Grooviest one-note bassline?

[Thumpin6string]

That sounded like 2 notes, some octaves and fills. Not truly one note IMHO. There are many songs with the majority being just one note, but they change on the chorus. Grand Funk's Foot Stompin Music comes to mind. Sade's Sweetest Taboo is basically 2 notes through the whole song, but it grooves.

 

[logdrum]

I counted more than 1 note or is it 1 note per 1/8 subdivision

 

[Wood and Wire]

Bill Gould made an entire career out of the one note wonder (pretty much every song in the FNM back catalogue)

 

[devnulljp]

I was just listening to an old playlist and this song came on:




I mean, damn that is one hell of a groove for one note (if we ignore the octaves at the end of the line). So it got me thinking, what are the grooviest bassline that only use one note?

I hear a whole lot more than 1 note in there though, especially on the little descending run

 

[WrapRough]

Guys, yes there's more than one note in the overall line. We all know that. But the groove is there from the start, with one note.

If you don't want to play the game, that's fine

 

[Neon Blues]

Probably a few Motley Crue albums that fit?

Oh sorry I misread, it needs to have a groove.

 

[Michedelic]

The first one of all: Tomorrow Never Knows off the Beatles Revolver album.

Not exactly. From 1958…

 

[Michedelic]

I was just listening to an old playlist and this song came on:




I mean, damn that is one hell of a groove for one note (if we ignore the octaves at the end of the line). So it got me thinking, what are the grooviest bassline that only use one note?

Hmm, well, the verse(and main part of the song)modulates between Eb and Db; it could have been D and C, but sped up at mastering. Whatever. Then there are some turnarounds and all(chorus), later, but…that tune and album came out in ‘79. Listen to what was released just two years earlier…

Almost identical riffing/grooving. Funny how that worked out.

 

[WrapRough]

Hmm, well, the verse(and main part of the song)modulates between Eb and Db; it could have been D and C, but sped up at mastering. Whatever. Then there are some turnarounds and all(chorus), later, but…that tune and album came out in ‘79. Listen to what was released just two years earlier…

Almost identical riffing/grooving. Funny how that worked out.

Haha that's interesting. At best, "inspired by"

 

[Michedelic]

Haha that's interesting. At best, "inspired by"

It’s not like that two-chord vamp is genius songwriting; I’ve heard it in lots of stuff. But especially in the disco era…the J.G. track is very similar to the “Boogie Oogie Oogie” verse part, then the outro of Heatwave’s “Boogie Nights”.
But back to your original concept…even though there are little runs up and down to the root, and bouncing the octave, any number of James Brown cuts are textbook examples, like this…

Of course you gotta take it to the bridge.

 

[pklima]

Nice thread. I just spent a couple of minutes looking for a live performance of Ray Wylie Hubbard's "Snake Farm" with a bassist, only to be disappointed that the bassline was multiple notes. Ah well.

FWIW there's a video of me playing nothing but the same open string for an entire song. Not groovy, though, it was a folky thing where I replaced a didgeridoo player. But come to think of it, didgeridoo accent patterns might not be a bad place to look for inspiration if you want to do this.

 

[WrapRough]

I think for the sake of discussion, one-or two-notes is fine. It's more about the principle of being able to create a heavy groove that makes your head nod with very little.

I mean, the song I shared, you hear two of those notes and your head is moving. It's crazy.

This is another one:

 

[Bassdirty]

Bill Gould made an entire career out of the one note wonder (pretty much every song in the FNM back catalogue)

speaking of FNM: Pretty much 1 note.,






T$

 

[SteveCS]

I was just listening to an old playlist and this song came on:




I mean, damn that is one hell of a groove for one note (if we ignore the octaves at the end of the line). So it got me thinking, what are the grooviest bassline that only use one note?

Not quite one note, but the C# pedal here creates a pretty solid groove. That said, the contrasting melodic line in the chorus is sublime, IMHO:

 

[SpankBazz]

I thought you meant more like this:

First thing I thought of.

 

[SpankBazz]

Hmm, well, the verse(and main part of the song)modulates between Eb and Db; it could have been D and C, but sped up at mastering. Whatever. Then there are some turnarounds and all(chorus), later, but…that tune and album came out in ‘79. Listen to what was released just two years earlier…

Almost identical riffing/grooving. Funny how that worked out.

These songs have nothing to do with each other.

 

[mambo4]

Maybe I just need to turn on some drum loops and limit myself to creating grooves with 1 note.
It's like the whole root, 3rd, 5th thing. I just don't get it, yet other players can write albums from just that. Pretty incredible.

Yes, every bassist needs to play a drum loop and work on one note grooves

When I started deep diving into James Jamerson, one of the surprises was how vanilla most of his note choices seemed.
basically roots, chord tones and occasional chromatics / open string accents
His lines are an object lesson in the truth: sophisticated rhythm trumps sophisticated pitch, when it comes to a groove.

 

[WrapRough]

Not quite one note, but the C# pedal here creates a pretty solid groove. That said, the contrasting melodic line in the chorus is sublime, IMHO:

Wow that takes me back!

Yeah the line really drives the song nicely. Well done for the bassist for knowing what NOT to play

And yeah the chorus is delicious

How did you stumble across that oldie?

 

[SteveCS]

Wow that takes me back!

Yeah the line really drives the song nicely. Well done for the bassist for knowing what NOT to play

And yeah the chorus is delicious

How did you stumble across that oldie?

I've just added it to my set-list, so I've been busy creating a backing track and picking the bass line apart. The chorus section is beautifully crafted IMHO, but it did require a few minutes solving a couple of fingering conundrums to get it onto a 4-string:

 

[Whousedtoplay]

The headline of this thread is confusing to me.
One note bassline - per one Beat/chord/measure..., but...
I am glad that a lot of TB members have figured it out and posted a few examples of ... (?)
I have a few "grooving" songs that have very simple bass-lines.
Let's start with Robin Thicke, "Ask Myself."
It's a very groovy track even without a bass-line; therefore, by adding the bass part, one must be careful not to destroy that (kind of, acoustic and very subtle) groove.



Next in line is Jeff Cascaro, "Hollier."
The simple (very) bass-line, along with other rhythm instruments, creates a nice and "groovy" rhythmic foundation.
N.B. Please don't get false impression about the bass-line (and/or the bass player) - there are a lot of "cool" glissandos in the bass-line that clearly
indicates that the bass player is a true Pro.



(From the same kitchen.)

Tripping Out · Jeff Cascaro