So, when thinking about all of my bass influences over the years, I’ve decided that the best way to describe and cover them all is to categorize them in three distinct areas, Legendary, Legacy, and Local players.
The bass players that I heard on the radio and on records growing up and that eventually became huge influences on my playing, I consider as Legendary, and are as follows:
Legendary Influences
- James Jamerson
- Donald “Duck” Dunn
- Carol Kaye
- Bob Babbitt
- Abe Laboriel Sr.
- Joe Osborn
- Leland Sklar
- David Hood
- Paul McCartney
- John Paul Jones
- Willie Weeks
- Tommy Shannon
- John Entwistle
- Geddy Lee
- Chris Squire
- Chuck Rainey
- Tony Levin
- Michael Rhodes
- Jaco Pastorius
- George Porter Jr.
- Bernard Edwards
- Rick Danko
- Larry Graham
- Bootsy Collins
- Verdine White
- Keith Ferguson
- Steve Harris
- Rudy Sarzo
- Cliff Burton
- Bobby Vega
- Steve Harris
- Rudy Sarzo
- Cliff Burton
- Bobby Vega
The bass players that are currently playing sessions, touring and playing all over the world and that are also huge influences on my playing style are as follows:
Legacy Influences
- Darryl Jones (The Rolling Stones)
- Pino Palladino
- Jack Daley
- Tim Lefebvre (Tedeschi Trucks/Black Crowes)
- Oteil Burbridge (Tedeschi Trucks/Allman Brothers)
- David LaBruyere (John Mayer)
- Stephen Campbell (Marcus King Band)
- Victor Wooten
- Nathan East
- Steve Mackey
- Jimmie Lee Sloas
- Gail Ann Dorsey
- Jacob Lowery
- Flea
- Rob Trujillo
- Marcus Miller
- Tony Lucido
- Cody Wright
- Tal Wilkenfeld
The bass players that play locally, here in Austin, have also become huge influences on my playing style and I have the opportunity to see them play often and have even met many of them over the years. Some are also Legendary and Legacy players as well. They are as follows:
Local
- Tommy Shannon
- Glenn Fukunaga
- Chris Maresh
- Roscoe Beck
- Eric Holden
- Kathy Valentine
- Bruce Hughes
- Scott Nelson
- Brad Houser
- Yoggi Musgrove
- Kyle Brock
- Tony Scalzo
- Harmoni Kelley
- Lonnie Trevino Jr.
My discovery of the bass guitar and its players has been a lifelong pursuit and continues to unfold over time and with the advent of the internet and information age, I’ve been able to research my favorite tracks and find out exactly which songs were played on by which players.
Growing up in a small south Texas town in the 70’s, I assumed, like most people I suppose, that all of the songs you hear on the radio were recorded by the artist that was on the record sleeve, when in fact, other than the vocal performance, most of the instruments you hear, were recorded by session players and come to find out that most bass lines, in particular, were recorded by the same group of session players in various regions of the country. I group all of these players in the Legendary category. You’ll see why in the next few paragraphs.
There are roughly 8 distinct regions in the country, where local bass session players played bass lines on the most famous and popular music of the time. They are, in no particular order, Nashville, New York, Detroit, Chicago, Memphis, New Orleans, Muscle Shoals, and Los Angeles.
So, the first song I remember listening to, where the bass line really stood out, was “Sittin’ on the Dock of the Bay” by Otis Redding. My parents had this particular 45 record and I would listen to it over and over on a small children’s record player. I remember using the small plastic adapter so the 45 would play properly. At that time, the record was probably 8 or so years old, as was myself, and had survived moves from Memphis to McAllen including 4 house moves, so it was very scratched but I could still hear the greatest sound, a deep chromatic bass line that gave the song a very unique feel. I didn’t even realize at the time what the instrument was that was making that sound and I figured that Otis Redding himself must have played the all of the instruments on this song and only found out years and years later that it was in fact, Donald “Duck” Dunn, that played the line for Stax records. In fact, I was only a few months old when this song was recorded and was living only a few miles from Stax studio in Memphis at the time. My mother was from Memphis and we lived there for the first 5 years of my life. I get a kick out of thinking that I was personally nearby when this song was recorded and that it happened to become the first big bass influence on a very young upcoming bass player. Along with Duck Dunn, the player I was most likely hearing the most and not knowing who it was, was James Jamerson, from Detroit and Motown records.
James Jamerson recorded bass lines on hundreds of songs, over 100 hits at least, and is known for creating some of the most original and unique bass lines in history. He was a local jazz bass player in the Detroit area, and was recruited to play on Motown sessions to make a few extra bucks. I was totally unaware of this until the dawn of the internet age. I was finally able to figure out who was playing bass on “My Girl” and many other Temptations singles along with just about every other artist on Motown’s roster. Jamerson had an amazing approach to the instrument, he never changed his strings, had super high action, and his unique 1 finger style has influenced just about every bass player I know. It’s undeniable for sure…
There are many other bass players on the Legendary list that have influenced my playing style including other session players like Carol Kaye, David Hood, Joe Osborn, Leland Sklar and Abe Laboriel Sr. then there are those players that played in bands and all had unique styles for the time. These players include Paul McCartney, John Paul Jones, John Entwistle, Geddy Lee, Chris Squire, Rick Danko, Tony Levin, Bernard Edwards, Sting, Larry Graham, Verdine White, Tommy Shannon, Bobby Vega and George Porter Jr. One player really stands out as well for his unique style, Jaco Pastorius, and even though he was with Weather Report, I sort of consider him a solo player as his style is unique and there really is no other player I’ve ever heard that plays like Jaco. Because I grew up in the 80’s, the first “new” music that I was exposed to was a heavier style. I was and still am influenced by metal players like Steve Harris, Cliff Burton, Rudy Sarzo, and Rob Trujillo to name a few.
The next group of players is what I call, Legacy bass players. These are players that are still very actively playing today and have had a big impact on my style. I enjoy listening to them all and try to steal as much as I can from them incorporating what I hear into my own style.
Finally, the last group of bass players on my list of influences is what I call, Local, players. These are musicians that play in and around Austin. Some, I would consider Legendary and Legacy players as well. The great thing about these players is that they are fairly accessible. If you are a music fan, here in Austin, you can go out on most nights and see the players on this list and if you’re lucky, you may even get a chance to say hello. I’ve had the fortune of meeting many of the players on this list over the years and they have all been very supportive and great to talk to. Us bass players gotta’ stick together Man!