Famous bassists everyone knows

[two fingers]

The most famous bassist that doesn't sing lead vocals is definitely Flea.

Walk up to anyone over 40 and say "Who is Flea?" Only a few will know. Of those who know he is in RHCP almost none of them will answer correctly when you follow up with "What does he play?" Virtually all of them will say "Guitar".

Walk up to anyone under 40 and ask "Who is Flea?" And most will answer "That weird looking old guy you see handing out trophies at awards show sometimes."



40 is the bubble. Quite a few people around 40 will know the deal. But a few years or so before and after it starts to fall off I bet.

 

[Deleted member 165050]

I'd say Paul without a doubt and most people I'd have thought know he plays bass.

Surprised not to see Sting in 2nd place! Maybe here in the UK Sting is better known than Flea though.

Waters I see has the number of votes he deserves.

 

[MrLenny1]

Joe Nerve.

 

[39-Bassist]

In my mind I would say me! But you said non musicians. I would have a problem with saying Sting or Paul or any of the ones that sing, only because when people think of them they don't think bassist they think more on the vocalist portion.
So on THIS list I would say other.

 

[Wisebass]

Hi two fingers

Most young hotrodders have never worked on a carburetor

which you find in a what is is called, a car?

used a computer mouse with a ball in it. Many have never used one with a cord

ever seen a mouse without a tail? even Mickey had one before going 3D



we are getting old!!! End of rant

edit: but we still rock!!!
greetings

Wise

 

[Clef_de_fa]

John Paul Jones has a top-ten all-time seller with Led Zeppelin IV (on the list above)....And OP overlooked him in the poll.

What's more, I don't think anyone here mentioned JPJ in the past four pages.

Yeah Led Zeppelin ... JPJ is pretty much a no-name to non bass player. Robert Plant is known of course but the rest of the band ? Nah. Maybe to some 50 to 60 years old dude Led Zeppelin nerd.

 

[two fingers]

Hi two fingers



which you find in a what is is called, a car?



ever seen a mouse without a tail? even Mickey had one before going 3D



we are getting old!!! End of rant

edit: but we still rock!!!
greetings

Wise

We went to Disney a couple years ago. There was a 3D movie there that blended the old black and white Mickey movie with the newer one. It started with Steamboat Willie and then slowly morphed into a chase scene with newer Disney characters chasing each other across the stage (really well done by the way). My kids (5 and 8) were fascinated by the old black and white. That is so ancient to them that they thought George Washington watched it at the White House. Seriously, they thought that people who founded the country were taking breaks to watch these kinds of movies. They see The Cosby Show the way I saw old black and white John Wayne movies and other westerns growing up.

While we're at it, Raven Symone, that little tiny kid from the Cosby show? She now has a show where she plays a divorced mom with teenage kids. She's the one on the right in the second pic.....the mom.

 

[nerkoids]

"That's a weird way to play a fiddle, son..."

 

[Lraphel]

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

For those of us from the Woodstock generation who were into the music, although John Entwistle is generally credited with the first bass solo in Rock and was extremely influential and well-known, Jack Bruce took bass playing to another level, an equal level with the very famous guitarist and drummer he played with in Cream. He was, in the mid to late 60's, the most well-known bass player...at least among those into the music.

 

[Clef_de_fa]

High school seniors were born after 911. Many of them don't even know Bill Clinton was a president unless they breezed past it in a history class. They only know him as Hillary's wife (that was only historical, not political). To them, a CD player in a car (or anywhere really) is antique technology. I would argue that if you asked them what "GM" is they would say "genetically modified". They wouldn't know how to use a paper map. Bill Maher has always hosted an angry show, not told happy jokes. They wouldn't recognize a set of Encyclopedias. Most young hotrodders have never worked on a carburetor....and wouldn't know how. The "turn of the century" to them is the year 2000. The Lion King is an old movie their parents watched when THEY were kids. They have probably never seen an Amoco gas station. They don't know what a postage stamp is for, or where to get one, or why to get one. They will have never heard of, or used, or even get what Napster, or LimeWire was. The concept of having to be in a seat, on time, in a living room, to watch your favorite TV show LIVE or you MISS it is not unlike we looked at going to the well to get a bucket of water. They have likely never used a computer mouse with a ball in it. Many have never used one with a cord. Many are literally unaware of the fact that phones used to be mounted on walls or sat on desks unless they saw it in an old movie....like Top Gun. The concept of sending film off to be developed seems like Civil War technology to them. Their grandparents likely had personal computers most of their adult lives. Their grandparents could have gone to a Mariah Carey, Coolio, Dr.Dre, Jodeci, Oasis, Shaggy, RHCP, Foo Fighters, Goo Goo Dolls, or Matchbox 20 concert and not been out of place. Their grandparents could have been too young to vote for Jimmy Carter. Literally, their GRANDPARENTS could have been into Van Hagar and thought The Beatles and Eric Clapton was for THEIR parents music and not their music. Their grandparents could have become adults AFTER DISCO was no longer cool. Some who were young adults when the Beatles came out are GREATgrandparents.

Train kep uh' rollin.....

hum ... Like my parents are 57 and 54. I'm 34. If I had a kid at 20, s/he would be a teen now. So no his/her grandparent didn't see Dr.Dre, Coolio or Oasis. Those band are in my teen years. My parents were more into Queen, CCR, Janis Joplins, ACDC. Stuff popular in the 70's when they were teen.

 

[two fingers]

hum ... Like my parents are 57 and 54. I'm 34. If I had a kid at 20, s/he would be a teen now. So no his/her grandparent didn't see Dr.Dre, Coolio or Oasis. Those band are in my teen years. My parents were more into Queen, CCR, Janis Joplins, ACDC. Stuff popular in the 70's when they were teen.

Let's go with 20 years per generation. A twenty year old now was born in 1997. that means their parents could have been born in 1977. Which means their parents could have been 20 in 1977. It would not have been odd for a thirty something to go to a concert in the late 80s into the mid 90s.

My wife's mother had her at 17 (not really uncommon in the 70s). My wife didn't get married and start having kids until her late 30s. However, her mother could easily be a great grandmother born in 1960 had my wife had kids in her early 20s.

If several generations had children at 18 years old you could have Great grandmother born in 1960, Grandmother born in 1978, mother born in 1996 and kid born in 2004. Back up a few years and go with 20 years between and it's easy to have Great grandparents born in the mid-late 50s. Great Grandmother born 1955, grandmother born in 1975, mother born in 1995, and kid born in 2015. Nothing unusual about a twenty something mom going to a concert in the mid-late 90s. And she would be the grandparent of a kid today. Have that grandmother going to concerts into her thirties (still not unusual) and there you have it. A grandmother now, born in....say....1965-1970 going to a Matchbox Twenty concert in the 90s.

Fun with family trees and math.

 

[tb4sbp]

For someone with no idea of how a 'band' is constructed they only know of the singers, pianists, drummers and guitarists IME. But if a bass player stands out, without being the lead singer, this would be one a 'general' public would know. Nothing against the greats like Sir Paul, Rodger, Phil and so many others but they are singers and leaders of their group or solo artists. Of course these artists will be well known. But not well known for playing bass. Out of the ones listed above I would have to say Flea based on that he is known as a bass player first and foremost. My two cents now do what you want!

 

[I am Soma]

voted paul. even as a bassist for almost 20 years i had no idea who jaco was until i joined this forum a few years ago.

 

[Wisebass]

i had no idea who jaco was until i joined this forum a few years ago.

Hi "I am Soma"

Nothing wrong not knowing Huxley ...

as long as you know Shakespeare

greetings

Wise(b)ass

 

[Chuckdesj]

Never heard of that Genne simmons guy...

Ahah ! My mistake

 

[fretter]

I picked Flea. To most people, he's more known for the bass than any particular song, I think.

 

[SactoBass]

If *I* was the guy on the street being asked, I would immediately reply with "pffft....why do you even need to ask...it's the all-time greatest bass deity that ever was......Christopher Russell Edward Squire, of course!"

But if it's just anyone on the street being asked, I'll bet a lot of people would respond with "ummmm.......is that like a regular guitar?".....or......"which one is the bass guitar?"

 

[HolmeBass]

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

LOL the "topic at hand" is:

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

So pretty much exactly what @Son of Wobble said, haha.

 

[HolmeBass]

My friend, doing sound for a recent big show we did, assured me that the number of people in the audience who were even cognizant of bass was minuscule, maybe 3%. He noted that most people are stupid, paraphrasing George Carlin: How stupid is the average person? Now realize that half of the people are dumber than that!

I argued for subconscious recognition of the bass but he rejected that.

Facebook feedback from the well-attended gig would tend to indicate that he might have a point.

 

[madbass6]

LOL the "topic at hand" is:

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

So pretty much exactly what @Son of Wobble said, haha.

lol. is rite..