Famous bassists everyone knows

[Son of Wobble]

Depends on how old the person you ask is, definitely Paul, Sting, or Flea.

We did this game six months ago or so, and the ten-page thread yielded these very three names as most identifiable.

We also decided the jury was somewhat out on Sting at this late date.

Which leaves you either Flea or Macca to feature on your in-store cut out at Guitar Center. And when you consider these guys
are 54 and 75, respectively, then you start to grasp the headwinds facing Fender and Gibson in terms of attracting young customers.

 

[Pops OB]

Can't quite put my finger on why, but I had a strong hunch you might be a Leland Sklar fan.

Lol!

 

[pbass2]

I know you guys will think I have bumped my head, but there are plenty of people around 20 or younger who have no idea who the Beatles were....not even from a historical standpoint.

This right here is terrifying to me.....

 

[pbass2]

Do regular folks, especially younger folks, even think of Sting as a bass player? I think he's just sort of a celebrity/icon of some sort to them, unless they're into retro music and dig the Police.

 

[pbass2]

Anyhow, I voted for Flea based on this poll. I think even people who don't give a shizzit about music know he's a bass player.

 

[Son of Wobble]

This right here is terrifying to me.....

Here's one that should shake you to your core: my ex-wife MET George Harrison on numerous occasions and only knew him as "Hippy George." She starred opposite Mickey Rourke in a circa-1989 flick called "Prayer For The Dying," and Harrison was a producer (the film was made by his Handmade Films). Harrison was so low-key as he lurked around the set, that my wife just thought him a kindly old rich eccentric having a splash in motion picture financing.

 

[Son of Wobble]

Anyhow, I voted for Flea based on this poll. I think even people who don't give a shizzit about music know he's a bass player.

You go to war with the army you have, and Flea is our guy. For better or worse, he's the only one who can tell the world what we've been up to here at TB. Let's all pray he returns alive.

 

[pbass2]

You go to war with the army you have, and Flea is our guy. For better or worse, he's the only one who can tell the world what we've been up to here at TB. Let's all pray he returns alive.

You're killin me. So good. Strangely enough though, if you say "Pino" in a crowded music club, it's surprising how many heads turn. And then... you get wine!

 

[Pops OB]

Even Lee Sklar has his bad beard days!

 

[madbass6]

According to you, if you would ask anybody on the street to name you a bassist, which would be the most popular ?

WHAT!! no victor wooten on that list ? out of the ones that are on it .. 1.Sr paul mc / 2.jamerson and 3.jaco of course !

 

[Son of Wobble]

View attachment 2754276 Even Lee Sklar has his bad beard days!

I would argue (but not to Lee!) that giving the finger is a redundancy when sporting a beard like this. Everyone ALREADY knows what you think of their enterprise!

 

[Pops OB]

I would argue (but not to Lee!) that giving the finger is a redundancy when sporting a beard like this. Everyone ALREADY knows what you think of their enterprise!

Absolutely!

Lee and his famous "Producer Switch"...

Lee: "Ah, the Producer Switch! That was inspired by incompetent producers ignorant of music terminology, who would make nebulous statements like, “Can you make it shimmer?” Or, “Can you make it more mauve-y?” I had done a TV session where Tommy Tedesco—out of sight of the producer, except for his head—kept bending over and picking up the same acoustic guitar when asked to try mandolin and other stringed instruments. He would simply play in a different position on the neck, and it worked! So I immediately went home and drilled a hole in my bass and put in a dummy Switchcraft switch. Then when I would get one of these tenuous requests, I would make sure the producer could see me hit the switch, and I’d just play higher up on the neck or pluck closer to the bridge, and they’d say, “Perfect!” On my Warwick Star Basses there was an extra hole from a change in the electronics, so I had them put a Producer Switch on them."

 

[rocu]

I asked my wife. The only bass player she could name was me. And she had to think about it.

 

[bassliner50]

Who cares what non musicians (don't) think?

 

[Son of Wobble]

WHAT!! no victor wooten on that list ? out of the ones that are on it .. 1.Sr paul mc / 2.jamerson and 3.jaco of course !

Jaco didn't get a single point in the poll.

Not sure where you are based, but if you did a Jimmy Kimmel here in L.A. and asked 100 people on Hollywood Blvd, "Do you think Jaco Pastorius was a good pick for U.S. Secretary of Treasury?" You would get 52 saying yes, 47 replying no, and MAYBE that one crazy dude on roller skates who would know him as a bass hero.

 

[Son of Wobble]

Who cares what non musicians (don't) think?

That's what I say, to hell with the audience!

 

[madbass6]

Jaco didn't get a single point in the poll.

Not sure where you are based, but if you did a Jimmy Kimmel here in L.A. and asked 100 people on Hollywood Blvd, "Do you think Jaco Pastorius was a good pick for U.S. Secretary of Treasury?" You would get 52 saying yes, 47 replying no, and MAYBE that one crazy dude on roller skates who would know him as a bass hero.

he does now! the general public might not know of Jaco, but in the Bass world (wish is who this poll is targeting) im sure more then one of us Bass players out there know of jaco! even if its that crazy dude on skates!!

 

[Son of Wobble]

he does now! the general public might not know of Jaco, but in the Bass world (wish is who this poll is targeting) im sure more then one of us Bass players out there know of jaco! even if its that crazy dude on skates!!

The original question was specifically an invitation to conjecture about the opinion of the "man on the street."

The median age for earthlings is 26.
There are 1.2 billion people between the ages of 15 and 24.


How is some 25 year old gonna know Jaco? from Weather Report records? Hahahaa!
Joni Mitchell's catalog? I don't think so!


I'll double down and say 1 man or woman in 300 on Hollywood Blvd knows who Jaco is. And his albums with Weather Report were cut just over the hill in North Hollywood.

 

[madbass6]

The original question was specifically an invitation to conjecture about the opinion of the "man on the street."

The median age for earthlings is 26.
There are 1.2 billion people between the ages of 15 and 24.


How is some 25 year old gonna know Jaco? from Weather Report records? Hahahaa!
Joni Mitchell's catalog? I don't think so!


I'll double down and say 1 man or woman in 300 on Hollywood Blvd knows who Jaco is. And his albums with Weather Report were cut just over the hill in North Hollywood.

I respectfully disagree but if you say so, cool I guess! lets just agree to disagree and back to topic in hand..

 

[Son of Wobble]

I respectfully disagree but if you say so, cool I guess! lets just agree to disagree and back to topic in hand..

THIS IS THE TOPIC AT HAND!