Off Topic unsung bass heroes

[sitonmybass]

Mario Cipollina with Huey Lewis and The News, who are an incredible live band with stunning vocal harmonies, very tight performances and top-notch musicianship. I've seen them twice; they are great!
Their "a cappella" live harmonies are amazing.

Cipollina was a master at playing simple and propulsive bass-lines.

When I saw them the second time with their new bass player, John Pearce, he was playing a StingRay 5 and he rocked, too!

 

[sitonmybass]

We've moved way beyond "unsung" guys now.

I sit corrected, sir. Post #39 edited; list shortened to one.

 

[Steamthief]

Graham Maby from the Joe Jackson Band is the shiznit!

 

[sitonmybass]

The late Kelly Groucutt from Electric Light Orchestra who has the distinction of being the only other vocalist in the band besides founder/songwriter/leader/guitarist/singer/producer/arranger Jeff Lynne. The two of them did all of the multi-tracked male vocals themselves!

 

[shakinbacon]

John Illsley from Dire Straits

 

[shakinbacon]

i love this thread

everyone's input has really inspired me. I agree with almost all of them with an "oh yeah, that dude's work was really cool"

 

[sitonmybass]

Men At Work's John Rees

Check out the intro bass-line in the song, "It's A Mistake."

Very tasteful bass-line played on a StingRay with some chorus effect.

His bass-line contributions are perfect for each song and just what each song needs. That's smart bass playing.

Colin Hay sings his a$$ off! I have some of his solo stuff. He's really got a great quality to his voice.

 

[syciprider]

I guess it can be argued that Michael Anthony is an unsung bassist. He has to confine his playing within a framework that supports the guitar acrobatics of EVH.

 

[lovechick]

As a bar musician I cringe at the mere mention of his band's name, but Leon Wilkeson (may he rest in peace) from Lynyrd Skynyrd was a beast. Learning any of that man's lines is always a workout!

 

[shakinbacon]

I guess it can be argued that Michael Anthony is an unsung bassist. He has to confine his playing within a framework that supports the guitar acrobatics of EVH.

Agreed. I also think he may have gotten royally shafted by the Van Halen brothers

I've read that he had to sign his rights away to the songs to go on his last tour

They replaced him with Wolfgang on tour and in Guitar Hero AND tried removing his pictures from the albums.

I can't listen to that band anymore due to that kind of treatment.

but I digress. definitely an unsung hero in my book

 

[MadMatt]

And the guy(s) who did the studio jobs back in the 70ies at German Schlager recordings, there were fu**** groovy bass lines...

Yea, a lot of the songs are really bad but when you listen carefully there is a lot of great stuff going on on the bass line.

I'm not into Disco but the bass line from Dancing Queen is an awesome groove. I cant find anything on who played it but whoever it is has definitely got the funk!

 

[ivbenaplayin]

how about Eric Wilson from Sublime?

 

[ZiggyDude]

There was a nice thread on "The Bottom Line" about unsung bass players some time ago. I tossed out Dennis Dunaway of the original Alice Cooper. He had more cool to play and hear patterns in a song sometimes than some other players put on an album. Listen to all the stuff on song "Schools Out" or others from the albums of that time.

About Michael Anthony - I think it was revenge for his going on tour with Sammy. The VH brothers get really vindictive it seems. That is crazy about trying to get MA's picture off earlier albums though. Each one is a snapshot in time after all. Bands don't re-record everything they ever did and recall stuff from the stores when they change members.

 

[MadMatt]

Bands don't re-record everything they ever did and recall stuff from the stores when they change members.

Ozzy did: Ozzy Osbourne - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

He has also come under fire from former musicians such as Bob Daisley, Lee Kerslake, and Phil Soussan for not paying them royalties and giving them credit on the albums they played on.[37][38] Bob Daisley and Lee Kerslake sued the Osbournes in 1986 for outstanding royalties from songs written for the Blizzard of Ozz releases, and for reinstatement of performance credits. Litigation continued in 2002 when Daisley and Kerslake (and bassist Phil Soussan) once again sued for unpaid royalties. The Osbournes responded by erasing their contributions on the original masters and re-issuing new versions with the bass and drum tracks re-recorded by Robert Trujillo and Mike Bordin.[39] Phil Soussan also brought a lawsuit against Osbourne and even got into a physical confrontation with Sharon at Randy Castillo's funeral.[40]

 

[guenter]

Not to forget: David Gilmour. He played the bass on most pink floyd studio recordings (instead of roger waters). There were some really cool ideas + interesting sounds (meddle/one of these days) in his bass lines.

And still not mentioned in this thread: Kim Clarke (defunkt). She's the bass player where i first heard a StingRay and was fascinated by the sound of the bass.

 

[Steamthief]

how about Eric Wilson from Sublime?

Damn straight, he got the chops.

 

[ivbenaplayin]

Damn straight, he got the chops.

and I believe he's a Stingray guy as well, which makes him even more awesome...

 

[Lynottfan]

Richard Page from Mr Mister, top notch singer and very tasty bass player to.
Tony Wall from King, very impressive imho, useda lot of MM basses to, Ray, Sabre and Cutlass iirc.
Bruce Thomas from The Attractions, Mighty bass player.
Phil Kennemore rom Y&T (and old fave from me metal days) very stylish.

But in the main the two most unsung must still be Larry graham and Bernard Edwards, I cant understand how it is but it does seem to be the case. If you think of how they should be known to how they are actually known, it really doesn't seem right to me anyway.

 

[LawDaddy]

As a bar musician I cringe at the mere mention of his band's name, but Leon Wilkeson (may he rest in peace) from Lynyrd Skynyrd was a beast. Learning any of that man's lines is always a workout!

Very few bar bands get his lines correct. He was indeed a monster. I'm glad I got to see him before he passed on. And he played his bass nearly vertically, almost like a stand up!

 

[five7]

Jimbo Wallace, REVEREND HORTON HEAT