• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Famous bassists everyone knows

Who's the most famous bass player to non-musician

  • Paul mccartney

    Votes: 189 63.9%

  • Roger waters

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Sting

    Votes: 28 9.5%

  • Genne simmons

    Votes: 7 2.4%

  • Geddy lee

    Votes: 6 2.0%

  • James jamerson

    Votes: 3 1.0%

  • Others

    Votes: 10 3.4%

  • Flea

    Votes: 52 17.6%

  • Jaco pastorius

    Votes: 1 0.3%
  • Total voters
    296
#145
two fingers said:
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. :D
Click to expand...

In your original post you said :
" 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."

Let's keep generation of 20years.Which mean the parents were 20 in 2001,the grandparents were 20 in 1981... yeah possible but not very likely.

And then ... would they really give a f*** about the bass player in RHCP ? or of any of those bands ? Or even tell the name of any of the band member for those band ? Not very likely.

I'm a bass player and I can only tell's you who is in RHCP from BSSM to Californication and in Dream Theater. I can spot the name of a few bass player because of here but this is pretty much it. I don't really care who played on what especially when it is a backing band player for a star ... because I have the feeling you could replace the whole band and the song would still be the same so their contribution is meaningless.

I'm probably not the only one thinking like that.

I feel like looking at the booklet and knowing who played on what and be heavily into a band is something more important for people born before my time.
 
#146
two fingers said:
Like I said, go into a coffee shop, a mall or the waiting room at the dentist. Ask everyone "Who is Flea?" Most won't know. Of the few who do, almost none if them will know he plays bass. As far as fame goes, he's not up there with McCartney or Gene Simmons or Sting at all. And, again, most people still have no idea those guys play bass.
Click to expand...

Right, then: Conceding your reservations about Flea, how's about Randy Jackson, as proposed earlier in this thread? Google çalls him "American bassist" first and foremost. Known to tens of millions of contemporary earthlings of all ages. He could be a default winner if the talent show ID'd him frequently as a bassist.
 
  • Like
Reactions: two fingers
#147
ThePresident777 said:
This is a trick question! Most people have no idea what a bass is or what the bassist is doing, nor do they care.
Click to expand...
Yes agreed. The average Joe or Josephine hasn't got a clue that it's the big guitar with 4 strings that's making their butt move uncontrollably to the beat....:bassist:
 
  • Like
Reactions: Son of Wobble and ThePresident777
#149
Pbassmanca said:
HA! Just checked with my wife, she immediately came up with Jaco Pastorius! That's my girl.....:smug:
Click to expand...

My girl, 27, said "Flea," followed by "Jim Hendrix" (!). (And I don't think she knows Hendrix played most of Noel Redding's parts on the record, knowwhatimean?)

I said, "Come on, what about Nikki Monninger? You love her in Silversun Pickups."
"Oh yeah."

6d7bc557f2d0aac97ff4e08613040913.jpg
 
  • Like
Reactions: Pbassmanca
#150
Aberdumbie said:
My grandkids hated me on Christmas. I got the DVD box set of Beatles The Touring Years. Yes they had to watch it with me on Christmas Day...... Now my 7 year old granddaughter gets excited when she hears a song by those black and white movie guys.... And she knows a Hofner bass from the Fender bass that her Boppie plays..... Gotta train them young-uns up right!
Click to expand...

Kudos for exposing them to the good stuff and raising them right!
 
  • Like
Reactions: Aberdumbie
#151
2tonic said:
When my sons, (currently 25 and 21, both guitar players, both absolutely in love with all pre 80s classic rock) were little they played the soundtrack to "That Thing You Do" incessantly. We used to all sing along to it in the car.
Back then they would have said T.B. Player was the most famous bassist they knew.
AFTER Paul McCartney!!
Click to expand...

I'm a big fan of TTYD, both the movie and the soundtrack. Both of the real bass players in the movie were regular customers at The Bass Centre L.A. - Jennifer York, who played upright in the female folk group, and Larry Antonino who played Scotty "Wolfman" Pell.

BTW, try to find the Director's Cut if you have not seen it. There are a few cool scenes which were edited out of the final version which are worth seeing.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 2tonic and Aberdumbie
#153
Jist pop quizzed my wife (Who listens to and loves all kinds of music from Etta James to Justin Timberlake and AC/DC to Blake Shelton...and has always been a big Beatles fan).

Me - "Name a famous bass player."
Her - "Uh.....Sting?"
Me - "Name another."
Her - "Uh.....uh....Adam Levine? Maybe?"

Sure, it's anecdotal. But she has very eclectic tastes in music and Sting is the only one she could come up with.

Ha! While I was typing this I asked her a bonus question or two.

Me - "Who played bass for RHCP?"

Her - "Uh.....I know Flea played drums....but.....I don't know."

Me - "Who played bass for KISS?"

Her - "Ew.....who cares?"

:roflmao:
 
  • Like
Reactions: jmattbassplaya, Pbassmanca, RedVee and 1 other person
#155
I mean there's a clear difference in anglo-saxian countries of European, and American stance on who Flea, Sting or sir Paul is. People in Europe sure HAVE HEARD OF FLEA, but doesn't really know what he plays or does. In US it's the contrary maybe. But Macca sure hits it home in both continents equally. Sting is very much more Europe "centric" in a manner of speaking. I would also like to think that if you ask "contemporary" afro-americans in the US, they don't know (should be read as couldn't care less) who anyone of these are, and not even James Jamerson. People aren't that anorak about who plays what, they only know the artist by their songwriting and singing.
 
Last edited:
#158
Son of Wobble said:
Good outside-the-TB-box thinking there, Finger: We need to consider fame across all contemporary platforms.

Who knows, maybe in 30 years all the geezers on TB will wear striped shirts and a glove in a nod to their old-school roots.


View attachment 2756924
Click to expand...
It's a powerful platform. I don't even know if that guy even plays with a band. But Ill tell you this...RushVevo has 94K subscribers, Davy504 has 940K. A ton of people see this guy as a novelty but know him for just bass. You think most people actually know who Geddy Lee is? My money is people see this dude as some sort of bass pariah, when in fact, he is only serving his money giving audience.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Son of Wobble

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back