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Larry Graham or Louis Johnson

JAUQO III-X

JAUQO III-X

Inactive
Jan 4, 2002
15,367
235
CHICAGO,IL.
jauqoiii-x.com
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Endorsing artist:see profile.
#1
Did Larry Graham really give us first what is refered to as slapping(Thumping&Plucking) or was he the first to become worldly reconised for it because he was heard on a recording utilising it before Louis Johnson.therefore garnering that title and isn't it possible these two talented Bassist could have simply been working on it during the same period of their conceptional developement and never even thinking anyone else was doing it(in a modern format)and this not at all an attempt to take anything away from these two talented influences on Electric Bass.
 
#3
The fact that the thought of originality would even innate in one's mind would be put there to second guess the Original Thought, thus making the thought unoriginal, and infinitely intertwined to the bewilderment of originality.

No, we cannot as conditioned human beings state for complete truth that every thought is or is not original, as every aspect of our life can be integrated into that single thought, and, as stated by so many before, picked apart and manipulated to fit the latter 'color scheme.'

Modern genius is almost a paradox within itself, an interesting conundrum in which most of us fall victim to wanting to claim the title. Modern genius? Originality? Impossible. We have technology, high speed interaction. We have televisions and ignorance. Genius is a fairy tale, a dying system with a sense of extinction.

Originality, much like nothing or infinity, or another's perception. Something we will never truly know, something we cannot comprehend, something we cannot grasp..............................-Kristen McCalla
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action-smiley-033.gif

Treena
 
#5
If you ask Louis Johnson, he'll tell you that he and his brother George grew up listening to Sly & the Family Stone and Graham Central Station. (Yes, I asked him). Given that, it is fair to assume that Larry was doin' it before Louis. Sly & the Family Stone had a very large following, so I wouldn't be inclined to believe that Larry was doing it, but nobody heard it 'til Louis.

This doesn't mean that Larry did it before everybody else, just that he did it before Louis. It also doesn't say who does it best. Between the two, I like Louis' sound best. Overall, I like Victor for chops, Marcus for tone, and Terence Palmer for taste.

Peace,

James
 
#8
IIRC-
Both played in early/Gospel(?) groups without a drummer, so...the rest is history.

To me, Graham was a few years pre-Louis. Things, needless to say, were different then(no Internet) ;) so it's possible Louis stumbled onto the approach by himself(kinda like Newton & Leibniz 'inventing' Calculus). ;)
 
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#9
Originally posted by malthumb
Sly & the Family Stone had a very large following, so I wouldn't be inclined to believe that Larry was doing it, but nobody heard it 'til Louis.
Click to expand...

Yeah-
Woodstock, Newport Jazz Fest, etc.
The Family Stone was a very innovative band...ahead of their time.
;)
 
#10
Larry Graham was doing his thing since the mid to late 60's playing for a gospel band that didn't have a drummer so he came up with a more percussive style of playing which has since developed into what we know as double thump/slap bass playing [Kinda the precurser of the way Victa Wooten plays]. Louis Johnson is about 10 years behind Larry Graham in age and probably didn't start his thing until the early to mid 70's. He also doesn't play the way Larry does. He plays a more straight up slap style but has a wicked thumb action!
 
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#11
Originally posted by malthumb
If you ask Louis Johnson, he'll tell you that he and his brother George grew up listening to Sly & the Family Stone and Graham Central Station. (Yes, I asked him). Given that, it is fair to assume that Larry was doin' it before Louis. Sly & the Family Stone had a very large following, so I wouldn't be inclined to believe that Larry was doing it, but nobody heard it 'til Louis.

This doesn't mean that Larry did it before everybody else, just that he did it before Louis. It also doesn't say who does it best. Between the two, I like Louis' sound best. Overall, I like Victor for chops, Marcus for tone, and Terence Palmer for taste.

Peace,


I see you mentioned Terence Palmer, I know he did some work with Fred Hammond on "Let the praise begin" I have not heard of him since, do you have any info regarding him, and yeah! he is smooth

James
Click to expand...
:bassist:
 
#13
I grew up on Sly and The Family Stone and remember a concert I went to in the late 60's. Larry had huge hands and thumped and popped effortlessly. I also saw Louis Johnson playing with Billy preston (after another thumper Keni Burke) left Prestons band. when he was 17 years old. He was a good up and coming nobody and did very little of the thump and pop stuff at that time. This was around 73 or 74 give or take a year. He was using the black nylon strings on his bass (I had the same strings on my bass at the time) and I was thumping and popping at the time. There was not alot of music being played outside of Sly and Graham Cenral Station where thump and pop was being used outside of black rock which came shortly before 70's funk. Larry opened the door for thump and pop, others found different applications for it. Also Louis was dicovered by Quincy Jones thus the "Q" touch and start of his popularity. All in all Sly and the family Stone were innovators of black rock(funk) music in the 60's and opened the doors for all thumping, blazing hornline driven party lyric songs that came later and Larry Graham Was a big if not the biggest part of that.
 
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#14
Originally posted by Treena Foster
The fact that the thought of originality would even innate in one's mind would be put there to second guess the Original Thought, thus making the thought unoriginal, and infinitely intertwined to the bewilderment of originality.

No, we cannot as conditioned human beings state for complete truth that every thought is or is not original, as every aspect of our life can be integrated into that single thought, and, as stated by so many before, picked apart and manipulated to fit the latter 'color scheme.'

Modern genius is almost a paradox within itself, an interesting conundrum in which most of us fall victim to wanting to claim the title. Modern genius? Originality? Impossible. We have technology, high speed interaction. We have televisions and ignorance. Genius is a fairy tale, a dying system with a sense of extinction.

Originality, much like nothing or infinity, or another's perception. Something we will never truly know, something we cannot comprehend, something we cannot grasp.

action-smiley-033.gif

Treena
Click to expand...


Treena, you are DEEP:cool:
 
#15
To Andrew Jones, I grew up in Jamaica Queens Which is the hometown of Marcus Miller. I've known Marcus since he was about 13 or 14 years old. I can say here that Marcus seeing me Actually play "hair" by Larry graham gave him a new found love for the style today known as thumping and popping. He was going to music and art high school and his main instrument was clarinet, he had started playing bass to get into the music scene going on in the neighborhood. He told his friends Tony and Fergie that "hair" was over dubbed in the studio. They were passing by my house and heard me playing it so they rang my bell and came in to see me do it. They left and came back with Marcus (who at the time was playing with my ex wifes brother's band) and played it for him. I showed him my approach and he loved it. Marcus is about 2 or 3 years younger than me so Graham was still new to him while I had been listening to him for years.
 
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#16
Originally posted by Fire-Starter
I see you mentioned Terence Palmer, I know he did some work with Fred Hammond on "Let the praise begin" I have not heard of him since, do you have any info regarding him, and yeah! he is smooth
:bassist:
Click to expand...

From what I understand he is focusing more on producing, but if you listen to Isreal & The New Breed It's A New Season, that's Terrence. It was recorded live in 2001, so there has been quite a bit of time passed.

Peace,

James
 
#17
Originally posted by Treena Foster
The fact that the thought of originality would even innate in one's mind would be put there to second guess the Original Thought, thus making the thought unoriginal, and infinitely intertwined to the bewilderment of originality.

No, we cannot as conditioned human beings state for complete truth that every thought is or is not original, as every aspect of our life can be integrated into that single thought, and, as stated by so many before, picked apart and manipulated to fit the latter 'color scheme.'

Modern genius is almost a paradox within itself, an interesting conundrum in which most of us fall victim to wanting to claim the title. Modern genius? Originality? Impossible. We have technology, high speed interaction. We have televisions and ignorance. Genius is a fairy tale, a dying system with a sense of extinction.

Originality, much like nothing or infinity, or another's perception. Something we will never truly know, something we cannot comprehend, something we cannot grasp.
Click to expand...

-Kristen McCalla

it's customerary and respectful to include someone's name when you quote them, treena. :)
 

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