Five songs that influenced me as a bassist
Music is not created in a vacuum. Every piece of music we make, subconsciously or not, contains elements from the music we’ve listened to others perform. Even the cavemen at the beginning of time probably heard other cavemen in the neighboring cave hit a stick against a rock in time groupings of four and then thought to do the same thing themselves.
I’ve been playing the bass guitar for about two years now. I’ve never taken any lessons for the bass, so almost all of my knowledge about my instrument comes from listening to other bassists perform, whether live or on albums. Analytically listening to music helps a musician build a musical vocabulary, which contributes to their own personal musical voice.
I’ve listed five songs below that have helped define my own personal musical voice as a bassist. Are these songs foundational and required learning for every bass player out there? No. But listening to them has helped me define my own avenue of expression. If you are a bassist as well, then I hope you’ll see where I’m coming from. Even if you’re not a bassist or a musician at all, I hope you at least find some sort of inspiration in these tracks. Enjoy!
SONG: “Chicken” by Jaco Pastorius, Bireli Lagrene, & Peter Lübke
ALBUM: “Broadway Blues”
BASSIST: Jaco Pastorius
This tune, originally written by Pee Wee Ellis, is a staple of jazz-funk improvisation thanks to its abundance of dominant seventh chords, funky bassline, and dissonant melody. Jaco Pastorius has recorded several versions of this tune, but the stripped-down trio version on “Broadway Blues” is by far my favorite and the most influential to my own bass playing.
Without the excess of the horns and other instruments you may hear in other renditions of this tune, this recording is a great display in how the bass can really lock in with the guitar and drums to jointly serve a harmonic, melodic, and rhythmic purpose.
Jaco’s use of both chords and the upper register really establishes the bass in this song as a very multifaceted instrument. While there are dozens of Jaco songs that are influential to a number of bass players, I have personally spent hours playing bass over the “Broadway Blues” recording, and doing so has made me a more versatile bass player.
SONG: “I Was Made to Love Her” by Stevie Wonder
ALBUM: “I Was Made to Love Her”
BASSIST: James Jamerson
“I Was Made to Love Her” is a shining example of the beautiful, melodic, in-pocket, and functional bass playing of the one and only James Jamerson. As the resident bassist of Motown in its golden years, Jamerson has the incredible legacy of being one of the greatest bassists of all time.
But in this song, I feel it really showcases Jamerson’s style very emblematically. He follows the melodic motif of the song on the bass while throwing in jumpy bass fills that tightly fill with the groove.
This is one of my favorite songs to jam to, and the creativity and patterns of Jamerson’s playing have drastically changed the way I and many others look at the bass.
SONG: “Goin’ Down” by The Monkees
ALBUM: '‘Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd.”
BASSIST: Peter Tork
I’ve never really dug too far into the Monkees’ discography, but I first heard this cut track from their 1967 album as part of the soundtrack in the final season of “Breaking Bad.” This song opens with a rambling lyrical intro by the band’s singer Micky Dolenz complemented by a swinging drum beat and Peter Tork’s bassline that “goes down” an E mixolydian scale in 8th notes.
The bassline scales all the way from the high E on the 1st string to the lowest E on the 4th string by the end of the verse. The simple scale pattern, combined with a swinging beat and a jazzy horn arrangement makes the bassline feel like a fitting, walking bass line.
Peter Tork doesn’t play the bass on many of the early Monkees recordings (with session greats like Carol Kaye and Chip Douglas standing in for him) but the creative bass part in Goin’ Down proves (to me, anyways) that he stood on his own as a bassist.
SONG: “Little Ghetto Boy” by Donny Hathaway
ALBUM: “Live”
BASSIST: Willie Weeks
Willie Weeks’ style is very reminiscent of that of James Jamerson on this 1972 Donny Hathaway live recording. I feel that this version of the song is a really great display of how the bass guitar can be the glue that binds a song together.
This song follows a looping chord progression, which Weeks improvises on for the duration of the song, moving all across the fretboard. This song really taught me that it’s possible on the bass to do so much with so little.
SONG: “Something” by The Beatles
ALBUM: Abbey Road
BASSIST: Paul McCartney
“Something” is a classic and one of the greatest, simplest songs that George Harrison ever wrote in his life. Minus the bass part, the rhythm and harmony are both very straight, slow, and simple.
But Paul McCartney’s bass part, which expertly compliments George’s singing and the swelling mood of the tune, really seals the deal. About his bass part, Paul said “I think George thought my bass-playing was a little bit busy. Again, from my side, I was trying to contribute the best I could, but maybe it was his turn to tell me I was too busy.”
To me, this is easily his greatest bassline. When I first listened to “Something,” before I ever played the bass, the bassline stuck out to me. My early days as a bassist was merely attempting to imitate the sound, groove, and feel of the bassline. And years later, I still find myself riffing it out. It truly is the perfect bassline to a perfect song.
Bloomington Delta recently covered “Something’ as part of our George Harrison tribute video, with yours truly on the bass (linked above).
