What's the most famous bass line that gets mistaken for a guitar riff?

Limb from Limb - Motörhead

Many MH songs for that matter, since Lemmy's bass sounds more like a baritone rhythm guitar.

 

Sunshine of Your Love. Although the guitar does sync up here and there.

 

"Pinball Wizard" by The Who

 

Not the most famous, maybe, but ... any Billy Sheehan solo that I've ever put on for non-musician friends, lol.

 

What's the hit from White Stripes, Elephant or something like that. Minor descending line

Audioslave Cochesie
Quite a bit from Peter Hook

 

Sweet Child o Mine - Guns n Roses
Lasso - Phoenix

 

"Smoke On The Water"






...even Blackmore got it wrong.

 

Which part?

 

Blue Monday by New Order

 

Crazy train by Ozzy


P with flats going through EVH's modified Marshall in a parking lot.

 

Hmmm. Page and Jones played a bunch of them together. Black Dog comes to mind. It's a guitar riff, it's a bass riff, it's two riffs in one!

 

JPJ came up with that riff...IIRC.

 

Wouldn't surprise me. He was a force behind a lot of what they did.

 

"Good Vibrations" intro, there's a video of the Beach Boys live where Carl plays it on guitar (a Telecaster with a Bigsby, btw).

 

Sweet emotion
Lots of StP tunes

 

The intro after the acoustic guitar starts but before the vocal enters.

 

Maybe the lead intro on For Whom The Bell Tolls or the bass solo on Orion (Metallica)

 

I wouldn’t put too much stock in that video, if it’s the one from the Ed Sullivan show. It’s one of those live vocals over prerecorded backing track appearances. Taped at least two years after that song was a hit, I doubt that it informed anyone as to who was playing what; the band at that time were fading from prominence. They just stood there with some sort of instrument to look like they were a band(and, course, it was CK and Crew playing on the record). Bassist(at the time)Bruce Johnston is faking it at the organ, as the instrument is prominently featured on the recording. Mike Love is daftly fake playing a lap steel to simulate the theremin.

 

“She’s Lost Control” is probably the best example.