But Abraham Loboriel is not even on the list and probably should be listed at #1. Greg Ridley from Humble Pie and Spooky Tooth, Mel Schacher from Grand Funk, Pete Way from UFO, Andy Fraser from Free, Martin Turner from Wishbone Ash, Pete Agnew from Nazareth, Harvey Brooks of The Doors, Electric Flag, and Super Session, Francis Bucholtz of The Scorpions, Jack Casady of Jefferson Airplane, Noel Reading, and Billy Cox with Jimi Hendrix, Rick Danko of The Band, Jim Kale of The Guess Who, John Myong of Dream Theatre, Robert DeLeo of STP, etc…a top 50 list is too debatable! Over the course of nearly a decade I was lucky enough to travel the world, performing with some of the finest choirs around. How about : Timothy B. Scmidt of ” The Eagles ” ? now we’re talking … John Taylor my favorite no 1 bass player … the Rio bass lines are the best i ever came across! I had almost given up finding the link between the RC 4-tet and FZ. The list is composed of just super famous and frontmen. I agree with Bruce, McCartney, Jones and Entwistle, the other six could be replaced with at least ten of the remainging forty and some who did not make the list. listen to any track by Nazareth’s Pete Agnew! And ROGER WATERS made the list??? Chris Squire is awesome. Don’t see how you can overlook John Illsley of Dire Straits and Sir Horace Gentleman from ska legends The Specials? It looks like there was another Jay that posted at almost the same time, but I have to agree with the first Jay and also include Rick Danko on the list. Jack Casady formerly of the Jefferson Airplane and now Hot Tuna should be in the top ten without question. Tull bassists were always expected to be well rounded – even down to wielding the stand-up bass when needed. Is Sacrilege……definitely Top 5 with John Paul Jones and Entwistle. What about herbie flowers? Therefore your list is very incomplete.. David, Wrong again.The best 3 bass players Paul mac Cartney Chris Squire JohnEntwistle and special mention Jack bruce. He is not a technical wizard, but very solid. Classically trained rocker/jazz bassist, Jack Bruce is tops for me! Ridiculous list. Love the John McVie/Mick Fleetwood axis. ), or John Myung and Stu Hamm, who have been overlooked ENTIRELY. Some are innovators, some are technically awesome, some are writers and creators of amazing bass, and some are just great influences. show me bass players that want to emulate Jack Bruce = everyone. Let’s give some love to Jimmy Smith and Jack Mcduff while we’re at it. Jack Bruce would have been my no. Greg Lake No Greg Ridley???? Tim Bogert should at the very least be in the top ten. How come Entwhistle, Flea and McCartney are so high up? i think that’s a big joke because when you see flea and steve harris in the top ten and pastorius, marcus miller, graham, bootsy etc..Under thereAnd where are Ron Carter, will lee etc..? Clear #1 in my opinion. Steve on 7st position and McCartney on 5? That’s what makes us – US ! This studio musician brought classical & jazz training to rock, pop & soul bass. Agree 100%. A big smile on my face with 30/40-ies geniuses like Basie’s Walter Page and Ellington’s Jimmy Blanton (+ 1942) mentioned here. Victor is great….. Gary Thain (uriah heep), Mel Scacher (gfr), Greg Lake (elp), Stu Cook (ccr), His name evades me. Nigel John Taylor of Duran Duran gets no love at all? No doubt, he is one of the greats! Especially check out 1:07-1:34. He should be number 1. BUT, Prince’s new bassist, Ida Kristine Nielsen of 3rd Eye Girl (and NPG) is the best “newcomer” since Tal Wilkenfeld. Common wisdom holds that the bass player is the “quiet one” in a band, playing essential parts of a song that you don’t necessarily notice. Still 50% is a FAIL! I’m not a musician, just a avid rock consumer of 40+ years. what kind of list is this???!! No mention of Bob Babbitt whatsoever, no Chuck Rainey, no Anthony Jackson, no Abraham Laboriel, no Freddie Washington, no Andy Rourke, no Mick Karn, I could go on and on…. Tommy Caldwell for his work in the Marshall Yucker band, Mel Schacher-Grand Funk Railroad, Geddy Lee-Rush, John Paul Jones-Zeppelin, Ben Shepherd-Soundgarden, Mike Commerford-Audioslave……the top 5, Jaco should be in the top 10 and so should Leland Sklar…..at 49 that’s just plain insulting and forced me to make a comment. When U2 first started he didn’t know what he was doing, he was just good at acting like he did. RIP Chris Squire — died today from cancer … ranked #16 here … w-a-a-a-y too low. Geddy Lee wipes the floor with all these other players. Nuf Said. Just happy seeing Phil Lynott and Lemmy there. GERRY MCAVOY, from the Rory Gallagher Band has to be there. peter green -Fleetwood Mac (1967. Shulman Brother. He is a son of a farmer and found his … Ray Shulman from Gentle Giant? For me, the great innovator and extraordinary technician who is missing is the wonderful Colin Hodgkinson-look him up, lie back and listen….. Chris Squire (R.I.P.) A real bass players bass player. Getty. I really don’t think paul Mccarthy should make it on a 50 most honourable mention list after the 50 greatest list.. Where is the late great Mick Karn ? Listen to his work on JW and! No Mark King? Jack is on the list. though not as good as he was.. As a guitarist, he winded up doing some interesting and progressive things at bass, much like Entwistle did with The Who. You guys have got to be kidding. You got Donald Duck Dunn and Nathan East almost at the bottom. As far as talent. Generally the note range is from the low E to the E above middle C. Bass singers have a tessitura that hovers around the octaves below middle C. True bass singers are not common. Also Felix Pappalardi, Jack Casady, Tommy Caldwell, and John Wetton belong on here. He is the Bassists Bassist. Listen to albums Main Course, Children of the World, and, yes, Saturday Night Fever. And Geddy Lee should be higher. After work hours guitarist, DJ, record label owner and New York style pizza aficionado. I think Stanley Clarke should be number one !!!!!!!!! You have one female on this list. Bottom line is the groove and Jaco is the one. Gospel singer and songwriter who attained great popularity in the 1930s and 1940s with a… Dorothy Moore 35,429 listeners No list is complete without Willie Weeka and Gerald Jamott. Absolutely right! Genre-bending artist, Gus Dapperton (real name Brendan Rice), should undoubtedly be the soundtrack to your 2019 summer. Died January 2019 . Of course most of these guys listed need to be mentioned BUT the order is way off. He should be #1, and you left off several jazz bassists, including Leroy Vinnegar. Written some of the most iconic base lines. No Maurice Gibb of the BeeGees? I can’t believe you overlooked James Dewar. Check out the on John’s song about Paul, they’re awesome and true too.I thought that Jaco might be a little higher and I agree with Cris. For the Byrds, the Burritos, Manassas and his own solo and Country career, Chris’ bass chops are incredible. No Spyder Sinneave? You missed Mel Schacher (Grand Funk), who ruled the bottom end… and Chris Squire at #15? At least you got the #1 correct! I agree , Walter Page’s omission reflects how little distance anyone is willing to go for the best and most creative bassist of Modern times (thanks Gabe) , and then there’s Pop’s Foster who invented the ‘walking’ bass line which led to Walter , boogie-woogie and rock n roll . All the same I find it ironic that of my two favorite bassists, one topped the list and the other isn’t mentioned. “Mule” Listen to the song “Angel Eyes” the ending in particular is AWSOME. Hello?? Again, however, Waters is solid on the bass and very loud. And Mike Rutherford only 48…you have seriously underestimated him, top 5 in my book along with Chris Squire. I meant James Jammerson. Hailing from the Geddy Lee school of thumping-bass, Les Claypool has cultivated a list of musical credits as wildly eccentric as he is. What about Jack Cassidy of Jefferson Airplane , Larry Taylor Of Canned Heat. Ray Shulman(Gentle Giant),Paul Samwell Smith(Yardbirds),Andy Fraser(Free), Billy Cox(Jimi Hendrix)Andy West(Dregs),Lonnie Turner(Steve Miller),Ralphe Armstrong(Jean Luc Ponty)…. 8 Ticket to a Waterfall etc. Who make these lists??? I think if you asked the players on this list to vote, he would have been number one. Great with the bow on the double bass, (scats to the notes). never even heard of these other bloks ……. Joe Herndon – bass (2016–2019) Terry Weeks – second tenor; Otis Williams – baritone; Ron Tyson – tenor; Larry Braggs – tenor; Willie Green – bass (2019–2020) Terry Weeks — second tenor; Otis Williams – baritone; Ron Tyson – tenor; Willie Green – bass (2020–present) Terry Weeks – second tenor; Otis Williams – baritone; Ron Tyson – tenor I’m old school. The greatest ever bassist was without a doubt the man who made Chicago Blues and much more…the great Willie Dixon. Check out the Lyrics on John’s song about him called, “How do You Live With Yourself.” Also, his Post-Beatle songs were pathetic, like: “The Girl is Mine” (a duet with Michael Jackson) and “You Think People Would Have Had Enough With Silly Little Love Songs” and the list goes on and on—real R&R ha,ha. 50 rock bass players are better than Barry Oakley, not sure about that. Many good suggestions below, but I agree Herbie Flowers must not be omitted. Chris Squire, 2nd. Do some writing first, … If someone has been left off, so what? He could not only play it all but he created the hooks you heard all of those other guys use when they took it out on the road. Finally, someone recognizes Francis Rocco Prestia. BTW, what about Jeff Pilson, Mark Anthony, and Billy Sheehan? Lee Sklar at 49? Couldn’t agree more! How can anyone leave JOE OSBORN of the Wrecking Crew off the list.Carol Kaye was better known, and deservedly so, but Osborn was right up there with her and played on 100’s of top pop hits, and 33 #1 hits in the Country field. Check out FZ:s 1974, 6 pc band, (G. Duke, Napoleon MB, Ruth U). This list is wacked!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So where then is the brilliant Cecil McBee, Buster Williams, Hugh Hopper of Soft Machine, Jannik Topp ex of Magma and Magma’s current bassist who is truly mind blowing. Check out his solo around the 2:17 mark of this terrific live video: http://youtu.be/LwFR5fjs8m4. Seriously??? This is a joke. All these comments, and no mention of the late, great Helmut Koellen of Triumvirat, my favourite bassist, who puts the “awe” in awesome! The article says “sometimes they step out into the spotlight, like Paul Mc Cartney, Lemmy, Sting or Roger Waters”. James Jamerson’s less-celebrated Motown successor deserves inclusion here. He died dec. 14, 2018 in Shreveport Louisiana where he was from. And why is Mark Stoemer of the Killers not on this list? Hahahaha you can tell this list was made by a white guy,Flea number 3 lolol my ass James Jameson not on top 10 ? Chris Campbell for his work in the silver bullet band hmmm…how can you quantify sound It’s subjective so who’s to say who’s best we are talking about, your favorites my favorites..Steve down the streets favorirte? Without Muddy Waters, Howlin Wolf and Buddy Guy, Clapton and Page would just be a couple of guitar players. Matt Sallee joined Pentatonix as bass vocalist after the departure of Avriel “Avi” Kaplan in 2017. So therefore, it is BOGUS even though there are some very good players on this list. Gary Thain was a monster with Heep. Spellcheck does NOT know bass players! Bruce Thomas is my personal fave. Tai W, Gary Thai, who left of Klus Corman. very interesting indeed , as i’m planning a trip to Goa so i’m trying to jot down as many tracks as possible to possibly do on a karaoke. Jack should be number one if the Jazz players like Jaco weren’t on there. John Myung?? Where’s Gregg Lake ? No Jeff Berlin? Eddie Macdonald, John Taylor and Adam Clayton to name but three. Too many really good bass players not on the list. Brilliant. Willie Dixon at #37? Though he was a big guy, you could barely see the Duck’s fingers move on the strings, even when he was playing with rockers like Neil Young or Eric Clapton. I’m sure he would agree with me. Goes good with the sound of the band. McCartney has a bigger musical impact, but strictly speaking, Flea is hard to top as a bassist. Geddy Lee. Jaco not in top 10 ? How can anyone say Sting is a better bass player than Roger Glover? John Entwistle All much better than Lemmy and Paul McCartney. Jack Bruce should be Higher on the list, and Felix Pappalardi from Mountain, who also Produced Cream, should be right there also! Again i must insist that you recognize our german friend Hellmut Hattler here as one of the best ever, (go 6 min into this video) : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J75alNHjmcM. I think he’s right where he belongs on this list – number one. RON CORTER A great song writer, singer, and bass player. Harold Reid, founding member and bass singer of the Statler Brothers, died on April 24. His bass skills actually surpass the skills of the 6-string guitar players for the bands in numbers 1 through 9. Lee Dorman of Iron Butterfly’s In-A-Gadda (side one), Ball, and Metamorphosis albums are good early examples. Some lists rightfully have her at #1. What? Billie Eilish, "Bad Guy" In 2019, Billie Eilish grew from hotly hyped alt-radio weirdo to pop’s ultimate … Neil Murray? Agree with most on list….but Lynott, Mcgagan and Sting are sentimental choices in my mind….don’t really ever remember amazing bass playing from any of them. Probably should just list them alphabetically since ‘best’ is the most subjective word in the English language! The players on the list, and omissions are hardly anyone’s fault – they were collected from various polls on the internet. 5 January 2019, British musician Eric Haydock died age 75. Check this out: http://www.laweekly.com/music/carol-kaye-is-the-greatest-bass-player-you-probably-never-heard-of-5499694. Yeah, Jack Cassidy too. Really???!!! I’m sure there are many other awesome bass player out there and everyone has their favorites or opinions on who falls where in the list. Flea? Ad infinitum… So many left off the list because they’re not better known, not not better. Jaco should be in first place. 1. Live!) not necessarily in that order, if you ask me, ranking them suggest that one is better than the other and sometimes that will be the case but by far not always, its also a matter of taste, prefered music style, many people pick the bassplayer of their favorite band, good or not, but overal im more happy with this list, not necessarily in that order, if you ask me, ranking them suggest that one is better than the other and sometimes that will be the case but by far not always, its also a matter of taste, prefered music style, many people pick the bassplayer of their favorite band, good or not, but overal im more happy with this list, sincerely Don.Miata. First OF all I agree Mel from Grand Funk,( a band that doesn’t get the props they deserve), should be up here. I believe that the number 2 choice, however should have been Jack Bruce. And Chris Squire only at number 16? This coming from a long-time bassist. How is Peter Cetera of Chicago is not in there especially considering the complexity of music Chicago was doing in the early years amazes me but probably the same people that left Terry Kath off the 100 greatest guitarist of all time list but these list make me laugh at times what’s the criteria the best technical bass players or just what you like to listen to there is a distention. And I’m disappointed that I didn’t make the list , And, of course completely forgotten, on Number 1A: Robbie Shakespeare! He shouldn´t be in the list…. I’d put him in the top 3. Nobody heard of Nathan East?Who made this list? This list is a joke !!! John Taylor of Duran Duran … just leave the DD hysteria out and listen to a genuine solid and awesome bassist! They also played in concerts with many current artists. Folks, Its spelled Casady. Can’t believe that Jack Cassidy (Hot Tuna) isn’t in the top 10! NO Paul Goddard (Top 10 at least) and NO Oteil Burbridge (better than most on the list). No Jonas Hellborg, Percy Jones, Stuart Hamm, Tal Wilkenfeld, or John Patitucci? Good list but there’s a couple i’d put in they would be Gary Thain and Tal Wilkenfeld. Paul McCartney was a great bass player, but as much as I respect him, I felt he was placed a bit high on the list, as far a bass player performance goes. Ray Schulman? This listis about half right. Bet most of you are unaware of the founding father of bass & his losing battle with alcohol. Exactly…..TIM BOGART not in the Top 5????? Paul McCartney #7? Do me a favour, what a load of rubbish! Zia Geelani from Ozric Tentacles? Not sure what number but Michael Anthony, from Van Halen should be up there, somewhere. Some of these pollsters need to listen to more new wave. I dont expect Metalheads, Punks and others to understand just how great he was as you all were not around to see his genius in the mid-fifties and how essential he was to the Elvis/R’n’R/Rockabilly sound. In an interview, Bono claimed that he was accepted into the group because he was the only one with an amp. James Jamerson, Will Lee, Chuck Rainey, …. His work with Donny Hathaway (especially D.H. That type of playing is typical throughout the concert. I never knew much about bass players because they were unsung heroes, but growing up in the late 60’s/early 70’s, my ears really picked up on John Entwistle of the Who and Mel Schaker of Grand Funk as standing out and dominant … but I am NOT a musician!!!