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100 must know songs

R

ROGI

Apr 25, 2005
770
304
Croatia, Europe
#1
for giggin' and/or session bassist in Northeastern US.
(POP/ROCK/50-60-70-80's/DANCE/COUNTRY)

i tried the search but came with nothing :hmm:
so I'm trying to make my life easier, and use next 7 months to do something useful and get prepared.

:help:

thnx a lot.
 
#2
1. Carry On Wayward Son by Kansas
2. Dazed and Confused by Led Zeppelin
3. Ramble On by Led Zeppelin
4. Dani California by Red Hot Chili Peppers
5. I Wish by Stevie Wonder
6. Roundabout by YES
7. I'm A Man by Chicago
8. Bouree by Jethro Tull
9. The Lemon Song by Led Zeppelin

and if you can try to figure out the bassline to
Kid Icaroid (Kid Icarus - Stage 1, Final Stage, Metroid - Title) by Entertainment System
Figure out the line and then improv alot.

Hope this helps!
 
#5
I don't agree at all with the first 2 responses. Nothing wrong with the tunes, but I believe OP post for asking for the most useful lines. Those two lists are certain peoples favorites; and that has about zero to do with most useful. IMO.

Ray Brown once said the most important thing a bassist can do is "know a lot of tunes." That is consistent with my experience. What are they? My 2c is to go through the biggest 100 hits from each decade. That will cover generally a good smattering of the key R&R, R&B, Blues, Country, etc. If you're going to be a pro, you have to be inquiring and genre-blind; and you have to be somewhat careful not to let your preferences intrude. Learn as many popular tunes as possible; and learn them in detail, not that you will parrot them back that way, so that you get the different styles.

My 2c; GL
 
#6
tomber said:
1. Carry On Wayward Son by Kansas
2. Dazed and Confused by Led Zeppelin
3. Ramble On by Led Zeppelin
4. Dani California by Red Hot Chili Peppers
5. I Wish by Stevie Wonder
6. Roundabout by YES
7. I'm A Man by Chicago
8. Bouree by Jethro Tull
9. The Lemon Song by Led Zeppelin
Click to expand...

Ha! I only know two of those songs (and I've been playing bars and clubs for years)!

I'll suggest a few I've been called on to play in various bands:

"Moondance" and "Brown-Eyed Girl" by Van Morrison

"Little Wing" by Jimi Hendrix

"Pride And Joy" by Stevie Ray Vaughan & Double Trouble

"Ain't No Sunshine" by Bill Withers

"Disco Inferno" by The Trammps

"Good Times" by Chic (also works for "Rapper's Delight" by Sugarhill Gang, even though the lines are slightly different).

"Stand By Me" by Ben E. King

"Waiting In Vain", "Stir It Up", "No Woman No Cry" by Bob Marley And The Wailers

"Folsom Prison Blues" and "Ring Of Fire" by Johnny Cash

"I Got You (I Feel Good)" And "Get Up (I Feel Like Being A Sex Machine)" by James Brown

"Lady Marmalade" by Labelle

"Cissy Strut" by The Meters

"Superstition" by Stevie Wonder

"Respect" by Aretha Franklin

"Message In A Bottle" by The Police

"Summertime" (Gershwin) by any number of artists

"All Blues" by Miles Davis

"Watermelon Man" by Herbie Hancock (the Headhunters' version if you're lucky!)

"What's Going On" by Marvin Gaye

Anyway, you get the idea...
 
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#7
That's more like it. Now add
My Girl
Let's Get It On
Brick House
Play That Funky Music
That's the Way I Like It
Shake Your Booty
Mustang Sally
Midnight Hour
Knock On Wood
Wonderful World
Skin Tight
Fire
Love Rollercoaster
For the Love of You
At Last
Let's Stay Together
Celebration
Love Train
Proud Mary
Girl From Ipanema
...add a couple EWF and some more Kool and the Gang and you're starting to have a working basic set list.

Also, you can't go wrong if you can competently pull off
Jump
Don't Stop Believing
Like a Prayer


bon appetit.
 
#8
Old Time Rock and Roll
Hold On, I'm Coming
Georgia
Sweet Home Alabama (well, in the Southeast, not sure about the Northeast)
Tush/Jesus Just Left Chicago
Shaky Ground
Bad To the Bone
The Thrill is Gone
Long Train Running
One Way Out
Stormy Monday
Honky Tonk Woman
Takin' Care of Business
Shout
Beach Songs Medley: Be Young Be Foolish, Hey Baby, It's Alright, etc.
 
#10
Barracuda - Heart
La Grange - ZZ Top
I Love Rock n' Roll - Joan Jett & the Blackhearts
What I Like About You - Romantics
Smooth - Santana
I Wanna Be Sedated - the Ramones
Are You Gonna Go My Way - Lenny Kravitz
Bad Case Of Loving You (Doctor, Doctor) - Robert Palmer
Chain Of Fools - Aretha Franklin
Girls On Film - Duran Duran
Middle Of The Road - the Pretenders
Sweet Child o' Mine - Guns n Roses
Rebel Rebel - David Bowie
Somebody Told Me - the Killers
Get Down On It - Kool and the Gang
Let's Go Crazy - Prince
Give It Up - KC and the Sunshine Band
New Year's Day - U2
Mr. Jones - Counting Crows
More Than A Feeling - Boston
Walk This Way - Aerosmith
Just Like Heaven - the Cure
Lowrider - War
Nelson Mandela - The Special AKA
 
#14
MNAirHead said:
Yes.. much of the list is someone's personal favorite.. not gig standards.
Click to expand...

Tried to get a balance, we'll see...

Satisfaction
Brown Sugar
Johnny B Goode
Spoonful
Born Under A Bad Sign
Smoke On The Water
Black Night
Paranoid
All Right Now
Wishing Well

Hard To Handle
Dancing In The Street
Gimme Some Lovin'
Nutbush City Limits
Crossroads
Addicted To Love
Bad Case Of Loving You
House Of The Rising Sun
Midnight Hour
Knock On Wood

Wild Thing
Louis Louis
Red House
Somebody To Love
White Rabbit
Tobacco Road
Wade In The Water
High Heel Sneakers
C'mon Everybody/Summertime Blues

Shake Rattle & Roll/Flip Flop & Fly
Shakin' All Over
Sea Cruise
Mystery Train
Get Rhythm
Matchbox
It's All Over Now
Whisky In The Jar
Dancing In The Moonlight

Don't Believe A Word
Highway To Hell
Don't Fear The Reaper
St James Infirmary
Ain't No Love In The Heart Of The City
Life In The Fast Lane
Rocky Mountain Way
Stormy Monday
Black Magic Woman (both versions)
Some Kind Of Wonderful

Move Over
Bright Lights, Big City
Baby What You Want Me To Do
Boom Boom
Train Kept A Rollin/Honey Hush
Gangster Of Love
Ain't That A Bitch
Are You Gonna Go My Way
Under The Bridge

And, of course...


Freeeeeeeeeebiiiiiiiirrrrddddd!
 
#15
ROGI said:
for giggin' and/or session bassist in Northeastern US.
(POP/ROCK/50-60-70-80's/DANCE/COUNTRY)

i tried the search but came with nothing :hmm:
so I'm trying to make my life easier, and use next 7 months to do something useful and get prepared.

:help:

thnx a lot.
Click to expand...

Just google rock bands, and pop bands, and variety bands and so on, and look for set lists. Many will have those lists, explicitly on their sites. I've run across so many (full) set lists over the years, that I've never worried about cataloging such information because I seemed to find it with such regularity.

Check a bunch of lists. You'll see some patterns emerge, and some things way off-track. Draw your own conclusions.
 
#17
Deathblade Eric said:
Tried to get a balance, we'll see...

Satisfaction
Brown Sugar
Johnny B Goode
Spoonful
Born Under A Bad Sign
Smoke On The Water
Black Night
Paranoid
All Right Now
Wishing Well

Hard To Handle
Dancing In The Street
Gimme Some Lovin'
Nutbush City Limits
Crossroads
Addicted To Love
Bad Case Of Loving You
House Of The Rising Sun
Midnight Hour
Knock On Wood

Wild Thing
Louis Louis
Red House
Somebody To Love
White Rabbit
Tobacco Road
Wade In The Water
High Heel Sneakers
C'mon Everybody/Summertime Blues

Shake Rattle & Roll/Flip Flop & Fly
Shakin' All Over
Sea Cruise
Mystery Train
Get Rhythm
Matchbox
It's All Over Now
Whisky In The Jar
Dancing In The Moonlight

Don't Believe A Word
Highway To Hell
Don't Fear The Reaper
St James Infirmary
Ain't No Love In The Heart Of The City
Life In The Fast Lane
Rocky Mountain Way
Stormy Monday
Black Magic Woman (both versions)
Some Kind Of Wonderful

Move Over
Bright Lights, Big City
Baby What You Want Me To Do
Boom Boom
Train Kept A Rollin/Honey Hush
Gangster Of Love
Ain't That A Bitch
Are You Gonna Go My Way
Under The Bridge

And, of course...


Freeeeeeeeeebiiiiiiiirrrrddddd!
Click to expand...

Now THAT is an excellent list, to which I would add:

Soul Man
Shake a Tailfeather
Do I Do
Pride and Joy (or Crossfire ... or Tightrope) by SRV
Get the Funk Outta My Face (or Stomp) by Brothers Johnson
Car Wash
Kiss (the one by Prince)
I Shot the Sheriff (preferably the Bob Marley version, but Clapton's is OK too)
... and mix in about a half-dozen James Brown classics, plus a few of Jamerson's Motown gems, and you'll have a very versatile repertoire
 

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