It’s a shame that when we think of the greatest guitarist we always think of the leads. It’s the flashy creative ones that seem to get all the praise and never the stood at the back, plodding away keeping everyone in time Bassist. Its time we honoured these giants of rock. They may not have blazed a trail ( athough some have had just as an exciting lifestyle as their more out there bandmates) but they deserve some respect. Please note for personal reasons we shall not be including Sir Paul McCartney in this list apart from just then. You can get a large selection of bass guitars at Guitar shops Gloucesterhire just click on the highlighted link.
- John Entwhistle. He is regularly voted the best bass player ever. You can’t argue with accolades that include calling him the Hendrix of the bass guitar. Entwhiste was a pioneer of bass playing in that he went for a 5 bar approach rather than a 4 bar. He was deafened by his bass and died very much in the style he had lived. They called him Ox as he could do more of everything than the other members of the Who and then Thunderfingers due to his explosive style of play. He was also The Quiet One although it seems he kept his activities on the down low.
- Ian Fraser Kilmister better known as Lemmy. Its hard not to be impressed with Lemmy. The singer of Hawkwind’s only chart hit, which they despised him for, and the front man of the hard as nails Motorhead, a band that took Punk and Metal and fused it together in one unholy mess of brilliance. He was an uncompromising man on stage and in his private life. He just saw all guitar music as simply rock and roll just slightly different.
- Bootsy Collins. The Funk the whole funk and nothing but the funk. Played with James Brown and then on to Parliament and Funkadelic this man has rhythm coursing through every fibre of his being. George Clinton needed him to hold the funk and funkadelic sounds which he did with ease. A very well-respected performer and incredible showman.
- Derek Smalls from Spinal Tap. Well known for getting stuck in a pod on stage Derek Smalls is a positive bassist especially when faced with the two massive egos of David St Hubbins and Nigel Tufnel. As he memorably says “They are like fire and ice, I’m in the middle, like lukewarm water…” wise and sage like Derek will know doubt be “projecting strength” for many years to come.
Ok, so that last one was a joke and I was going to include Flea from the Red Hot Chilli Peppers. I’m sure you can come up with a list just as good, if not better, than mine.