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Louis Johnson sound alikes?
- Thread starter kiopd22
- Start date
You might want to check out Pleasure. I forgot their bassist's name. It was Nathan something. I saw them live in 1980 when they had their biggest hit, "Glide." They have a greatest hits album and several songs feature great thumb work. He also is a good pick player.
- Apr 21, 2000
- 10,465
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- Gallien Krueger for the last 12 years!
Pick up some of Lakeside's hits, like "Fantastic Voyage" and "Raid".
Also, listen to Royce Royce, especially "Car Wash". Lequient Jobe really sounds like Louis on a couple of the short solo pieces.
Then, of course, there's Larry Graham, who was doing "Louis" before Louis was doing Louis. Listen to "The Jam" from one of the Graham Central Station albums.
Peace,
James
Also, listen to Royce Royce, especially "Car Wash". Lequient Jobe really sounds like Louis on a couple of the short solo pieces.
Then, of course, there's Larry Graham, who was doing "Louis" before Louis was doing Louis. Listen to "The Jam" from one of the Graham Central Station albums.
Peace,
James
There's also a lesser known bassist named Keni Burke who did west coast sessions and was part of the Five Stairsteps. He was one of the early slappers and Larry Graham has cited Keni as one of his influences.
Freddie Washington also is a great slapper (Patrice Rushen's "Forget Me Nots")
Of course, there's a host of more modern slappers, in particular Marcus Miller, who owe a debt to Larry and Louis.
Freddie Washington also is a great slapper (Patrice Rushen's "Forget Me Nots")
Of course, there's a host of more modern slappers, in particular Marcus Miller, who owe a debt to Larry and Louis.
- Apr 21, 2000
- 10,465
- 866
- 60
- Disclosures
- Gallien Krueger for the last 12 years!
You might want to check out Pleasure. I forgot their bassist's name. It was Nathan something. I saw them live in 1980 when they had their biggest hit, "Glide." They have a greatest hits album and several songs feature great thumb work. He also is a good pick player.
Nathaniel Phillips.
+1 on this. I love this band and that bass player. They just disapeared.
I love the red album.
There is this guy, Byron Miller, with George Duke "Follow the rainbow" that kind of hot too.
SB
Nathaniel Phillips.
+1 on this. I love this band and that bass player. They just disapeared.
I love the red album.
There is this guy, Byron Miller, with George Duke "Follow the rainbow" that kind of hot too.
SB
No offense but if you really listen to Louis Johnson, none of these guys sound like him... with the exception of Lequint Jobe. The fills on "Car Wash" have a definite LJ vibe.
There's a local DC player who has the LJ thing down to T. He plays as hard as LJ and gets that tone. When you actually here and see someone do it, it's obvious that others aren't even in the same ball park.
You actually feel sorry for the bass.
Mark Adams has a completely different tone, pretty much the exact opposite IMO. He was about the highs and pronounced string noise (which I dug). Nathaniel Phillips is still one of my favorite bassists and he doesn't sound like LJ either. LJ just has a very, very physical slap sound. Way more physical than even Flea. Yes, everyone mentioned slaps but they don't sound like LJ. LJ and Larry Graham sound nothing alike.
Keni Burke sounded like Larry for obvious reasons. Keni couldn't have been an influence of Graham's, Graham influenced him.
Robert Wilson of the Gap Band sounded like LJ early on but developed his own sound.
Byron Miller was doing the Marcus thing before Marcus, didn't quite have the same high end but other than Mark Adams and Stanley Clarke... none of the early slappers did. David Shields is another predessor of Marcus. Killer bassist, I have no idea what happened to him.
All my opinion of course but these folks sound about as much like LJ as Marcus does... and he doesn't. LJ was probably the most physical percussive player around. Those haymakers he threw had an effect on the tone that you just can't get playing with less intensity.
If we're talking about great slappers, everyone is on the mark. If the subject is actually sounding like Louis... nope.
Check out early Lee Ritenour, early Earl Klugh, 70's Headhunters era Herbie Hancock for a good example of LJ in a non-Brothers Johnson context. The guy had a signature sound.
There's a local DC player who has the LJ thing down to T. He plays as hard as LJ and gets that tone. When you actually here and see someone do it, it's obvious that others aren't even in the same ball park.
You actually feel sorry for the bass.
Mark Adams has a completely different tone, pretty much the exact opposite IMO. He was about the highs and pronounced string noise (which I dug). Nathaniel Phillips is still one of my favorite bassists and he doesn't sound like LJ either. LJ just has a very, very physical slap sound. Way more physical than even Flea. Yes, everyone mentioned slaps but they don't sound like LJ. LJ and Larry Graham sound nothing alike.
Keni Burke sounded like Larry for obvious reasons. Keni couldn't have been an influence of Graham's, Graham influenced him.
Robert Wilson of the Gap Band sounded like LJ early on but developed his own sound.
Byron Miller was doing the Marcus thing before Marcus, didn't quite have the same high end but other than Mark Adams and Stanley Clarke... none of the early slappers did. David Shields is another predessor of Marcus. Killer bassist, I have no idea what happened to him.
All my opinion of course but these folks sound about as much like LJ as Marcus does... and he doesn't. LJ was probably the most physical percussive player around. Those haymakers he threw had an effect on the tone that you just can't get playing with less intensity.
If we're talking about great slappers, everyone is on the mark. If the subject is actually sounding like Louis... nope.
Check out early Lee Ritenour, early Earl Klugh, 70's Headhunters era Herbie Hancock for a good example of LJ in a non-Brothers Johnson context. The guy had a signature sound.
Brad Johnson said:No offense but if you really listen to Louis Johnson, none of these guys sound like him... with the exception of Lequint Jobe. The fills on "Car Wash" have a definite LJ vibe.
There's a local DC player who has the LJ thing down to T. He plays as hard as LJ and gets that tone. When you actually here and see someone do it, it's obvious that others aren't even in the same ball park.
You actually feel sorry for the bass.
Mark Adams has a completely different tone, pretty much the exact opposite IMO. He was about the highs and pronounced string noise (which I dug). Nathaniel Phillips is still one of my favorite bassists and he doesn't sound like LJ either. LJ just has a very, very physical slap sound. Way more physical than even Flea. Yes, everyone mentioned slaps but they don't sound like LJ. LJ and Larry Graham sound nothing alike.
Keni Burke sounded like Larry for obvious reasons. Keni couldn't have been an influence of Graham's, Graham influenced him.
Robert Wilson of the Gap Band sounded like LJ early on but developed his own sound.
Byron Miller was doing the Marcus thing before Marcus, didn't quite have the same high end but other than Mark Adams and Stanley Clarke... none of the early slappers did. David Shields is another predessor of Marcus. Killer bassist, I have no idea what happened to him.
All my opinion of course but these folks sound about as much like LJ as Marcus does... and he doesn't. LJ was probably the most physical percussive player around. Those haymakers he threw had an effect on the tone that you just can't get playing with less intensity.
If we're talking about great slappers, everyone is on the mark. If the subject is actually sounding like Louis... nope.
Check out early Lee Ritenour, early Earl Klugh, 70's Headhunters era Herbie Hancock for a good example of LJ in a non-Brothers Johnson context. The guy had a signature sound.
+1
I, for one, wasn't trying to think of a Louis Johnson clone. I don't know of any except for maybe his brother when he played bass. I was just trying to think of good slappers from that era of the late 1970's - early 1980's.
Brad Johnson said:
Lequient Jobe.....Louis Johnson....LJ......
My INITIAL thought is it must be an INITIALS thing. You gotta be an LJ to play like LJ.
Something else they have in common.....
First two bassists I ever saw playing a certain brand of bass.....
Peace,
James
malthumb said:Something else they have in common.....
First two bassists I ever saw playing a certain brand of bass.....
Peace,
James
Stanley(or maybe Jimmy Johnson) wasn't the first?
One thing I liked about those early Bro-J albums...
Ya got see Louis' basses-
P-bass on Look Out For #1
The Alembic on the above picture
Music Man String Ray on Blam!
JimK said:
The inside of that album is loaded with Alembic pics.
I think James was saying the first times "he" saw Alembics... heck, I didn't see Jimmy until the Joan Rivers Show, even though I'd heard him for quite a while with Flim & the BBs.
Dr. Cheese said:
Hey, happens to the best of us
He probably did just mean slap, not really sounding like LJ.
JimK said:
Yeah, Stanley was the first big name to play an Alembic and Jimmy Johnson was the first to play a modern 5 string, Alembic or otherwise. But Lequient Jobe and Louis Johnson were the first two that I ever saw play one. I saw Rose Royce in concert during the Car Wash tour and then later saw The Brothers Johnson in concert. Louis is the guy that got me interested in playing bass. I didn't get into Stanley Clarke until 78 or 79 and I had not heard of Jimmy Johnson until about 1999.
Peace,
James
