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talented bassists who just stopped playing for some reason
- Thread starter WarriorJoe7
- Start date
Greg Norton, formerly of Husker Du, stepped away from playing bass to open a successful restaurant, too. He's been playing with some groups part-time over the last few years, though.
A tad obscure, but one of my first inspirations for playing bass was Deep Purple Mk. 1's Nick Simper--he was the bass player on DP's first 3 albums, and I thought he was really good. It seems like the next thing he did was a project called "warhorse" and then disappeared...too bad--he had some sweet basslines...
Thomas Miller, Symphony X 's first bass player...amazing musician...he quit in 1998 due to (they say) some religion thing and quite litterally disappeared from the music business then...
David Romani of Change,BB&Q band. He left the business for many yeaars due to being not paid for the many hits he recorded. He just recently returned to playing
Real Drums and Bass try to play this for the full length
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Real Drums and Bass try to play this for the full length
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Danny Bonaduce...
I heard he quit the music business after Stu Hamm started to get all of his sessions and tours.
Just listen to the Animals.Out of this place was (nice,interesting and of course a bass all time fave)but,bassist really good
Matt Sharp of Weezer. The first and best bassist they had. Apparently he just quit, or just got kicked out. I imagine there was a lot of tension between him and other band members.
Either way he didn't just quit music but has been involved in solo projects. Nothing mainstream though. Kind of a shame too because his basslines were simple, but good.
Either way he didn't just quit music but has been involved in solo projects. Nothing mainstream though. Kind of a shame too because his basslines were simple, but good.
What about Louis Johnson?
I know about his instructional video/s, and recording with Michael Jackson etc. but that was more than 20 yrs ago.
Has anyone knows if he is playing?
I know about his instructional video/s, and recording with Michael Jackson etc. but that was more than 20 yrs ago.
Has anyone knows if he is playing?
Copied and pasted from the Allmusic site:
<<After over three decades of being "lost," Henry Grimes has made a remarkable comeback. He was born and grew up in Philadelphia, studying violin while in junior high school and also playing tuba a bit in high school before settling permanently on bass. Grimes moved to New York City in the early '50s, studied at Juilliard, and then began playing with major jazz musicians. He toured with the bands of Arnett Cobb and Willis Jackson and spent time back in Philadelphia, where he worked with Bobby Timmons and Lee Morgan. Grimes worked with Anita O'Day and Sonny Rollins in 1957 and was a member of the Gerry Mulligan quartet in 1957-1958, during the period that Art Farmer was in the band. A very versatile bassist who could play with anyone, Grimes really stretched himself at the 1958 Newport Jazz Festival when he performed quite capably with the Benny Goodman big band, Lee Konitz, Sonny Rollins, and Thelonious Monk.
Grimes had stints with Lennie Tristano (1958) and Sonny Rollins (touring Europe in 1959, right before the tenor's temporary retirement) and was greatly respected by stylists from all jazz fields. In 1961 he became an important contributor to free jazz, working with Cecil Taylor off and on during 1961-1966 in addition to playing regularly with Perry Robinson (1962), Sonny Rollins (1962-1963), Albert Ayler (1964-1966), and Don Cherry (1965-1966). Grimes led a record date (The Call) for ESP in 1965 and, in addition to the musicians mentioned, recorded with Mose Allison, Chet Baker, Bill Barron, Karl Berger, Gary Burton, Gil Evans, Burton Greene, Coleman Hawkins, Roy Haynes, Steve Lacy, Charles Mingus, Sunny Murray, Jerome Richardson, Annie Ross, Pharoah Sanders, Shirley Scott, Archie Shepp, Billy Taylor, Charles Tyler, McCoy Tyner, Marzette Watts, and Frank Wright. (Not too many musicians have recorded with both Benny Goodman and Albert Ayler!)
But then, in 1967 when he was just 31, Henry Grimes disappeared completely from the jazz scene. Decades passed and he became one of jazz's most prominent missing persons. He was long presumed dead because no one in jazz heard a word from him. So in 2002 it was a major surprise when Grimes was discovered living in a hotel in South Central Los Angeles, where he had resided for the past 20 years. Grimes, who had become frustrated with the music world and suffered from some ambiguous mental problems, had spontaneously quit music and worked odd jobs for years. He had long since sold his bass for the money and was unaware of the musical developments of the past 35 years. Grimes was discovered by Marshall Marrotte, a social worker and writer, and was soon interviewed by Sound to Noise magazine. Word went out that Henry Grimes was alive, basically pretty well but destitute, and desiring to play bass again. William Parker donated and sent him a bass in December 2002 and since then Grimes has regained his former form and begun to play in public again. Grimes played at Billy Higgins' World Stage and the Jazz Bakery in addition to several other clubs in the Los Angeles area, began teaching an improvisation class at a local high school, and appeared at the Vision Festival in New York. His comeback became one of the great jazz stories of 2003, an unlikely case of a missing figure suddenly re-emerging on the jazz scene after a 35-year "vacation." He began playing dates and festivals around the world, released several new recordings, took up the violin, and even published a volume of Signs Along the Road.>>
<<After over three decades of being "lost," Henry Grimes has made a remarkable comeback. He was born and grew up in Philadelphia, studying violin while in junior high school and also playing tuba a bit in high school before settling permanently on bass. Grimes moved to New York City in the early '50s, studied at Juilliard, and then began playing with major jazz musicians. He toured with the bands of Arnett Cobb and Willis Jackson and spent time back in Philadelphia, where he worked with Bobby Timmons and Lee Morgan. Grimes worked with Anita O'Day and Sonny Rollins in 1957 and was a member of the Gerry Mulligan quartet in 1957-1958, during the period that Art Farmer was in the band. A very versatile bassist who could play with anyone, Grimes really stretched himself at the 1958 Newport Jazz Festival when he performed quite capably with the Benny Goodman big band, Lee Konitz, Sonny Rollins, and Thelonious Monk.
Grimes had stints with Lennie Tristano (1958) and Sonny Rollins (touring Europe in 1959, right before the tenor's temporary retirement) and was greatly respected by stylists from all jazz fields. In 1961 he became an important contributor to free jazz, working with Cecil Taylor off and on during 1961-1966 in addition to playing regularly with Perry Robinson (1962), Sonny Rollins (1962-1963), Albert Ayler (1964-1966), and Don Cherry (1965-1966). Grimes led a record date (The Call) for ESP in 1965 and, in addition to the musicians mentioned, recorded with Mose Allison, Chet Baker, Bill Barron, Karl Berger, Gary Burton, Gil Evans, Burton Greene, Coleman Hawkins, Roy Haynes, Steve Lacy, Charles Mingus, Sunny Murray, Jerome Richardson, Annie Ross, Pharoah Sanders, Shirley Scott, Archie Shepp, Billy Taylor, Charles Tyler, McCoy Tyner, Marzette Watts, and Frank Wright. (Not too many musicians have recorded with both Benny Goodman and Albert Ayler!)
But then, in 1967 when he was just 31, Henry Grimes disappeared completely from the jazz scene. Decades passed and he became one of jazz's most prominent missing persons. He was long presumed dead because no one in jazz heard a word from him. So in 2002 it was a major surprise when Grimes was discovered living in a hotel in South Central Los Angeles, where he had resided for the past 20 years. Grimes, who had become frustrated with the music world and suffered from some ambiguous mental problems, had spontaneously quit music and worked odd jobs for years. He had long since sold his bass for the money and was unaware of the musical developments of the past 35 years. Grimes was discovered by Marshall Marrotte, a social worker and writer, and was soon interviewed by Sound to Noise magazine. Word went out that Henry Grimes was alive, basically pretty well but destitute, and desiring to play bass again. William Parker donated and sent him a bass in December 2002 and since then Grimes has regained his former form and begun to play in public again. Grimes played at Billy Higgins' World Stage and the Jazz Bakery in addition to several other clubs in the Los Angeles area, began teaching an improvisation class at a local high school, and appeared at the Vision Festival in New York. His comeback became one of the great jazz stories of 2003, an unlikely case of a missing figure suddenly re-emerging on the jazz scene after a 35-year "vacation." He began playing dates and festivals around the world, released several new recordings, took up the violin, and even published a volume of Signs Along the Road.>>
A
afromoose
Guest
Apparently he was fired, along with Rod Evans, for being a bit too old-fashioned for the style DP wanted to pursue. A shame, but it did usher in DP's finest era (IMHO).
I did security for ZZ Top a few years back, and spent the entire gig standing next to Nick Simper. Wish I'd said something.
Bon Jovi's first bassist quit and bought a Harley Dealership, if I remember the story correctly.
He hasn't retired - still teaching and playing. The Brothers Johnson toured a few years ago as well.
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Really, where do you go after being the bass player for Queen?! And coming up with some of the most widely recognizable bass lines in the history of rock. Playing with one of the best bands musically with arguably the greatest frontman in history. Playing in front of hundreds of thousands of people. It's not like your going to become a session player or start a band to play at your neighborhood pub.
Be interesting to know what he's up to.
