Why does james brown use two bass players?

theshadow2001 · Oct 12, 2006

So I've seen a couple of his concerts on TV and on a DVD that came with a box set and I'm going to see him live at the end of this month :hyper:

But what confuses me is each time I've seen him he has two bass players. They seem not to play in tandem just alternate songs. Why does he do this? Whats the point of having two when one would suffice?

Dr. Cheese · Oct 12, 2006

I don't when those shows were dated, but I know that at least one his bassists, Charles Sherrill, doubled as a keyboardist. I think another may have doubled as a guitarist.

de la mocha · Oct 12, 2006

Maybe each has their own individual style that fits individual songs more then the other?

Jumbotron · Oct 12, 2006

Maybe he's just too funky for one bass player to handle all by himself.

Bassic83 · Oct 12, 2006

Because he can!

these_go211 · Oct 12, 2006

i saw him 2 years ago at the mountain winery in saratoga and he did indeed have 2 bassists. from what i remember both of them were dedicated bassists and not multi-instrumentalists. one of them was very old school in that he played almost solely by plucking with his thumb. actually even daring to use the finger anchor that sits beneath the g string on a p-bass! the other guy i think was a bit younger and i believe he played a stingray. i think they did play a lot of the songs together.

james brown is a funky enough cat to actually need two bassists!

Lazylion · Oct 12, 2006

Whatever the Godfather does is correct.

Except when he gets arrested! :hiding:

TheSuzie · Oct 12, 2006

"Why does james brown use two bass players?"

So he can have two different people to point at and call out "I got ya"

Erick Lam · Oct 12, 2006

Because he knows how important the bass is so he brings a back-up. A smart fellow, that Mr Brown.

Seriously, I don't know.

The Mock Turtle Regulator · Oct 12, 2006

I think Bass Player did a feature on them-
JB likes to pick which one plays on each song, or even part of a song.
it's also his preference that they pluck with their thumbs.

MacGroove · Oct 12, 2006

For their playing styles, feel and groove. Sometimes with 2 drummers. The Funkbrothers used 4 different drummers depending one style and feel also.

teej · Oct 12, 2006

theshadow2001 said:
Why does james brown use two bass players?

BECAUSE IT MAKES HIM FEEL GOOD! :scowl:

Actually, I have no idea. I just wanted to shamelessly make a James Brown/"Feel Good" reference. If I had to guess, though, I'd have to agree with everyone else -- different players for different songs or styles.

Or maybe James Brown had a fever, and the only prescription was more bass.

The Lurker · Oct 12, 2006

these_go211 said:
i saw him 2 years ago at the mountain winery in saratoga and he did indeed have 2 bassists. from what i remember both of them were dedicated bassists and not multi-instrumentalists. one of them was very old school in that he played almost solely by plucking with his thumb. actually even daring to use the finger anchor that sits beneath the g string on a p-bass! the other guy i think was a bit younger and i believe he played a stingray. i think they did play a lot of the songs together.

james brown is a funky enough cat to actually need two bassists!

The thumb guy is Fred Thomas; he's been with james for a long time. . The younger guy is Ray Brundidge. They're both bassists only, they don't double on other instruments with James.

Honestly, most of it is because James will have one guy usually play a particular song and the other guy something else, based on stylistic stuff. They do change stuff up, though. Used to have two drummers, too. Seems that he originally started it out so he could have a backup in case he had to fire someone, though

Here's the BP article.

Invalid Link Removed

nemo · Oct 12, 2006

Yep, I have seen him twice in last five years and in both cases he used two bassists - one the older guy thumbing the main drive like crazy, and the younger guy with stingray just doing glisses to the one!! LOL
On one of those gigs he even had a ILLUSIONIST

between "sets" that showed tricks like pouring wine from folded newspaper, etc.

The Man himself was between songs always introduced by someone like master of ceremonies in white tuxedo..
And I should not forget the group of hot long-legged dancers in american flag style outfits..

markjazzbassist · Oct 13, 2006

these_go211 said:
james brown is a funky enough cat to actually need two bassists!

+1

james brown is the man.

Funky Doctor · Oct 13, 2006

He also uses 2 drummers AND a percussionist, 3 guitarists and a horn section. He pretty much takes 2 and a half bands on stage with him!

mchildree · Oct 13, 2006

I ran a stage crew for a JB show a few years back and it was crazy...26 people on the stage at once! I was watching the two bassists pretty closely and they never double each other (at least not that I could tell, and I was 10 ft away). They do a lot of switching out, as mentioned before, and the one taking the secondary role appeared to be dropping big root bombs on the 1. Pretty good idea in music that funky and heavy.

...and if you think what's on the stage is crazy, you should see what's going on backstage! We're near James' hometown of Augusta, GA and he bused in a whole bunch of friends/family/homies for the show. Think 200 old retired pimpsters in their 70's with their equally-elderly babes, all in their finest party wear. Wow....

I got such a kick out of watching the white-bread yuppies trying to hang with that crowd.

JAUQO III-X · Oct 13, 2006

Little Richard,usually has two drummers and two Bass players on stage playing at the same time.

these_go211 · Oct 13, 2006

"Think 200 old retired pimpsters in their 70's with their equally-elderly babes, all in their finest party wear. Wow...."

that's a hilarious visual!

baba · Oct 16, 2006

I've seen a few P-Funk shows where Clinton had two bassists. I got the impression that about a dozen musicians were swapping out so they could go backstage and party. This was early 90's when I had a counterfiet "Dope Dog" pass, not sure if that's still the case.

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Why does james brown use two bass players?

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theshadow2001

Dr. Cheese

de la mocha

Jumbotron

Bassic83

these_go211

Lazylion

Goin ahead on wit my bad self!

TheSuzie

Erick Lam

The Mock Turtle Regulator

MacGroove

Brother of the Groove with a 'Pocket Full of Funk'

teej

The Lurker

nemo

markjazzbassist

Funky Doctor

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JAUQO III-X

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