLemore Avenue and hearing Donald's take on Paul's bass work is sublime. Anyways... Mike Mills - REM Paul McCartney John Deacon - Queen Peter Hook - Joy Division/New Order Donald Dunn As a kid who grew up in Chicago The Blues Brothers was my first exposure to Donald Dunn as well. First for how much I loved his name and later for his incredible pocket bass playing.
@@philipconradmusic I still think Mike Mills might be one of the most underrated rock bass players. So much of REM's groove is just him. BTW, been loving the channel as an intermediate bass player looking to get better.
My 5 favorite bassists... Jaco Pastorius Billy Sheehan (Mr. Big, Talas, David Lee Roth) John Deacon (Queen) Geezer Butler (Black Sabbath) David Brown (from the original Santana band)
Those, you listed, especially James Jamerson. And actually Paul McCartney absolutely, for similar reasons, I love his tone and melodic sense. In those Marvin Gaye records everything has a singing voice, including the bass. I love Bootsie Collins, for some of the hardest hitting synth/funk basslines - e.g. Atomic Dog, I'd Rather Be With You. Otherwise, Bernard Edwards, for me. For example, 'I Want Your Love' is iconic. Even the influence he had through being sampled. Like in Moodymann's simple, hypnotic 'I Can't Kick This Feelin' When It Hits'. Some others that I think were iconic for me personally are, Peter Hook (Joy Division, New Order) and hard to pick a favourite between the two Kims (Kim Deal & Kim Gordon).
I got scared by the time u got to number 3 without mentioning pino but alas u got there,like u I was late to the game in discovering him,1st thru John mayer but eventually getting put on to d'angelo and he's been an inspiration ever since,I consider him as my generations jamerson,love your list
My favorites are James Jamerson, Marcus Miller, Flea, Nathan Watts and Nathan East. Pino Paladino, Chuck Rainey and Wilton Felder could easily be on this list, and on a different day, probably would be. These guys are all titans and they've done sooooo much. Great video, dude!
My own top 5: 1. Paul McCartney 2. John Entwistle 3. James Jamerson 4. Carol Kaye 5. Gail Ann Dorsey At the top of my head. Countless others. Jaco Pastorius for a start... Mike Mills (REM), Jack Bruce, etc...
Before I watched this video, I jotted down my top five. They are: Paul McCartney, Tiran Porter, Jack Bruce, James Jamerson, and Donald Duck Dunn. It's interesting that we share some of the same ones! I love lists like this. I often ponder my own musical influences.
I love your list. Boy this is a hard question to answer. I think for me (in no particular order): Victor Wooten, Verdine White, Leland Sklar, James Jamerson, Tim Commerford. It gets really hard there at the end, so many players have had a huge influence on me as a player. I have to give honorable mentions to Dirk Lance (incubus), Paul McCartney, Marcus Miller, Chuck Rainey, and Rocco Prestia.
Yo I played his version of Amazing Grace at my high school senior recital in the music program i was in. It was so fun to play. Victor is the best. I've met him too
I would have to say john paul jones and paul mccartney are really huge influences on me. Both write melodic, rockin bass lines that really work with the song and yet can still stand by itself as the sole rhythmic AND harmonic accompaniment.
Fwiw.
Paul Simonon
Sting
Jah Wobble
Bruce Foxton
Paul MCcartney.
Started playing bass in the late 70's and those are the guys (apart from MCcartney) That I got to see playing live around London and that had a huge impact on my early years. Many many more to add to the list.
What a time and place to experience music! So cool. Thanks for sharing ⚡️
The five bass players who influenced me and the way I play the most are: 1) Geddy Lee (Rush) for how he constructs his bass lines and fits them into a 3 piece structure, also I have been trying to learn and use his right hand technique, 2) Cliff Burton (Metallica) Simply put I would not be a bass player without Cliff. He made me want to pick up a bass. His melodic bass line in "Orion" has been in my practice routine almost from the beginning, 3) Steve Harris (Iron Maiden) because The Trooper was the first real song I learned on bass and I have incorporated triplets into a lot of my bass lines. 4) Paul McCartney (Beatles, Wings) who isn't influenced in some way by his songwriting. 5) Mike Mills (REM) his bass lines move the song along and they also serve the best interests of the song. He is often overlooked. Jamerson would be next on the list after those 5
I would absolutely say without a doubt especially coming from a guitar background, that Victor Wooten almost single handedly made me want to be a Bass player musically, then you see his interviews, or watch him talk and it sealed the deal. What an absolute gem of a human being. There's also musicians like Stanley Clarke and Marcus Miller and even Larry Graham that it's like its an extension of their body and it's inspiring to hear and makes you want that intimate connection with the instrument like they have. I also have to give love to Louis Johnson for the amazing bass lines on Michael Jacksons Off the Wall album, every time I hear Get on the Floor it makes me want to run to my bass and just do the thing, and that album really made me love music so much.
Here are my 5, no particular order: Kim Deal (Pixies), Paul Simonon (The Clash), Mike Watt (Minutemen), Rick Danko (the Band) and John Stirratt (Wilco). The through thread on these players, I suppose, is that they play with lots of personality, and they are such good supporters of the songs they play on.
Very cool! 😀👍 I had listened to Mike Watt's song 'Big Train' only a couple of hours ago, too! 😊
Always love seeing Danko. Seriously underrated player. The groovy, melody, and thumpy style he developed was truly unique.
Stirratt is an ace player
All awesome choices
Peter hook, master of the bass line that is somehow both childishly simple and sublime
It feels like every bassist I've ever liked has been inspired by Geddy Lee, so even tho I've never really dug into Rush I feel like I need to list him as, like, my bass Grandpappy.
Otherwise my list would be:
Tim Commerford
Justin Chancellor
Flea
Les Claypool
Krist Novoselic
Awesome video, you have good taste!
For me, my top 5 would have to be:
1. Paul Mccartney
2. Carol Kaye
3. Jack Bruce
4. Scott Pilgrim (lol)
5. Chris Squire
My top 5 are as follows:
1. Mick Karn - So incredibly weird but also so funky as well. Such a unique voice with his tone and note choices, his bass lines often take a second or third listen to truly process but it's always rewarding to go back and see everything he's doing.
2. Andy Rourke - Very note-y but so groovy with a pick and always played something really interesting against the layers of Johnny Marr's guitar work and Morrissey's vocal
3. Bernard Edwards - Absolutely the grandmaster of funk bass in my opinion, he's somehow able to make Nile Rodgers's guitar parts groove harder than they already do
4. Paul McCartney - The master of counter melody and I just love his tone. His progression as a player is really interesting to track, you can see how he gets more adventurous and note-y while still serving the musical situation.
5. Jason Newsted - His picking is absolutely ferocious, he's the bedrock of whatever track he plays on. His sound is just monstrous but I also have immense respect for him as a person. He really understood his role in the group he was in on a musical and personal level.
Great list. James Jamerson, Donald "Duck" Dunn and Paul McCartney are three of my favorites as well. Five of my favorite bass players:
James Jamerson
Donald "Duck" Dunn
Paul McCartney
David Hood
John Paul Jones
Only five is really hard…so without thinking too much about it:
- Tony Kanal (No Doubt)
- Andy Rourke (The Smiths)
- Flea (RHCP)
- Pino Palladino
- Donald „Duck“ Dunn
Geddy Lee for his melody, rhythm, ablility to fill space, leave space and the best tone ever...who he lifted from Chris Squire...While i'm on the topic: Fish for his soloing off into counterpoint and back and keeping it all moving (proof that real bass players can use a pick). Jaco for his ability to consume chaos and exude order, dexterity and precision, and that stuffy rich compressed tone. The Ox for bringing the thunderfingers, complexity with context to a multitexture rhythm section all the while masquerading as a rock band. Lastly Chuck Rainey, he had Stanley Clarke's Jazz cred, Larry Graham's Funk, Duck Dunn's Soul rock Swing, and taste that went on for days...
Great list. Donald Dunn and James Jamerson are on my list too, but Naomi Yang from Galaxie 500 influenced me a lot growing up(a more thoughtful Peter Hook style of playing). She is the main melodic instrument in that band - "Decomposing trees" is a good place to start. Also Tina Weymouth for simple melodic baselines that really make a song (Like Dunn and Jamerson)
My top 5:
1. Paul McCartney (The Beatles/Wings)
2. Andy Rourke (The Smiths)
3. Simon Gallup (The Cure)
4. Peter Hook (Joy Division/New Order)
5. George Murray (David Bowie)
An excellent list, Philip! Each of these five gentlemen are worthy players,strong influencers and their works are burned into my brain. If I can offer several others for my personal preferences, I’d add John Paul Jones, Jack Bruce and Carol Kaye…Jamerson’s thump is probably ‘the’ bass tone in my head, above all others.
I think that your list really captures the most interesting people. Jamerson is definitely the king of Motown. Paul McCartney changed the face of BASS playing by being a composer of BASS lines. This is no small thing in those bands. It can be a power struggle in a band when the bassist crafts interesting melodic lines, mostl6 because it takes the attention away from the singer or guitarists. Listen also to Aston Family man Barrett the bassist who made Bob Marley become an international superstar. Familyman created the BASS style that identifies reggae music. Jack BRUCE was also a fantastic composer , listen to what he plays with Cream. Brilliant. I will mention also Mike WATT from the band Minutemen , Richard SINCLAIR from British fusion band Hatfield and the North, also Mike HOWLETT from French psychedelic band GONG. THANK YOU .
And being a child of the 70's and 80's, my own Top 5 influences are, in no particular order:
- Geddy Lee (Rush)
- Sting (during his time in The Police)
- Adam Clayton (U2)
- Simon Gallup (The Cure)
- JJ Burnel (The Stranglers)
plus so, so many more! 😊
Good Choice
Thank you, @@tomtrana3449! 😊👍
Great list. Love the diversity. Of course I have to add mine lol
Jamerson, Jaco, McCartney, John Paul Jones, Dee Murray! And Chris Squier was brilliant as well.
Good call on Dee Murray.
I think John Taylor (duran duran) is so underrated bassplayer. he is really a awesome bassplayer .
Geddy Lee, Flea, Joe Dart, James Jamerson, Sam Wilkes.
Paul McCartney, Tina Weymouth, Peter Hook, John Paul Jones, Charles Mingus
Still loving your videos and your vibe. Big hug from Italy
Duck Dunn had one of the best lines in The Blues Brothers! "We had a band powerful enough to turn goat piss into gasoline!!!" Classic 😁
Rewatching The Blues Brothers w/a scotch, pipe, and the bass adjusted sounds like the best way to spend Thanksgiving evening; thanks!
Jaco
Janek Gwizdala
Hadrien Feraud
Thiago Espírito Santo
Tim Lefebvre
Being into fusion, these are the top 5 bass players that motivate me wanting to play more and better.
John Entwistle, Paul McCartney, Jack Bruce, John Paul Jones, Dee Murray
Anthony Jackson
Wilbur Ware
Sam Jones
Pino Palladino
Bootsy Collins
I feel that these five bass players have played a major role in forming my bass sound and I am constantly striving to play more like each of them.
In no order- Mark Sandman, Meshell Ndegeocello, Tina Weymouth, Tom Hamilton, Larry Graham, with honorable mentions for Jamerson, Duck, Paul, and Entwistle
Tina Weymouth, Phil Lesh come straight to mind
I'm lucky enough to count Victor Wooten on my list too, and for many of the same reasons. I got to spend a week at Wooten Woods camp and that sealed the deal. Don't meet your hero...unless he's Vic and then meet his whole, amazing, generous, inspiring family. Musically, I've not tried to do what Vic does, but as a human being, I try to do what he does every day: be a good person. Musically, the bass players who I've spent the most time musically learning from are Chuck Rainey, Nate Watts, Verdine White, and then in the jazz world the Maestro Ron Carter. I love the way they play bass lines, their time and and tone, and the way each contributes to the songs they play on in subtle ways that elevate the whole tune.
Great list, practically the same as mine, I guess.
I would add Sting to my list. I was a fan of the Police and Sting in my youth, but since I started playing the bass in my forties I have come to realise what a musical genius he actually is.
Bass player and lead singer at the same time, cool reggae and jazz influenced bass lines, sometimes minimalist playing, other times rythmically and technically quite challenging.
But always defining the song.
Genius song writer as well.
Crazy! I had a cat growing up my dad named Pino. That cat loved ten lives. He would greet me everyday when I got of the bus. Also live at the quick is how my dad introduced me to Béla Fleck and the Flecktones. That completely changed my view of how I played music. I met Victor at a show and I was so uncomfortable. I wasn’t ready for him to actually listen to me and what little I had to say. 15ish years and I’m still embarrassed about it.
James Jamerson, John Paul Jones, Jaco, John Entwistle, Tal Wilkenfeld, Victor Wooten
Love the video today.
My top 5 not in order(definitely not the best but ones I like and have stolen stuff from).
John Entwistle (Who..... He's the GOAT)
Steve Harris (Iron Maiden, nobody does triplets like him)
John Taylor (Duran Duran, just listen to him and tell me I'm wrong!)
Bernard Edwards (Chic)
& Adam Clayton (U2...... I am Irish so I gotta go local for one. He's got a lot of bass haters but for me he is the king of good bass foundation in a band, restrained and solid)
Though this list could change tomorrow depending on my mood.
It's a hard top 5 to make.
Honorable mentions to Geezer Butler, Jack Bruce & John Deacon
Great list! Adam Clayton especially is underrated.
Great list!! Thanks for sharing Liam ⚡️
@@Andyanddiana467 He really is, gives the Edge so much freedom knowing the rhythm section is holding it all together. As a side note I adore that green Adam Clayton signature jazz bass ...Santa if you are reading this 😜
@@liamolowend - Adam Clayton had been a massive influence also on myself, when I was starting out on the bass in '84 🙂 Nice to see him mentioned, and that's also a great list otherwise! 😊👍
finally, someone gives deac's a mention 👑✊🇬🇧
1. Michael Anthony - VH is my fav band and he was a huge influence on my early playing
2. James Jamerson - all bassists should pray at the alter of Jamerson
3. John Paul Jones - I was in a Led Zep cover band so his style rubbed off on me
4. John Myung - 1st time I saw Dream Theater live, seeing his playing I said to myself that I’d never be that good. Still trying.
5. Tony Franklin - he got me into playing fretless basses.
Yea, my list is all over the place.
Hi, my list is very different, it's chronological from my earliest desires to play bass because of NP to current love of her innovation GS.
1. Nic Potter of Van Der Graaf Generator etc. The first album I ever brought, first bassist I really listened to, & a really nice guy RIP Nic.
2. Jaco Pastorius, for the realisation I can lead from the front as well as from behind, RIP Jaco.
3. Bootsy Collins, for THE ONE and slapin', and Transmutation with Praxis (a very important album at the time - shame I can't hear it the same way without her), thank you, both.
4. Les Claypool, innovation when necessary and when it isn't!
5. Georgia South, bang up to date, a well crafted extreme sound; never thought to wear magnetic rings and play bass like a theremin.
Stanley Clarke, John Paul Jones, Tony Levin, Carol Kaye, Marcus Miller, Victor Wooten, Tina Weymouth, F Chopper Koga, Misa, Tony Pettit, Charles Mingus... love you all but the man said 5.
Great input! Thanks so much for sharing ⚡️
For me: John Paul Jones, Berry Oakley, Tom Hamilton, Ron Wood, Roger Glover, Joe Bouchard, Louis Satterfield, Paul McCartney; but Paul you can say is also my favorite drummer, guitarist, song writer, bassist....you get the picture ❤
As a old fart (61) here's the players who inspired and still inspire me. Mccartney- love the Beatles playing but the contrapuntal playing on Wings Over America is sublime. Jack Bruce- just wow especially his fretless work. David Hood- I'll take you there and all his stuff is amazing. Pino Palladino- love his fretless work with Paul Young and Don Henley. Stanley Clarke's upright and electric playing completely opened my world to different approaches on the bass. Loved your video!
Jack Bruce: I was introduced to a lot of the 60s acid rock by my mom as a kid, and Cream was a big part of that. Sunshine of Your Love remains one of my absolute favorite bass lines.
Gene Simmons: Yes, he's absolute trash as a person, but his stage presence, song writing, and bass playing was a big part of my early bass playing years.
Cliff Burton: It remains a shame that he was taken from us WAY too soon. His use of a classical background in speed metal was ground breaking and his work with Metallica continues to inspire and influence to this day.
Jon Evans: I discovered Tori Amos when I was a freshman in college, and Jon Evans has been a large part of her music, playing bass on a most of her albums.
Billy Sheehan: When it comes to over the top bass players, there are few who can equal Billy. I was fortunate enough to be able to book a private lesson with him not long after I picked the bass back up and I intend to book another when my life calms down (not to mention it means I get to head to Nashville to go digging through the music stores there).
And as a definite honorable mention is Steve Harris. If I can get his gallop tone down consistently, I'll know I've leveled up my playing.
Great list Clint! Thanks for sharing ⚡️
Good video, lots of cool lists, but where's Mingus?
Absolutely, seconded, just scrolled threw and realised. No Mingus. He was earth-shattering.
Tom Scholz, Mars Cowling, Roger Waters, Dusty Hill, Michael Anthony. It's funny how you could probably guess our age by the influences. Although my first bass was a one-owner 76 walnut/maple Jazz, since we didn't play any Rush songs so Geddy Lee doesn't make the list. Too busy trying to make my Jazz sound like a P.
I flat wore-out "Briefcase Full of Blues" after it came out. Come to think of it; he's a fairly strong unintentional influence.
Victor Wooten is most influential as a music educator.
Great Video here's my top five and it was hard narrowing it down to 5 it's like asking which 5 out of your 10 kids do you love the most. 1) Bernard Edwards ( Chic ) he made me actually want to play bass. 2) Mark Adams RIP ( Slave ) astonished a 15 year old kid could be that funky 3) Marcus Miller ( Luther Vandross Aretha Franklin Miles Davis ect ) a style of his own. 4) Verdine White ( Earth Wind & Fire ) besides the mistake in September which nobody noticed until years later his basslines fit their songs perfectly. 5) Prince a surprise I know however he created and played every bassline in every song he wrote for himself or whatever band he was sponsoring
In my case, I would like to name some of those players that I think represent some kind of "fork in the road" to me:
-Doug Wimbish made me want to play cool lines but also think in terms of sounds way further than just a bass (even if I'm just playing bass with no pedals);
-Geddy Lee made me understand better how the bass can conduct a song;
-Martyn P. Casey (from Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds) made realise the beauty of layering very simple lines but thinking in terms of texture, colour, etc.;
-Hiromi Sagane (from tricot); I'm obsessed with her: she plays lots of times signatures and chords and sounds always so solid and enjoys every second... She made want to learn to play with the pick and I'm having a blast with it;
-Jaco Pastorius made me realise that having cool lines and incredible chops may be awesome, but creating beautiful music is even better, whether you are composing or not (I can't stop thinking in "Three Views of a Secret", by The Word of Mouth band, or "Black Crow", by Joni Mitchell).
Love this topic. It's so cool to read other people's choices and then try to imagine what they play like. Or what they took from here and there...
Excellent comment. Thank you for sharing your thoughts! ⚡️
My top 5 would be: 1) Jimmy Johnson 2) Tim Lefebvre 3) Jaco Pastorius 4) Michael Manring 5) John Giblin
Phil Scheidt, Adam Nitti, Justin Hall, Leland Sklar, Victor Wooten all were huge in my love for the rhythm section.
They all helped me hear the power in uniting bass guitar & bass drum so that a song can be built on a firm foundation & edified.
I’m a guitar player thinking about picking up bass to play in jam nights. I watched the blues bros and Donald Duck dun was great
Tina Weymouth, Sergio Vega, Sting, Joe Lally, and James Jamerson.
1. Chris Squire
2. Geddy Lee
3. Geezer Butler
4. Paul McCartney
5. Mike Rutherford
Excellent choices Philip!
Jaco Pastorius, Berry Oakley, Tiran Porter, Kenny Gradney, Larry Graham and Chris Squire (yes that is a list of 6) come to mind as great bass players that I admire. Duck Dunn does have an impressive list of people/bands that he played with. Victor Wooten has a great perspective for music. He causes me to think outside the box. Great video!!!
Great list! Thanks for sharing ⚡️
Love Chris Squire 💪🏾
Great list, and I enjoyed your explanation of why each musician influenced you.
Hello from the u.k.
I worked in a large car plant, in the north of England for 35 yrs
With pino palladino’s brother in law.
My 2 sons now in their early 30s both play bass, the eldest will not use a pick,
The youngest wont use his fingers.
Played in local bands for years, I was an unpaid roadie I told my lads I worked with pino’s
Brother in law, and they didn’t believe me.
So I told my mate and he said “leave it with me” a week or so later, on my desk
Was an envelope containing, pino autographed picks, Meyer c.d. Set of strings,
And a letter!
You should have seen their faces!
I’ll never forget it!
I love that The Blues Brothers is one of your favourite movies of all time, Phil. It turns out that Dan Ackroyd, one of the main characters in that movie is from my hometown of Kingston, Ontario 🇨🇦. He is a really interesting guy in person.
Sorry for getting a bit off topic but I thought I’d share that random bit. Lol
Paul McCartney is someone I need to see live at least once before my time is up, or his. I’ve been fortunate enough to see Ringo live a couple months back with his All Star Band.
As for your comments about James Jamerson, you’re spot on. Our lives would not be the same without the Motown recordings. I love the content!!
This is a great list. The only bass player I would add (who would I leave out, no idea) is Carol Kaye.
I’m a drummer but I think Sting is an underrated bassist. Stewart Copeland is a drumming legend but he’s a little erratic. Sting’s bass was the glue that held the sound together.
the only intersection between my metal background and this comment sections' non metal background is that we both love sting in the police
Interesting you think that about Stewart Copeland. He’s pretty much the antithesis of erratic to my ears. Tight as fk, but always able to fit in loads of nuanced dynamics without losing the beat.
Glad to see Duck on there! Blues Brothers comes up in my rotation very often for the musical contributions. My 1-3 are the same, but add Tony Levin and John Entwistle. Not that I don't like Pino and Victor, because I do, but I didn't find out about them until later. Same for Jaco. My top 5 were just the ones that I came across in a small town in the pre-internet days.
Phil Lesh, Jack Casady, James Jamerson, Paul McCartney, Chris Squire
Very thoughtful list of people with the ability to cross genres. I started with my list but your list changed my mind on that. My add would be Jack Cassidy who’s far more of a virtuoso melodic player but he laid down a solid foundation for a bunch of folks who didn’t know where they were going (Airplane) and there’s something to be said for being the linchpin. But there’s no one I’d drop from your list, so…
Jack is a great addition. Thanks for sharing!
Always enjoy your videos. Thank you.
5. Mark Hoppus
4. Duff McKagan
3. Justin Chancellor
2. Les Claypool
1. Krist Novoselic
My favorites definitely also include Jamerson and McCartney. To me, they are the most melodic bassists ever. I'm also a huge fan of Joe Lally of Fugazi and Robert DeLeo of Stone Temple Pilots. Picking that final spot is too hard for me.
I think it would be cool if you did a video where you play your favorite bass lines. Maybe you just play one each of each of these guys. Or maybe it's not even restricted to these five bassists.
Excellent choices. I'm primarily a rock guy, so my five are: Geezer Butler, Geddy Lee, Steve Harris, Sting, and Gene Simmons.
Great list! Thanks for sharing ⚡️
I love the Gene Simmons pick…He never gets any credit for his talent of giving the song exactly what it needs.
@@mtdawgy walking bass lines, call and response, chord tones and counterpoint, slides, one of the first to use distortion before it became mainstream...Gene in Kiss' '70s heyday was great.
Alphabetical order:
John Entwistle
Tony Levin
Paul McCartney
Chris Squire
Leland Sklar
I've been more influenced by players who find the right part for the song and obviously more from the pop rock side of the spectrum. Sklar is probably number one -- I've learned so much just watching his UA-cam videos. Entwistle was more likely to display his virtuosity onstage than on record, where he tended to be more restrained. Squire is the outlier, but he's definitely one of the first bass players I identified when I was a kid as having his own distinct style and sound, so I had to include him even if I don't play much like him.
Guy Berryman (Coldplay), Colin Greenwood (Radiohead), Chris Wolstenholme (Muse), Adam Clayton (U2), Pino Palladino (John Mayer Trio)
Great list! 🤩👍
Caveat - I listen to rock and am not too familiar with bassists of other genres.
1 - John Entwistle: opened my eyes to not needing to carry the chord progression - pretty sure he doesn’t on half of quadrophenia , if not more
2 and 3: counter-melody tastiness post- McCartney: Bruce Thomas (Attractions) and Mike Mills (REM)
4: Chris Squire - chops plus amazing parts (proto-Geddy?)
5: TBD
Mine are all over the place honestly. Fieldy, Mingus, Weymouth, Entwistle, and Martin Mendez (Opeth) lol. All completely different sectors. If I could expand it then I'd have more of the Funk guys in there but if we're sticking to strictly top 5 there ya have it!
I would say. Charlie Haden, Ron Carter, Geddy Lee, Chris Squire and Les Claypool
Anthony Jackson
Stanley Clark
Chuck Rainey
Tony Levin
Dave Holland
This list changes from time to time, but Anthony Jackson has been on there non-stop since the 80’s.
GREAT list
1. Les Claypool. Not that I can do what he does. But he’s the one I’ve listened to the most. I like his sense for rhythm and weirdness.
2. Abraham Laboriel. Just a wonderful human being, and so melodic and a great mix of rawness and smoothness.
3. Juliaplaysgroove. A UA-camr from Poland who I’ve been following for years. Such creativity and virtuous playing. But also so humble and a kind of “all about the bass” attitude.
4. Donald “Duck” Dunn. Oozing cool.
5. Jason Newsted of Metallica.
Geddy Lee, Les Claypool, Billy Sheehan, Jaco and Flea
Well, if I could list just five, I would. As I go through my past, I realize that I have phases where one (or a few of the same ilk) are my biggest influences, then I'm in another place musically, and another few are the big ones. It's an honestly tough question. I just want to comment, as a new subscriber, that I think you'd be great to hang out with and just discuss the instrument, gear, and music in general. I've been a fan of Rhett's channel for a while, and I'm glad you've got some great, quality content here.
Great list!!! Mine are: Mike Dirnt, John Paul Jones, Billy Sheehan, Jaco Pastorius, Bootsie Collins. UA-camr Influences: Josh Fossgreen, Scott Devine, Adam Neely, the amazing Charles Berthoud and of Course the biggest influence on every bass player that has ever lived or will be alive soon, "Davie504" 🙂
Nice list! Thanks for sharing ⚡️
@@philipconradmusic the young fella Stuart Zender who played bass on Jamiroquai’s first 3 albums was a beast considering he had only been playing bass for two years before the band formed in 1992 ua-cam.com/video/a0uRSQ8nAWc/v-deo.html 🔥
Great video! I like my Orange terror bass 500. It’s hybrid and the drive channel is sweet. The clean channel offers more headroom but it’s still got saturation. I love that dam amp
That’s a great amp! Hoping to do a video on that one soon.
Jamerson, Kaye, both I didn’t know who they were. At the time. I was listening to these two in real time on a transistor radio glued to my ear in 1966. McCartney, I bought a bass within two weeks of seeing Beatles at candlestick. The last two would be Phil Lesh and Bob Moseley. I became musically savvy during 1968, the height of height ashbury music.. I’m 71 now. Honorable mention goes to Entwhistle
In no particular order, in terms of influence on me, the top five are: Simon Gallup (The Cure), Simon Raymonde (Cocteau Twins), Ian Masters (Pale Saints), Phil King (Lush), Nick Chaplin (Slowdive). Why? Because they were the bassists of the bands I liked best at the time I switched from guitar to bass after the original bassist in our band left (circa 1993-1994 ?), and we couldn't find anyone else who was a good fit. So, their songs were the ones I wanted to play and sound like.
I never respond to videos so I suppose this is testament to how good your videos are Philip! And I love this question of course - so excluding upright players and in no particular order: Jameson, Flea, Palladino, Anthony Jackson, Chuck Rainey, and a bonus to Jared Followill from Kings of Leon, cos I learnt a lot from him!
Great list and addition with Jared. So glad to have you here; honored to have your rare comment. Thanks for watching!
You might want to think about a deeper dive into each of these bass-men… I would especially be interested in the McCartney episode!!!
Some in common with you - James and Pino, but huge fan of Pete Trewavas in Marillion was a huge influence back when I started playing…then when I started down the blues genre, Tommy Shannon and Roscoe Beck both made me stop and rethink how to really play the instrument.
Fish-era Marillion was a powerhouse collection of musicians. Clutching at Straws is a bloody masterpiece.
@@darwinsaye spent years listening and absorbing. Part of who I am as a musician is directly due to his influence on my playing.
Great list. Here's mine in no particular order:
Chris Squire
Geddy Lee
Sting
Justin Chancellor
John Paul Jones
John Deacon
Couldn't keep it to just 5. :D
Great choices!
Excellent choices. I love when a huge musical influence is universally loved and hyped AND lives up to the enormous hype. All the bass players on your list definitely fall into that category.
My list is fairly similar (Jamerson Pino, McCartney), but I would add Oteil Burbridge and Rocco Prestia for mine.
If you need some Oteil to check out, please check out the version of Midnight in Harlem from the Everybody’s Talkin’ live record for some of the best melodic, yet supportive, bass playing I’ve ever heard from anyone. The whole record is unreal from front to back, but that song specifically has some incredible stuff.
Also, I picked up your bass course a few weeks ago but haven’t had a chance to dive in yet. I’m excited to check it out!
I second Oteill
funnily enough, all my favorite bassist are 6 string player. anthony jackson off course, alain caron, Tetsuo Sakurai, Nathan East, melvin lee davis, henrik Linder, thundercat etc. but i didn't have a 6 string bass for the first 8 years of my bass journey and it killed me to not be able to play some of anthony jackson and nathan east solo. now i have a 6 string and i don't feel like i'm limited like i used to be.
1. Mike Dirnt: He's the reason I picked up the bass. His catchy melodies on Green Day's early stuff, combined with his thunderous support on their new stuff, inspires me still to this day.
2. Paul Simonon: He picked up the bass and was on stage in no time. His reggae-inspired bass lines were a huge driving force for The Clash.
3. Thundercat: His playing is phenomenal! I'm not sure if I could ever play like him, but his bass playing and music is so great and deserves more recognition.
4. James Jamerson: I wanna funk like this man. So foundational to the future of bass playing. I've even started using the one-finger technique he used a lot.
5. Victor Wooten: I started playing bass in '07, and any time I would look up anything about bass on UA-cam he was always right there at the top with something new to learn from.
Cheers, Philip! I'm sure you're inspiring plenty of new bass players as well!
Just picked up playing bass again, but I always loved Fred Hammond, Paul McCartney, Marcus Miller, Larry Graham, and Fred Hammond lol
jamerson ,kay. geddy lee , chris squire, .... today I love Stephen Cambel of Markus King Band
Awesome! ⚡️
Kevin Parker
Michael Shuman
Carlos D
Nick O‘Malley
Mike Kerr
Can you tell that I’m into melodic, catchy bass lines? 😅
That's a great list. There are so many influential bass players from every style of music that it would be almost impossible to make a definitive top 5. My top 3 would be the same as yours but my other two would have to be The Ox and JPJ. As a child of the sixties and seventies, those five were a huge influence on me.
Lemmy for the distortion, nick oliveri for the songs, tom araya for the direct simple approach « it’s possible to do it »,
Dave curran of Unsane for the play
Al cisneros of Sleep and Om for the unique hypnotic violent tones of his groove
Heavy stuff
If you ask me tomorrow, the list will be different... and longer. But today Pino and his work with the Soulquarians is up there to be sure. NHØP and his work with Dexter Gordon, Joe Pass, and Oscar Peterson is there as well. When I was a kid, I wanted to be Stanley Clarke. He was the first to show me that (for better of worse) bass players could be front and center. Bruce Foxton had snarl and edge that I loved. And Anthony Jackson, that dude is 70 and still killing it. That's the problem with numbered lists and why I don't really like them, they always omit others that are amazing and deserve to be there.
My top 5 influences: Marcus Miller, Nathan East, Anthony Jackson, Jimmy Haslip, Pino Palladino. Bonus 5: Stanley Clarke, Tony Levin, Tim Commerford, Stevie Wonder, Dan Roberts (of Crush Test Dummies)
You got me listening to McLemore Avenue and hearing Donald's take on Paul's bass work is sublime. Anyways...
Mike Mills - REM
Paul McCartney
John Deacon - Queen
Peter Hook - Joy Division/New Order
Donald Dunn
As a kid who grew up in Chicago The Blues Brothers was my first exposure to Donald Dunn as well. First for how much I loved his name and later for his incredible pocket bass playing.
Amazing input! I grew up in Athens, Ga where REM still is. Thanks for sharing! ⚡️
@@philipconradmusic I still think Mike Mills might be one of the most underrated rock bass players. So much of REM's groove is just him. BTW, been loving the channel as an intermediate bass player looking to get better.
My 5 favorite bassists...
Jaco Pastorius
Billy Sheehan (Mr. Big, Talas, David Lee Roth)
John Deacon (Queen)
Geezer Butler (Black Sabbath)
David Brown (from the original Santana band)
I enjoyed this video. My five, at this least for this week:
Jamerson
Dunn
McCartney
Danko
Lally
Those, you listed, especially James Jamerson. And actually Paul McCartney absolutely, for similar reasons, I love his tone and melodic sense. In those Marvin Gaye records everything has a singing voice, including the bass. I love Bootsie Collins, for some of the hardest hitting synth/funk basslines - e.g. Atomic Dog, I'd Rather Be With You. Otherwise, Bernard Edwards, for me. For example, 'I Want Your Love' is iconic. Even the influence he had through being sampled. Like in Moodymann's simple, hypnotic 'I Can't Kick This Feelin' When It Hits'. Some others that I think were iconic for me personally are, Peter Hook (Joy Division, New Order) and hard to pick a favourite between the two Kims (Kim Deal & Kim Gordon).
I got scared by the time u got to number 3 without mentioning pino but alas u got there,like u I was late to the game in discovering him,1st thru John mayer but eventually getting put on to d'angelo and he's been an inspiration ever since,I consider him as my generations jamerson,love your list
My favorites are James Jamerson, Marcus Miller, Flea, Nathan Watts and Nathan East. Pino Paladino, Chuck Rainey and Wilton Felder could easily be on this list, and on a different day, probably would be. These guys are all titans and they've done sooooo much. Great video, dude!
Nice list! Thanks for watching ⚡️
My own top 5: 1. Paul McCartney 2. John Entwistle 3. James Jamerson 4. Carol Kaye 5. Gail Ann Dorsey At the top of my head. Countless others. Jaco Pastorius for a start... Mike Mills (REM), Jack Bruce, etc...
Before I watched this video, I jotted down my top five. They are: Paul McCartney, Tiran Porter, Jack Bruce, James Jamerson, and Donald Duck Dunn. It's interesting that we share some of the same ones! I love lists like this. I often ponder my own musical influences.
Sounds like we have a lot in common! Thanks for sharing ⚡️
Marcus Miller, James Jamerson, Rocco Prestia, Jaco Pastorius, Janek Gwizdala
Great choices!
Great list! Also, Paul McCartney was influenced by James Jamerson.
I love your list. Boy this is a hard question to answer. I think for me (in no particular order): Victor Wooten, Verdine White, Leland Sklar, James Jamerson, Tim Commerford. It gets really hard there at the end, so many players have had a huge influence on me as a player. I have to give honorable mentions to Dirk Lance (incubus), Paul McCartney, Marcus Miller, Chuck Rainey, and Rocco Prestia.
Yo I played his version of Amazing Grace at my high school senior recital in the music program i was in. It was so fun to play. Victor is the best. I've met him too