Jaco Pastorius

John Francis Anthony Pastorius III (December 1, 1951 – September 21, 1987), was an American jazz musician widely acknowledged for his skills as an electric bass player. His style was noteworthy for containing intricate solos in the higher register on the fretless bass. Pastorius suffered from mental illness including a substance-related disorder, and was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 1982. He died in 1987 at age 35 following a violent altercation at a Fort Lauderdale drinking establishment. He is regarded as one of the most influential bass players of all time.

There are better quality videos out there. But forget the visual noise...

John Entwistle

John Alec Entwistle (born 9 October 1944) was an English bass guitarist, songwriter, singer and horn player best known as the bass player for the rock band The Who. His aggressive lead sound influenced many rock bass players and he has been described as "the greatest bassist in the history of rock". Entwistle's lead instrument approach used pentatonic lead lines, and a then-unusual trebly sound created by roundwound RotoSound steel bass strings. Entwistle died in a Las Vegas hotel room on 27 June 2002. He had gone to bed that night with a stripper/groupie, who woke at 10 am to find Entwistle cold and unresponsive. The Clark County medical examiner determined that death was due to a heart attack induced by cocaine.

This amazing bit of footage is just his bass playing isolated in the mix. The sound takes a minute or so to kick in - but by crikey, it's worth the wait.

James Jamerson

James Lee Jamerson (January 29, 1936 - August 2, 1983) was the uncredited bassist on most of the Motown Records hits in the 1960s and early 1970s and is now regarded as one of the most influential bass players. Jamerson is noted for expanding the role of the bass in popular music, playing melodies rather than root notes. He generally used only his right index finger to pluck the strings earning it the nickname of "The Hook". Also of note is his 1962 Fender Precision, dubbed "The Funk Machine." Jamerson carved the heel with a ballpoint pen and the single word, “FUNK”. The bass was stolen days before Jamerson’s passing in 1983. To this day, its location remains a mystery.

Some very rare footage of the man himself playing The Funk Machine.

Jack Bruce

John Symon Asher "Jack" Bruce (born 14 May, 1943) is a founding member of the British psychedelic rock power trio, Cream. Though trained on the upright bass, Jack Bruce took a liking early on to small, short-scale electric basses, notably the classic Gibson EB-3, the sound of which he made famous during Cream's live tours. The Sunday Times stated "...many consider him to be one of the greatest bass players of all time."

The cigarette adds to the bass's raspy tone. Or not.

Paul McCartney

Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE (born 18 June 1942) is the most commercially successful songwriter in the history of popular music, according to Guinness World Records. When McCartney became the bass player for the Beatles, he was taking over an instrument that was usually handed to the least talented guitarist. Bass was simply not a cool instrument to play. McCartney changed all of this, with his violin shaped Hofner right up front and in the hands of a guy who made bass playing look like fun. On the records, the Beatles allowed Paul's bass parts to be a big part of the song.

It should be pointed out that if you haven't got as much ability as McCartney, the bass player can still tend to be the worst guitarist in the band...

Cliff Burton

Clifford Lee "Cliff" Burton (February 10, 1962) was an American musician, best known as the bass guitarist for Metallica. Burton joined the band in 1982 and performed on their debut album, Kill 'Em All. Burton performed on two more Metallica albums, Ride the Lightning and Master of Puppets, both of which met with major commercial and critical success. Burton was known for his "lead bass" approach, in which the bass played a melodic and soloist role, in addition to holding down the harmonic and rhythmic foundation of the band. On September 27, 1986, Burton died when the band's tour bus skidded and flipped over in rural southern Sweden.

I'd make some comment about his playing technique. But frankly, I haven't got a Scooby how he's doing it.

Flea

Michael Peter Balzary (born October 16, 1962), better known by his stage name Flea, is best known as the bassist of the alternative rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers. Rolling Stone magazine wrote "if there were a Most Valuable Bass Player award given out in rock, Flea could have laid claim to that bitch ten years running". In 1984, Flea was playing so aggressively that he had worn a hole in his thumb and he was literally screaming in pain in-between songs. "What mattered was how you hit them [basses] and your emotional intent, and I still think that's the bottom line."

This video has received thousands of thumbs ups. Presumably from people who didn't have holes in theirs.

Geddy Lee

Gary Lee Weinrib, OC, better known as Geddy Lee (born July 29, 1953), is a Canadian musician, best known as the lead vocalist, bassist, and keyboardist for the Canadian rock group Rush. An award-winning musician, Lee's style, technique, and skill on the bass guitar have been cited as an inspiration by many rock and heavy metal musicians. His playing is renowned for complex melodies, featuring intricate tempo and key changes.

Prepare to enjoy a gift beyond price, almost free.

Lemmy

Ian Fraser "Lemmy" Kilmister (born 24 December 1945), is best known as the founding and sole constant member of the heavy metal band Motörhead. He uses the bridge pickup exclusively (giving his bass sound more definition) and turns all the tone and volume knobs on the bass up full. On the amplifiers, he turns off the bass and treble and he turns the midrange up all the way. The result is a biting, almost guitar-like tone which is somewhat distorted and well-suited to his use of open-string drones and power chords. Lemmy positions his microphone uncommonly high. He said that, "In the days when we only had ten people and a dog, it was a way of avoiding seeing that we only had ten people and a dog."

Not one of the best known Motörhead songs. But a fantastic showcase of Lemmy's sound and playing style.

Dee Dee Ramone

Dee Dee Ramone (born Douglas Glenn Colvin, September 18, 1951) was an American songwriter and musician, best known as founding member, bassist and main songwriter of the punk rock band the Ramones. He was initially the band's lead vocalist, though his (then) inability to sing and play bass at the same time resulted in original drummer Joey Ramone taking over the lead vocalist duties. Dee Dee would serve as the band's bassist from 1974 through 1989, when he left to pursue a short-lived and ill-advised career in hip hop music under the name Dee Dee King. He died from a heroin overdose in 2002.




















Note his technique - strangle the thin end and hit the fat end as hard as you can.