• 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.

Most Influential Bassist (In General)?

Most Influential Bassist?

  • Stanley Clarke

    Votes: 1 0.6%

  • Paul McCartney

    Votes: 33 19.0%

  • Carol Kaye

    Votes: 4 2.3%

  • Duck Dunn

    Votes: 5 2.9%

  • James Jamerson

    Votes: 45 25.9%

  • Geddy Lee

    Votes: 18 10.3%

  • Jaco Pastorius

    Votes: 16 9.2%

  • Flea

    Votes: 7 4.0%

  • Geezer Butler

    Votes: 1 0.6%

  • Bootsy Collins

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • John Entwistle

    Votes: 9 5.2%

  • Steve Harris

    Votes: 5 2.9%

  • John Paul Jones

    Votes: 6 3.4%

  • Phil Lynott

    Votes: 1 0.6%

  • Jack Casady

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Sting

    Votes: 4 2.3%

  • Chris Squire

    Votes: 5 2.9%

  • Cliff Burton

    Votes: 9 5.2%

  • Krisk Novaselic

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Gene Simmons

    Votes: 5 2.9%
  • Total voters
    174
#82
mcblahflooper94 said:
That's a COOL story! :bassist:
Click to expand...

Yeah. I told it to Alan Slutsky (Dr. Licks) and he promised to pass it on to James's widow, Annie. He also said he has heard a lot of such stories over the years, about Jamerson needing to borrow other guys' basses, for one reason or another.

James Jamerson was that rare thing, a true innovator on his instrument. Like Charlie Parker on alto sax or Jimi Hendrix on electric guitar, he changed music for every player who came after.
 
#84
I think maybe you have to net out the players who quit after they heard Jaco...

Obviousy just kidding, but I think it was one of the Philly players who said that when Jaco's solo album debuted there were a lot of basses flying out of windows. He singlehandedly raised the bar, and players who thought they were pretty hot got put in their place. And everyone talks about his chops and his harmonics, but man he was an all out groove machine. Never boring, always tweaking the line, but maintaining a SOLID groove. I am fortunate to have seen him early on with WR.

Jim

Mike Sorr said:
Jaco only has 8? I call shenanigans!
Click to expand...
 
#87
Not to hijack the thread, but there is a new movie out that is fascinating! It's on the VH1 Classic channel and I'm sure you can get the DVD as well.

"Sound City" is a documentary that, frankly, left me mesmerized!!

For all of you 70's rock fans, recording/ studio history fans...and Sir Paul fans... this is an absolute must watch!!

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed])
 
#91
It was about 1965 when I became aware that there were Bass Guitars. I was watching a local band rehearsing and noticed that one of the guitars only had four strings. I asked a young friend I was with who had just started playing guitar why that guitar only had four strings and he told me that it was a Bass Guitar. After that I started noticing that Paul McCartney, Bill Wyman, Chas Chandler and others were playing Bass Guitars. While I had heard records with Carol Kaye, Joe Osborn, and James Jamerson it was many years later that it became known who they were since they were never seen or credited.
 
#92
Yep, dead tie between Jamerson and Macca I'd say.
They didn't directly influence ME the most (that would JPJ, Squire, Entwhistle) but they certainly influenced more bassists worldwide overall (and directly and indirectly still do to this day), and as a bassist, influenced popular music as we know it the most, in many (actually MOST) genres.
 
#93
Jamerson certainly fundamentally shaped the way many players approach the bass, but he was largely anonymous in his prime. The Beatles were a cultural revolution, and Macca was front and center. No comparison as to who caused more people to pick up the bass as an instrument--McCartney, hands down. As stylistic influences, the two are pretty different players and both had extensive, and comparable, impact.
 
#98
With all the slapping going on in the world of bass Larry Graham is one of the most influential bassists of ALL TIME. And yet he is not even on the list. I gues a poll is only as good as how it's created.
 
#99
phillybass101 said:
With all the slapping going on in the world of bass Larry Graham is one of the most influential bassists of ALL TIME. And yet he is not even on the list. I gues a poll is only as good as how it's created.
Click to expand...

You definitely have a point. Granted, I don't think that he's the most influential bassist, but he made an incredible impact on bass to the point where I should have put him on there. I would have, but some candidates were much less popular than I thought they would be.
 
#100
I went with Jaco, my take on "influential" being the player who rattled the most cages within their own audience. His debut album was revolutionary and (as was mentioned) humbled a whole lot of bassists worldwide. He did more than just raise the bar with that album, he busted it completely to pieces. He could get funky a la Jamerson (Come On, Come Over), switch gears into the orchestral (Portrait Of Tracy), rip off Donna Lee with phrasing and articulation that were all but alien to the instrument...most of us remember hearing all this for the first time. It was beyond stunning. It was like we'd all been handed the keys to the kingdom with a smirk and a nod. And as he evolved (or devolved - take your pick), he also had a very negative influence. There were those who thought he took his schtick way too far and even as countless listeners continued to hang on his every note, there were others who considered him petulant and abusive. Almost like a traitor to music. He was an incredibly polarizing figure, and love him or hate him, he influenced.

McCartney and (indirectly) Jamerson had huge audiences, and nobody will ever question the depth of their respective influences. Jaco's audience wasn't as large, but the effect he had within it was visceral and immediate.
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back