# Best bass lines in rock music history? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 26, 2007, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-bass-lines-in-rock-music-history/431327 "2007-12-26T22:52:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2007, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-bass-lines-in-rock-music-history/431327/21 "2007-12-27T02:18:17Z")
One that I always enjoy is the bass work of Carl Radle in Derek and the Dominos’ _Why Does Love Got To Be So Sad_ (as well as other tracks on the album). ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2007, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-bass-lines-in-rock-music-history/431327/22 "2007-12-27T02:55:08Z")
[QUOTE=dwc1970] Yes’ Chris Squire also does some great bass playing that I’ve never heard anyone replicate. [/QUOTE] Last time we did this I nominated “Heart of the Sunrise,” which I hereby repeat. ---
**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2007, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-bass-lines-in-rock-music-history/431327/23 "2007-12-27T03:01:44Z")
A guilty pleasure of mine is Percy Jones. _Dance of the Illegal Aliens_ is pretty fun. Just about anything by Rocco Prestia, the most popular and recognizable being _What is Hip?_ [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPyTbtvQscQ](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPyTbtvQscQ) although I’ve always liked _Drop It In The Slot._ Jaco is also good on _All American Alien Boy_: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Odnn5gEyrIk](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Odnn5gEyrIk) (a guy playing along with him here) and another good performance on Al Di Meola’s Land of the Midnight Sun album on a piece called \*Suite - Golden Dawn \* Oteil Burbridge with Aquarium Rescue Unit: \*How Tight’s Your Drawers? \*, \*Swallows \*, \*Turn it On \*, _Highly Overrated_, or _Satisfaction Guaranteed_ ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2007, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-bass-lines-in-rock-music-history/431327/24 "2007-12-27T03:12:57Z")
Psycho Killer by Talking Heads. It’s probably the most identifiable bass line out there for the average person. ---
**Author:** ![King\_Friday](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/43a26b/32.png) [@King\_Friday](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/King_Friday)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2007, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-bass-lines-in-rock-music-history/431327/25 "2007-12-27T03:17:11Z")
I thought for sure \*\*Dazed and Confused \*\* would have been mentioned by now… ---
**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2007, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-bass-lines-in-rock-music-history/431327/26 "2007-12-27T03:17:35Z")
Here are the two most recent threads on favorite bass lines: [Favorite Basslines](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=439129) [Songs that make you play air bass](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=443254) and two more of my picks from there: Tony Levin on Peter Gabriel, _I Go Swimming_: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQ0Q6QVxB2g](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQ0Q6QVxB2g) Thomas Dolby\*, Hyperactive\*: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5XVd5mwBZM](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5XVd5mwBZM) ---
**Author:** ![saoirse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@saoirse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saoirse)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2007, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-bass-lines-in-rock-music-history/431327/27 "2007-12-27T03:47:07Z")
I was just listening to “Sultans of Swing” by Dire Straits earlier tonight. It’s not a song you usually associate with great basslines, but I think the bass is what really makes that song. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2007, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-bass-lines-in-rock-music-history/431327/28 "2007-12-27T04:34:45Z")
I dunno about “greatest” – I don’t play bass, so I probably don’t parse the bass melody that often, and overlook candidates. Another vote for _The Real Me_. Also YYZ. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2007, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-bass-lines-in-rock-music-history/431327/29 "2007-12-27T04:46:58Z")
[QUOTE=ultrafilter] Psycho Killer by Talking Heads. It’s probably the most identifiable bass line out there for the average person. [/QUOTE] I’d be surprised if this is the most identifiable bassline. I actually had to youtube it to remind myself what it was…I think there’s a lot of more popular bass lines out there, from Groove Is In The Heart to Love Shack to Under Pressure/Ice Ice Baby to Motown, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2007, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-bass-lines-in-rock-music-history/431327/30 "2007-12-27T04:52:14Z")
Well the bass line in **London Calling** sure gets the listener’s attention. It’s not technically marvelous or anything, but damn if it doesn’t grab you. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2007, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-bass-lines-in-rock-music-history/431327/31 "2007-12-27T05:53:33Z")
[QUOTE=Gfactor] A guilty pleasure of mine is Percy Jones. _Dance of the Illegal Aliens_ is pretty fun. [/QUOTE] Years ago, I heard Geddy Lee on a phone-in radio show. A devoted fanboy called in to ask, “Geddy, besides you, who’s the best bass player in the world?” Geddy modestly said he didn’t consider himself an elite bass player, and said his favorite players were probably Percy Jones and Jeff Berlin. Dead, uncomfortable, awkward silence from the caller and the show’s host, who were obviously metalheads, and had no clue who either of those guys were! ---
**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2007, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-bass-lines-in-rock-music-history/431327/32 "2007-12-27T06:28:12Z")
[QUOTE=astorian] Geddy modestly said he didn’t consider himself an elite bass player, and said his favorite players were probably Percy Jones and Jeff Berlin. Dead, uncomfortable, awkward silence from the caller and the show’s host, who were obviously metalheads, and had no clue who either of those guys were! [/QUOTE] 😃 Jeff Berlin used to write the Bass column in International Musician magazine, when I was an aspiring bassist. He had all sorts of good tips, and turned me on to Rocco Prestia. I’ve never been impressed with him as a player, though. I mean, he can play fast, but nothing I’ve ever heard from him made me want to hear him play it again. Percy on the other hand, had some very innovative ideas, a cool sound (for the era anyway), and style. When he made his comeback, he was playing stuff that was way too computer-y for my taste, but even then, I could tell it was him within a few notes. ---
**Author:** ![KGS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/90ced4/32.png) [@KGS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KGS)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2007, 8:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-bass-lines-in-rock-music-history/431327/33 "2007-12-27T08:51:03Z")
[QUOTE=Biffy the Elephant Shrew] Last time we did this I nominated “Heart of the Sunrise,” which I hereby repeat. [/QUOTE] My favorite’s always been “Parallels”. Also, “Big Bottom” by Spinal Tap. ---
**Author:** ![Wakinyan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wakinyan/32/352_2.png) [@Wakinyan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wakinyan)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2007, 8:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-bass-lines-in-rock-music-history/431327/34 "2007-12-27T08:57:06Z")
Is Black Sabbath’s **N.I.B.** a must in this thread or only in “best bass intro”? ---
**Author:** ![Octalcode](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a9a28c/32.png) [@Octalcode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Octalcode)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2007, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-bass-lines-in-rock-music-history/431327/35 "2007-12-27T12:22:46Z")
\*\*We Gotta Get Out Of This Place \*\*…The Animals ---
**Author:** ![BaneSidhe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c5a1d2/32.png) [@BaneSidhe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BaneSidhe)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2007, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-bass-lines-in-rock-music-history/431327/36 "2007-12-27T14:07:21Z")
I give a big thumbs up to the bass line in “Walk On The Wild Side” as well as John Taylor’s playing on Duran’s albums. For a band that had such a foofy, chick-friendly image, that boy could PLAY (and can still, from what I’ve seen). Also give props to Geddy Lee’s work on “Spirit of Radio.” Just about anything he does is gold. ---
**Author:** ![Crusoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/49beb7/32.png) [@Crusoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crusoe)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2007, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-bass-lines-in-rock-music-history/431327/37 "2007-12-27T16:23:53Z")
Mostly because it works so well with John Squire’s stoned noodling, Gary “Mani” Mountfield’s bassline to the fabulous [Fools Gold](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4bHMVAKDao) (by the Stone Roses) would be my choice. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2007, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-bass-lines-in-rock-music-history/431327/38 "2007-12-27T16:43:03Z")
“Good Times”, by **Chic**. Also heard on “Rappers Delight” and “Another One Bites the Dust”. ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2007, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-bass-lines-in-rock-music-history/431327/39 "2007-12-27T17:08:35Z")
[QUOTE=Wakinyan] Is Black Sabbath’s **N.I.B.** a must in this thread or only in “best bass intro”? [/QUOTE] It was the first song I thought of. Not just the into either, the whole thing. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2007, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-bass-lines-in-rock-music-history/431327/40 "2007-12-27T17:21:11Z")
I love most of the choices so far. My nomination isn’t really the answer to the question, but a related observation: I often check out a bassist’s skills by asking them to play \*\*Take Me to the River, the Talking Heads’ \*\* version. 3 freakin’ simple notes - a non-bassist can finger the notes immediately - but fitting in the space of the song and keeping the groove moving is a feel thing. Way too many bassists simply can’t do it - kinda hilarious to watch, since they know how boneheadedly easy it is… I am surprised to not see \*\*Pump it Up or another Elvis Costello \*\* song - Bruce Thomas is great. Same with Mike Mills of \*\*REM \*\* - maybe **Radio Free Europe**? From a funk standpoint - way too many to mention, but Bootsy, Larry Graham and countless others have so many defining songs… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-bass-lines-in-rock-music-history/431327.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-bass-lines-in-rock-music-history/431327.md?page=3)