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The legendary Tommy Shannon

#25
Tampabass said:
Pay no attention to Aussie. He's the same guy who said he had never heard of Jaco until recently, and as a result came to the conclusion that Jaco must not be legendary, either. Wonder who else he hasn't heard of.
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As I suspected. Just someone trying to get a raise out of people. Cutter, SRV's tour manager, had a great blues bar here. I'd go down and buy beer early just to listen to Cutter's war stories. Was bummed to hear that Tommy didn't take private lessons at the time.

Enjoyed the link, OP, thank you.
 
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#26
I spent a chunk of time playing along with and learning from the first two videos and plan to do the same with remaining parts I find. Sort of like a good sit down with the guy if you ask me. That is a goldmine of stuff for blues style bass playing.

Not to mention the GREAT TONE!

Bob
 
#28
These really are great videos to study. So modest and unpretentious! Makes it a joy to watch these. Thanks for posting this link, I think many of us will find it helpful!

Perhaps even the non initiated to Tommy Shannon:D.....
 
#30
lfmn16 said:
Let's make a list of all of the legendary Australian bass players:

  1. none
  2. none
  3. none
  4. none
  5. none
I guess that covers it! :D

I've been listening to Tommy since Johnny Winter And Live came out.
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Hmm, how about Tal Wilkenfeld?

Regardless, I first clued in to Tommy Shannon when Johnny Winter's first Columbia record was released in 1969. Tal, on the other hand, was born in 1986 :)

:bassist:
 
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#31
Tommy's a good cat, and definitely what I would consider to be a "legendary" player....much like Noel Redding, James Jamerson, etc.. He still plays Austin regularly (Happy Hour @ The Saxon on Thursdays with Eightysixxed), but you can definitely see that his health has been going downhill a bit. Still, it's a whole lotta fun to watch him play and going to a show or two you're definitely gonna learn a ton just by watching. If you're in Austin any time soon, you should definitely go see him play. Invalid Link Removed
 
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#32
Dark Horse said:
Tommy's a good cat, and definitely what I would consider to be a "legendary" player....much like Noel Redding, James Jamerson, etc.. He still plays Austin regularly (Happy Hour @ The Saxon on Thursdays with Eightysixxed), but you can definitely see that his health has been going downhill a bit. Still, it's a whole lotta fun to watch him play and going to a show or two you're definitely gonna learn a ton just by watching. If you're in Austin any time soon, you should definitely go see him play. Invalid Link Removed
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Thanks DarkHorse - I appreciate the update.
 
#33
Aussie Player said:
Johnny Winter is famous - yes
SRV is famous -yes
Their tailor, chef, bass player? No
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Tommy Shannon is indeed famous in blues music circles. And let's stop for a moment and consider - the Blues is one of the very few music forms created in and native to, the United States (...it was derived from African-American music but is a distinct form.) Therefore, the reputation of a blues artist within the US is more pertinent to their status than their reputation in other countries.

The Online Dictionary defines "legendary" thus:

a. Celebrated in legend.
b. Extremely well known; famous or renowned.

By the second definition, one can make a good argument that Tommy Shannon has indeed achieved legendary status in the US...and that's where it counts.

With all due respect to Australia, that country surely has its own "legendary" musicians that we've never heard of in the US. When it comes to blues musicians, IMO their US reputation is most pertinent...and their reputation in Australia not very pertinent.

Let's face it, most of the world's population doesn't know who Robert Johnson was, but anyone who has ever listened to any amount of the blues does. I consider him legendary - and not only is he famed for his music, there are legendary tales told about him.
 
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