20 Songs With Great Bass Guitar

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I get some interesting feedback. I like it when people leave their comments on songs they feel I have missed – sometimes they are legitimately songs I missed, sometimes it's because I'm not a big fan, and sometimes it has introduced me to a new song (I love that!) – but I had a recent Twitter DM conversation. No abuse – a legitimate conversation. On social media. I know! When does that happen, right? Anyway, after my recent singing drummers column, I had this conversation. What it boiled down to was – I play drums and guitar, so I focus on them. I also clearly like piano songs. What about the bass guitar?


What an excellent question. I asked for suggestions from him and he gave me a list of funk tracks that I had not heard. I told him I was not hugely into funk, and find much of James Brown's music overrated. I think he took it as an insult because the conversation stopped. Anyway, it did get me thinking, and so I came up with a list of 10 songs and sent them to a friend who has played bass guitar in bands in America. He crossed out three of them and added four of his own. I owned three of them. This started am email exchange over two days and so, by checking with him (thanks, Mike!) I have put this list together.

Some caveats. As I mentioned, I am not a fan of funk, and there are apparently some great funk bass lines. I do like Bootsy Collins' bass lines, but his songs often leave me flat. So, I have to like these songs, not just the bass lines. Sorry, fans of funk. Ditto for reggae. Next, there are some great bass lines in heavy metal, but when they get so over-shadowed by guitar and drums, it does not feel like the bass is really prominent. Also, not being a bass player, I know I have missed some. Feel free to add yours in the comments below!

So, rules:
1) I have to like the song;
2) the bass line has to be prominent;
3) a real bass guitar, not a synthesised one (like on Michael Jackson's 'Smooth Criminal'); and
4) two maximum songs per bass player. Why 2? Because John Deacon made my life too hard to choose just one.
Oh, and a quick mention of the extended mix of Billy Idol's 'Dancing With Myself' which has a great bass solo that's not in the studio version.


20 bass songs! Are you ready to… do whatever you do when listening to bass guitar. (Sorry, Mike!)

**'Summertime Blues' by Eddie Cochran (1958)
Bass Player: Connie 'Guybo' Smith**

This is one of those times when I am trusting Wikipedia, as I had no record of the bass player on anything I own. But the song is held together by the bass playing throughout with Cochran riffing his guitar and singing over the top. And back in the days when bass was often the upright sort, this is apparently one of the earlier examples of an electric bass. Apparently.
**'My Generation' by The Who (1965)
Bass Player: John Entwistle**

John Entwistle is, to my mind, one of the best unheralded musicians. He could play such a wide variety of instruments it was incredible. But he got his start in popular music as a bass player for The Who, and in this first hit song of the band, his bass really drives the song, even sharing solo duties with Pete Townshend 's lead guitar. Brilliant.
**'Sunshine Of Your Love' by Cream (1967)
Bass Player: Jack Bruce**

Cream were a power trio consisting of Ginger Baker on drums, Eric Clapton on guitar and Jack Bruce on bass. And in this track, the bass guitar is as dominant as the lead guitar. Bruce was an amazing bassist, holding his own in a band of such talents as Cream.
**'(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher And Higher' by Jackie Wilson (1967)
Bass Player: James Jamerson**

The first instruments we hear are the bass and bongoes, and the bass keeps this song steady throughout, no matter what else is going on. While not as prominent as some bass lines, the fact it starts and maintains that throughout makes this a bass track. And it's one of my bass-playing mate Mike's favourites.
**'Come Together' by The Beatles (1969)
Bass Player: Paul McCartney**

For the bass player of The Beatles, one of the principal songwriters and one of the dominant singers, very few Beatles tracks gave McCartney the opportunity to stretch his bass playing muscles. This is one of the few, where the heavy sound the song required comes about from McCartney's glorious playing. The others come in as well, but always that bass line.
**'Badge by Cream (1969)
Bass Player: Jack Bruce**

Once I decided Deacon could be here twice, Bruce popped his head up as well. The bass on this Cream track is a little muted but it is so vital to allow Clapton to play his trademark guitar over the top. The bass is such an important part of this track it would not have worked with anyone less talented.
**'Riders On The Storm' by The Doors (1971)
Bass Player: Jerry Scheff**

The bass guitar really holds this track together. As the other instruments go off on their own, the bass lines and steady drum hold this song in place. Maybe not the most intricate of bass lines, but it is right there, taking control at all times, drawing everyone back into the groove of the track.
**'Radar Love' by Golden Earring (1973)
Bass Player: Rinus Gerritsen**

The bass guitar in this does not dominate throughout, but when it comes to the fore, it really comes to the fore, driving along after the big chorus to get the song back on track. Pounding along, like the driver of the car in the song would hear travelling down the road.
**'I Shot The Sheriff' by Bob Marley And The Wailers (1973)
Bass Player: Aston 'Family Man' Barrett**

Much like funk, I was never a huge fan of reggae, but I do own a little bit, mostly Marley and the white-boy reggae from the late 70s/early 80s UK. This is one of the best songs of the genre, even if the first version I heard was by Eric Clapton. But the bass guitar keeps coming to the fore, especially at the end, driving it along with a nice rhythm.
**'Mothership Connection' by Parliament (P-Funk) (1975)
Bass Player: Bootsy Collins**

Now, I did say I was not a fan of funk, but I was given this album many years ago as a sci-fi concept album and it's not too bad. Bootsy Collins is the star, though, holding things together with his bass playing that just lifts it. I've seen him live (on YouTube) playing bass solos that are out of this world, but this is where he reached a recorded high that I actually enjoy.
**'Play That Funky Music' by Wild Cherry (1976)
Bass Player: Allen Wentz**

Okay, I do really like this funk song and have liked since I first heard it. It's catchy as all out and that bass that just underlines everything is really at the fore. Guitar solo? Bass line still there. Brass section? Bass is there. It's the funky slap-bass style and this is such a cool song.
**'Psycho Killer' by Talking Heads (1977)
Bass Player: Tina Weymouth**

Probably even better demonstrated live, this track shows that Weymouth was a vital cog in the Talking Heads machine. Not only does she underpin this whole song, but she also provides the consistency of the track with her frankly awesome bass line.
**'London Calling' by The Clash (1979)
Bass Player: Paul Simonon**

The Clash were the more commercial side of the British punk explosion, with their reggae influences making the music more palatable to a wider audience. And in this title track from their seminal album, the bass line can be heard throughout, driving along with a rhythm all its own that everything else hangs from. The vocals follow the bass, giving it the feel of a lead instrument, not the rhythm section.
**'Walking On The Moon' by The Police (1979)
Bass Player: Sting**

Because of the reggae style, the bass is really brought to the fore and it is the dominant instrument in the song. That bass line is very identifiable and people of a certain age just have to hear it to know this song. A great track.
**'Another One Bites The Dust' by Queen (1980)
Bass Player: John Deacon**

An absolutely iconic bass line from one of the best bass guitarists in the business. Yes, Deacon wrote the track, and so of course he put his instrument at the forefront, but, damn!, it works well! It is the driving instrument of the song. It is brilliant.
**'Rapture' by Blondie (1981)
Bass Player: Nigel Harrison**

For so many of us, this was our first exposure to rap in the mainstream: Debbie Harry's strange tale of an alien eating things. But the bass playing that underpins the lush orchestration and comes to the fore and it provides the beat that Harry 'raps' along to. Strange song, but I can't help but like it.
**'Under Pressure' by Queen and David Bowie (1981)
Bass Player: John Deacon**

Queen again! I told you Deacon gave me trouble! But this bass line is so iconic that it was stolen by Vanilla Ice. For people of my generation, if they hear it, they either wait for Mercury and Bowie to start singing, or they go, "Stop! Collaborate and listen…" (and yes I am embarrassed about knowing the lyrics to that song… and I know them all…) But the Queen/Bowie collaboration is such a good song and Deacon's bass helps make it.
**'Thug' by ZZ Top (1983)
Bass Player: Dusty Hill**

One of the lesser-known tracks from the Eliminator album, but this track features a number of bass solos and is built on those bass lines that Hill laid down so regularly for ZZ Top. He is a reliable bass player, but in this track, he shows he is an excellent bass player as well.
**'Blue Monday' by New Order (1983)
Bass Player: Peter Hook**

Fun fact: Bass guitar and drums were the only non-computerised instruments on this track. That bass is at the front and it is prominent and it drives this track at a pace that made it into a game-changer. This was when the synthesised music started to take over, and if it was all going to sound like this, that was okay. Well, it didn't all sound like this and it wasn't okay, but for a while New Order had us believing.
**'Big Bottom' by Spinal Tap (1984)
Bass Player: everyone**

Everyone? Yes. This song has all three guitarists playing a bass guitar. Harry Shearer (playing Derek Smalls) is the principle bass player in the band. This is one of those bands made up of actors who actually play and sing. No miming here! But this song is pure bass. There was a Comedy Relief version some years later with guest guitarists like David Gilmour of Pink Floyd… and they ALL played a bass! This is amazing.
And here is the Live Earth bass guitar orchestra version!

There you have it – 20 songs where the bass guitarist is wonderful. Many modern bands do not even use a bass guitar, and so many tracks that I thought had great bass-lines it turns out used synthesisers to achieve the sound or sampling of the bass-lines from other tracks. Maybe that's why these songs all fall into a very specific nearly 30 year place in musical history. That's a shame. Because the bass guitar is, as can be seen by these tracks, such a vital part of giving a song the bottom that might otherwise be lost.

May the bass live long and prosper.


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