Bassists as influential as guitarists?

[two fingers]

As I said earlier; we were discussing influence on the music, the evolution/style/composition etc. The audience doesn't drive the car, we do.

Yeah, but the car is a taxi. And without someone paying in the back seat (audience), there's no need to start the car.

Now that we're talking about the music though, I would argue that Jaco had just as much influence as Metheny, Stanley Clarke every bit as much as Al Di Meola, Mingus as much as Scofield, etc.

Musically? Sure. No doubt. It's about even, I would say.

 

[madbass6]

Bassists are influential to bassists.

I agree with the OP 100! But Sorry respectfully Disagree with you!
I mean at one point in our lives we where not Bass players, somebody had to influence us to pick up the Bass in the first place! and to me personally it most defenetly was not a guitar player or any other musician but Bass player !
With that being said,
influential Bassist in my book are..
1.Stanley Clark
2.Anthony Jackson
3.Luis Johnson
4.the legendary ! James jamerson!
5.another legend ! Jaco P !
6. Flea
7. Pinno paladino
8. lee sklar
9. Oteil burbridge
10. Victor Wooten, & many,many more!
and last but not least,
me !
to my kid !

 

[consectaneus]

Probably Jamerson, whether people knew his name or not. Many of our heroes who influence us were in turn influenced by him. Paul, Entwistle, JPJ, Will Lee, and many more talk about how the bass lines popped out of those records. I became aware of the bass when I could hear it in the mix and it was integral to the song...i.e. had the melodic hook or was mixed out front. For me it was players like Joe Osborn and Dee Murray.

Most average people understand the bass when it is slapped and popped.

To your question, it has to be Jaco.

 

[ll Rip ll]

Infuence notwithstanding, bass is obviously the better instrument of the two. That said, i propose that bassists are smarter than guitarists by virtue of making better life choices.

 

[Rumble Thunder]

Yes. Everyone knows Paul... as a Beatle. Not a bassist, per se. Most boomer non-musicians I've discussed the Beatles with assume he's a guitar player.

Ok, here's the thing guys. Unless I misunderstood the OP, which may very well be possible, he was referring to influence from a bass player. Not how famous a bass player is. Nor did the OP specify that the influence had to be only from bass playing exclusively. So...
Paul McCartney = bass player
Paul McCartney =influential
Therefore bass player is influential.
And I am not talking about mildly influence but extraordinarily so. I mean the dude's bass is iconic. Most people know what his bass even looks like. He has influenced the world and the music world astronomically.
Now, back to OP and question:
Did Paul McCartney influence the world and music world MORE than George Harrison, the guitarist in the band? I would say so.
An even bigger question would be, if you consider John Lennon a guitarist ( which I am not sure if I do), did Paul McCartney influence the world and music world more than John Lennon?
I'm unsure of where I would be on that one, I haven't reached any conclusions.

Now on Sting, he definitely has more influence than Andy Summers!
Chris Squire more than Steve Howe.
I am still thinking about whether John Entwistle has more influence than Pete Townsend(sp).

 

[bearfoot]

In jazz/fusion, yes. Bassists are as influential, at least, as guitarists and keyboardists.
Outside of jazz/fusion, bassists are less influential.
I assume that "influential" here means to other musicians, not to non-musicians, who are generally not influenced by anyone musical. Non-musicians, I observe, are more influenced by the philosophical aspect of a singer/songwriter/band's direction: is it positive, negative, etc.

But as far as audience appreciation goes, I don't think bass is ignored or unnoticed.

 

[ll Rip ll]

Ok, here's the thing guys. Unless I misunderstood the OP, which may very well be possible, he was referring to influence from a bass player. Not how famous a bass player is. Nor did the OP specify that the influence had to be only from bass playing exclusively. So...
Paul McCartney = bass player
Paul McCartney =influential
Therefore bass player is influential.
And I am not talking about mildly influence but extraordinarily so. I mean the dude's bass is iconic. Most people know what his bass even looks like. He has influenced the world and the music world astronomically.
Now, back to OP and question:
Did Paul McCartney influence the world and music world MORE than George Harrison, the guitarist in the band? I would say so.
An even bigger question would be, if you consider John Lennon a guitarist ( which I am not sure if I do), did Paul McCartney influence the world and music world more than John Lennon?
I'm unsure of where I would be on that one, I haven't reached any conclusions.

Now on Sting, he definitely has more influence than Andy Summers!
Chris Squire more than Steve Howe.
I am still thinking about whether John Entwistle has more influence than Pete Townsend(sp).

Great example! I agree completely. More interestingly, if we're speaking purely on the influence of an individual, not his bass skill, or lack thereof, guys like Gene Simmons come to mind.

 

[Picton]

Ok, here's the thing guys. Unless I misunderstood the OP, which may very well be possible, he was referring to influence from a bass player. Not how famous a bass player is. Nor did the OP specify that the influence had to be only from bass playing exclusively. So...
Paul McCartney = bass player
Paul McCartney =influential
Therefore bass player is influential.
And I am not talking about mildly influence but extraordinarily so. I mean the dude's bass is iconic. Most people know what his bass even looks like. He has influenced the world and the music world astronomically.
Now, back to OP and question:
Did Paul McCartney influence the world and music world MORE than George Harrison, the guitarist in the band? I would say so.
An even bigger question would be, if you consider John Lennon a guitarist ( which I am not sure if I do), did Paul McCartney influence the world and music world more than John Lennon?
I'm unsure of where I would be on that one, I haven't reached any conclusions.

Now on Sting, he definitely has more influence than Andy Summers!
Chris Squire more than Steve Howe.
I am still thinking about whether John Entwistle has more influence than Pete Townsend(sp).

Good points, but I think a number of us are talking past each other.

I think Sting and Paul are influential. But I think 99% of the world has no idea they're bassists.

So there's no way I can call them "influential bassists."

I also think that, for both of them, their influence as songwriters is VASTLY more important than their influence as bassists.

 

[zortation]

Seems like everyone on youtube these days wants to sound like Paul Jackson, so he gets a shout out.

 

[Diddywah]

Yeah, but the car is a taxi. And without someone paying in the back seat (audience), there's no need to start the car. .

I´m not so sure about that; lots of people would like a ride to somewhere they haven´t been before.. and would pay good money for that....(Others only feel safe if they know whats coming )
Anyway; you got my question right; and seems like you agree with me too; bassists are (at least) as good drivers as guitarists

 

[Watchootognbout]

There are only two truly influential bassists: Sir Paul and John Taylor. No other bassists have ever managed to make so many girls cry.

The girls didn't scream and cry because they played bass.
It was because they sang love songs to them.
Or because they had a certain "look"