James Browns bassists basses.

[vin*tone]

I'm wanting to compile a timeline of basses used on James Brown and other JB recordings. The players came and went and they all used different basses. So pls post your pearls of wisdom and I'll edit the OP to fill in the blanks or correct what I have...

Tx!
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1958 - '68 Bernard Odum ---> Fender Precision / Vox Sidewinder / Vox Teardrop
1968 - '68 Tim Drummond ---> Fender Precision
1968 - '70 Charles Sherrell --> Fender Jazz
1970 - '72 Bootsy --> Fender Jazz
1972 - ? Fred Thomas ---> Fender Jazz

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[Kwesi]

Whatever was light enough to play but heavy enough that James couldn't grab it and proceed to angrily beat the entire band when he threw a fit.

 

[ugly_bassplayer]

When I listen to James Brown the last thing on my mind is what brand bass the dudes are using. But I get what you doing,

 

[vin*tone]

Really? Not curious? I had no idea the 60s JBs stuff was done with a semi acoustic til I saw a vid. I also assumed all the 70's stuff was a jazz but think that's wrong too.

 

[ugly_bassplayer]

Curious, certainly. 1st thing that pops in my head when I listen to JB, no.

 

[DaveKirkpatrick]

This is a great idea for a thread. I'm not going to be much help, but.....
According to the book "The Great James Brown Rhythm Sections 1960-1973" The Vox basses came into the picture at the end of 1965- when James got an endorsement deal. It also says that Bernard Odum stuck with playing his trusty '56 P bass.... but it seems like I've seen photos of him playing the Vox. Maybe he just used the Vox bass for promotional photos? Anyway, I guess they abandoned the Vox endorsement deal by the end of the '60's
There are several other bassists listed in the book as well with transcriptions of their basslines from the recordings they played on- definitely worth picking up a copy.

 

[Dluxe]

Drummond seems to always be pictured with a 60's Precision Bass. When I saw him with Neil Young back in '84 that is what he played.

 

[John D]

I saw several JB concerts in the '60s. In one show, around '67 or '68, he had two bass players. One of them was actually playing a Cortez (later Cort). I remember, since it was exactly like my first bass, only his was long scale, while mine was short scale.

Edit: I don't recall ever seeing a JB bassists playing a Vox, only Fender, except for the above. However, I never recall the bass player being out in front. They were normally at the back of the stage.

 

[Jeff K]

David "Hook" Williams played the classic bassline on J.B.'s "I Got You (I Feel Good)". But I'm not sure what bass he was playing. Sure is a fun song to play though...

 

[Bill Staudt]

While on the James Brown subject:
I have a Gibson G3 that supposedly belonged to Kenny Poole (jazz guitarist) that was used with James Brown. I found that Kenny had done guitar tracks with JB, but haven’t found any details of him playing bass. I have no way to authenticate this, but am curious if anyone has more info on the Kenny Poole / James Brown connection.
Thanks -Bill

 

[vin*tone]

This is a great idea for a thread. I'm not going to be much help, but.....
According to the book "The Great James Brown Rhythm Sections 1960-1973" The Vox basses came into the picture at the end of 1965- when James got an endorsement deal. It also says that Bernard Odum stuck with playing his trusty '56 P bass.... but it seems like I've seen photos of him playing the Vox. Maybe he just used the Vox bass for promotional photos? Anyway, I guess they abandoned the Vox endorsement deal by the end of the '60's
There are several other bassists listed in the book as well with transcriptions of their basslines from the recordings they played on- definitely worth picking up a copy.

I picked up the Vox here. Check it out its a kicker.

MARVA WHITNEY & The JB's - It's My Thing 1969 - YouTube

 

[Fly Guitars]

I can't add anything precise, but I am also interested. Vox folded at the end of the sixties, which may be why their involvement stopped

heres some more JBs / Vox footage

James Brown - Mother Popcorn (1969) - YouTube

 

[vin*tone]

^^ Cookin.

I think this is Fred Thomas with a Jazz.

James Brown Get On The Good Foot, Soul Power,Make It Funky Soul Train 1973 - YouTube

 

[J Gold]

This is a great idea for a thread. I'm not going to be much help, but.....
According to the book "The Great James Brown Rhythm Sections 1960-1973" The Vox basses came into the picture at the end of 1965- when James got an endorsement deal. It also says that Bernard Odum stuck with playing his trusty '56 P bass.... but it seems like I've seen photos of him playing the Vox. Maybe he just used the Vox bass for promotional photos? Anyway, I guess they abandoned the Vox endorsement deal by the end of the '60's
There are several other bassists listed in the book as well with transcriptions of their basslines from the recordings they played on- definitely worth picking up a copy.

+1
I used this book extensively during my college years, and then later on as a high school music teacher, I used it with the rhythm sections of the jazz ensembles. Great book!

 

[Yorick]

There was a feature on the bass players of James Brown a while ago in Bass Player. I'll have a mooch tonight and see if I can find it. It listed equipment used.

 

[John D]

I picked up the Vox here. Check it out its a kicker.

MARVA WHITNEY & The JB's - It's My Thing 1969 - YouTube

I wouldn't give too much weight to the old TV clips, since I think the equipment used had much more to do with manufacturer's paid product placement than with musician's preferences. I watched several of these YouTube clips this morning, and none of them even closely resembled JB's actual 60s concert stage set up. The few concert clips I found all showed Fender basses being used.

 

[Fly Guitars]

The few concert clips I found all showed Fender basses being used.

can you post some links please - the only non-tv live footage I can find is this one

Invalid Link Removed

and although the bass can't really be seen, at 2:35 it looks like a vox (headstock shape)

There are loads of TV clips using Voxs

heres another great one
Invalid Link Removed

I can't find anything pre-1970 (ie pre-bootsy) with a Fender Jazz. To be fair, in the 60s footage, the bassman rarely gets filmed

 

[guroove]

This picture shows Tim Drummond playing a P-bass:

Invalid Link Removed

It is interesting to see how dominant the Fender Jazz was in that band.

 

[guroove]

1772 - ? Fred Thomas ---> Fender Jazz

Fred Thomas played bass with James for 200 years?

 

[John D]

can you post some links please - the only non-tv live footage I can find is this one

Invalid Link Removed

and although the bass can't really be seen, at 2:35 it looks like a vox (headstock shape)

There are loads of TV clips using Voxs

heres another great one
Invalid Link Removed

I can't find anything pre-1970 (ie pre-bootsy) with a Fender Jazz. To be fair, in the 60s footage, the bassman rarely gets filmed

I don't remember where the clips were now, except that they were on YouTube. I'll try to find them agian. As I said earlier, I saw JB in concert several times prior to 1970. In each of those concerts the bass was at the back of the stage, either to the side of the drummers or just in front of the drummers. In either case, they were not easily visible, since JB, the Flames, guitars, and horns were almost allways in front of the bass/drums.


Edit: James Brown "Cold Sweat" live in Zaire, 1974 - YouTube
Notice how far back the bass is. I'll add more if I can find them.

Edit 2: Oh, this is a good one. JAMES BROWN Doing It To Death (in Mexico) 1978 - YouTube

Guys, I have a Vz wireless Internet connection, so these are all the pics and links I can afford search out and upload. They are out there, just keep looking. I think videos of live concerts prior to 1970 are going to be difficult to find, since the concert business was not the money maker then that it is today. Each of the JB concerts I saw, except one, was in Raleigh Memorial Auditorium, which today has a seating capacity of 2263. Small by todays standards, to say the least.