• 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.

Richest bassist?

#141
One could say that Jamerson was a powerful influence, while many listeners not knowing who the name was or who he was as a whole, but we all know once a face is placed with the musician things do go up a notch, especially when a band is involved vs one lone instrumentalist.

Paul M. was influenced by Jamerson and he didn't even know the guys name.

So the way Jamerson influenced so many and to not have a face to go with the music is extremely powerful in itself.
 
#143
I'm fairly sure people knew McCarty more for his songwriting and singing than his bass playing. As far as most people were concerned, he was playing some sort of guitar-like thing.

I agree that Jamerson was the bigger influence, hands-down. More musically inclined would have already heard the melodic rhythms on the old Tamla-Motown records.

Not to mention there were bassists like Jack Cassidy, and John Entwistle who were also coming onto their own at the same time as McCartney and are arguably as equally influential from a musical standpoint.
 
#145
My 2 cents:

Of course Sir Paul is the richest and I would argue without a doubt the most influential b/c the Beatles changed the course of music history. Jamerson is amazing and no doubt the other most influential bassist, but I don:t think you can quite compare it to the profound cultural impact all 4 members of the Beatles had.

As far as other rich bassists, I'd agree that Gene Simmons must have some serious bank socked away. I'm surprised that John Paul Jones hasn' shown up more. I would think that he has a fair amount of $ as far as bassist of the world go.
 
#146
NOLA Bass said:
My 2 cents:

Of course Sir Paul is the richest and I would argue without a doubt the most influential b/c the Beatles changed the course of music history. Jamerson is amazing and no doubt the other most influential bassist, but I don:t think you can quite compare it to the profound cultural impact all 4 members of the Beatles had.
Click to expand...
The Beatles, as large an influence as they were, didn't single-handedly start some sort of musical revolution. They had a lot of help from acts before, during, and after their time. Even The Beatles themselves acknowledged this.

And I believe the question was influence as a bass player.
 
#148
And I believe the question was influence as a bass player.
Click to expand...

No actually the question was 'who is the richest bass player'. There was no caveat that he had to be influential as a bass player or that he had to make most of his money from bass playing. Although I've already stated my position that McCartney is a great bass player and was highly influential.

I'm fairly sure people knew McCarty more for his songwriting and singing than his bass playing. As far as most people were concerned, he was playing some sort of guitar-like thing.
Click to expand...

Even though I disagree with your assessment it really doesn't matter whether or not the he was known for his bass playing. He is a bass player and he had by far more more money than any other bass player mentioned.

And I have echo the sentiments of a previous poster regarding Jamerson. In all my days playing during the 60-70's I can't recall a single bass player mentioning his name. Don't get me wrong, I think the guy was amazing. Perhaps the best r&b player of all time but 'the buzz' about Jamerson, IMO is relatively new.
 
#150
JAUQO III-X said:
There where mobs of young ears digging the sounds of bass way before the Beatles came along. They just didn't have a name and a face.

And we all know how the incredibly invisible but heard around the world bass lines of James Jamerson influenced so many, even Paul.
Click to expand...
I think to be an influence, people have to know who you are. Nobody knew Jamerson until he died. For all Paul knew, it could have been several bassists on those early Motown cuts. Jamerson is more of an influence now than he's ever been. Paul was an instant influence.
 
#151
Parabolic Box said:
The Beatles, as large an influence as they were, didn't single-handedly start some sort of musical revolution. They had a lot of help from acts before, during, and after their time. Even The Beatles themselves acknowledged this.

And I believe the question was influence as a bass player.
Click to expand...
You could say that about everybody out there. But nobody had taken all those different influences of the time and gathered them into one package before the Beatles, nor did any one group before or after them have the musical and cultural impact they did. When they changed, the whole business changed, and so did the culture of everyday people. If you weren't around to experience it, you really can't understand it, but suffice it to say that there has never been any act on the planet to do anything close to what the Beatles did.
 
#152
Well said Jimmy. I can recall sitting in front of my parents TV in February 1964 watching them on Ed Sullivan. It was like a lightening bolt. I knew at that moment I wanted to do what they were doing. Kids at school that had never had the slightest interest in music were forming bands.
 
#156
JimmyM said:
I think to be an influence, people have to know who you are. Nobody knew Jamerson until he died. For all Paul knew, it could have been several bassists on those early Motown cuts. Jamerson is more of an influence now than he's ever been.
Click to expand...


That is not true at all. So many bass players were really digging the bass lines from Jamerson and seriously being influenced by him and not even knowing who the bass player was(and believe me they wanted to know)and for many it was very refreshing to finally read who the bass player was , thanks mainly to Marvin Gaye who credited Jamerson and Babbit on his recording "Whats going on".

Paul M. didn't even know who the bass player was but he did acknowledge that he was influenced by the bassist
he came to learn was a guy named James Jamerson.

It's not impossible to be influenced by a bass player and not even know the players names. There are countless recordings where bass players have been strongly influential and on most of those recordings we will never know who the bass player was.




JimmyM said:
Paul was an instant influence.
Click to expand...
Thanks in part to visual assistance, which definitely be more of a boost in making some one with an instrument more popular. MTV showed us that
 
#158
And like I said before, Paul was definitely more of an influence on rock players. Most all R&B, Funk, and some Disco (mainly what I'm into from that era) was all Jamerson influenced. I'm sure a lot of kids went out and got instruments after the Beatles hit, but I think there were a lot of people who already knew they were wanting to be musicians spinning the Motown records playing in that style. I think the soul/funk/R&B recordings from the 60's on are enough evidence to show that Jamerson was the fundamental influence in that style.

I won't deny that Paul had a huge influence/inspiration factor to him, but most of the music that I dig from that era was Jamerson influenced. I'd be interested to see at any given time what split of music is rock/everything else. I'm personally not a big rock fan so I see a lot more in the music of other musicians of the time.
 
#159
JAUQO III-X said:
That is not true at all. So many bass players were really digging the bass lines from Jamerson and seriously being influenced by him and not even knowing who the bass player was(and believe me they wanted to know)and for many it was very refreshing to finally read who the bass player was , thanks mainly to Marvin Gaye who credited Jamerson and Babbit on his recording "Whats going on".

Paul M. didn't even know who the bass player was but he did acknowledge that he was influenced by the bassist
he came to learn was a guy named James Jamerson.

It's not impossible to be influenced by a bass player and not even know the players names. There are countless recordings where bass players have been strongly influential and on most of those recordings we will never know who the bass player was.
Click to expand...
Yeah but now we're trying to quantify it and prioritize it, so it basically comes down to Jamerson and McCartney as being the top early influences. Jamerson was the first great electric bassist, and McCartney was influenced by him, but there's no denying that McCartney reached more people on a personal level, and that can't be discounted.

Sting, though...he's right out ;)
 
#160
JimmyM said:
but there's no denying that McCartney reached more people on a personal level, and that can't be discounted.
Click to expand...

One could say that Jamerson reached a lot of people personally also because he did. His bass lines not only influenced musicians but none musicians as well and that was the old fashioned way, by making it possible for listeners to simply groove to the bass lines from the countless Motown recordings he played on, recordings that caused a great feeling for so many listeners the world over.
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back