Well, the simple answer is, it works great and maybe one of them plays upright bass for the other songs. Why did the Grateful dead, James Brown, Allman Brothers all have 2 drummers? The cure used two basses for the song, 'Primary' Robert Smith has such a talent for catchy, simple melodies that stick in your head
His playing is as off beat as his singing. Not literally...well...maybe. In any case, talk about an American original!
Often when the drummer just holds the line, the bass fills in the back beat. Some bass players can fill the melody, and hold a melody at the same time. But in Willie's case, more is less.
That looks like a TV production. Maybe is was the finale of a big TV show with several acts and they all jammed together at the end. That's a stage full for a simple country song. I'v seen him in concert twice and he didn't have two bass players either time. So, yeah, this was a "jam" for a TV show.
Thanks - I believe that. Probably one of those guys had his volume way down or off. Speaking from experience, the only way two or more basses work* is if they play EXACTLY the same line (which means the line is usually written out). If they don't, you get a pile of murky crap. This applies whether its an orchestral section of a the classic upright/electric doubling from early country and the Beach Boys. Edit * this applies to bass rhythm lines. You can certainly have two bass players playing high/low parts like Wooten/Bailey.
Yep. It's from a taping of the PBS show Austin City Limits in 1984. Definitely not his normal line up.