What's so special about Larry Graham?

[diegom]

I don't remember seeing anyone so joyous when playing bass!!!

 

[Dincrest]

Technically he was "thumpin and a pluckin" according to Larry himself

While that is certainly true, the OP was clearly having a laugh with quoting that John Entwistle thread verbatim but substituting in Larry Graham's name. So I gave the jokey response of the "slappa da bass" meme that plagued all of us in the early 2010s.

 

[diegom]

While that is certainly true, the OP was clearly having a laugh with quoting that John Entwistle thread verbatim but substituting in Larry Graham's name. So I gave the jokey response of the "slappa da bass" meme that plagued all of us in the early 2010s.

Problem is, you didn't do it correctly...

You MUST include the gif, like so:

Slappin Da Bass, Mon!

 

[Dincrest]

Brain fart, I know.

 

[Kukulkan61]

James Jamerson overrated

 

[Kukulkan61]

Rocco Prestia can play circles around Graham and doesn't even slap. How you like me now..

 

[Churnaround]

I love how the first couple of folks that responded to the OP took it seriously.

 

[4001]

Maybe there should be a ban on topics starting with: "What's so special about..."

I'm waiting for the one on Jaco.....

 

[diegom]

I'm waiting for the one on Jaco.....

Here you go:
What's so special about Jaco Pastorinus?

 

[dkelley]

I'm not the biggest funk/r&b fan out there, but I can see why people like Rick James, Bootsy Collins, Bernard Edwards and the likes.

I can even see why people like James Jamerson, although I think he's seriously overrated.

But I don't understand why Larry Graham is so highly regarded here on TalkBass and in the media. I listened to Sly and The Family Stone and Graham Central Station top songs on Spotify and watched a few videos on YouTube. Sure, he has that sort of thumping technique and a few fills on "Thank You," but is that it? I guess he did come before Rick James et al., making him a pioneer?

I'm being serious here. I'm not trolling. What am I missing?

HE INVENTED SLAP BASS. Oh yea, and he's a hell of a lead singer with excellent independence of rhythm and pitch between his playing and singing, and he's got visual styyyyyyle

 

[Chickenwheels]

Better thread title: WHY IS LARRY GRAHAM SPECIAL TO YOU? (A CHANCE TO CELEBRATE A TRUE BASS LEGEND)

 

[diegom]

HE INVENTED SLAP BASS. Oh yea, and he's a hell of a lead singer with excellent independence of rhythm and pitch between his playing and singing, and he's got visual styyyyyyle

I love how some of these threads send me down a research rabbit hole!
First of all, I'm not questioning or debating your statement. It simply made me think "Who was the first person to slap the bass, any bass?" I mean publicly, as part of the musical performance, not by accident. Wikipedia to the rescue (With the usual grain of salt!) William Manuel Johnson - Wikipedia
Thank you Mr Johnson, a jazz musician whose technique inspired and helped 1000s of hillbillies who had FIRED THE DRUMMER!!!

Now, back to Larry Graham

 

[diegom]

Better thread title: WHY IS LARRY GRAHAM SPECIAL TO YOU? (A CHANCE TO CELEBRATE A TRUE BASS LEGEND)

Call it "Piggyback" or "Cross-promotion"... Sorry if I offended anyone.

 

[Hahaha]

I started laughing as soon as I read Diego's post. He's obviously goofing on the Ox thread. I can imagine the smirk on his face as he typed it.

 

[2F/2F]

What are you missing? Taste.

 

[themarshall]

Every time I see footage of Larry Graham, I think his right hand technique looks more like Son House or Bukka White or such than most "funk" bass players.

 

[two fingers]

Larry knew what to do, and when. Let the man himself explain.

See????? Just sitting around making a technique video he looks like he could be doing a cologne commercial.

When I grow up, I wanna be Larry Graham.

 

[dan1952]

ALWAYS??!!??
Where are my negative posts?

Next thread, coming up...
What's so special about my negative view of the legends?

Your sense of humor, maybe?
;-)

 

[WestyBassBob]

Yeah, we should ban some words too. Why do we need a word for "bad" when we can just say "ungood"?

Newspeak! I say instead of sucks it’s very ungood

 

[Raoul_Duke]

Well played sir!

I like this thread. It reminded me why I love Larry Graham.