top of page
Writer's pictureMetin Tiryaki

Legendary Rock Bass Players

Altough Bass guitar is a very important instrument, it is always placed in the background in music. When it is talked about Rock music, people can easily remember and say hundreds of legendary vocalists and guitar players, but hardly remember just a small number of famous bass players around the world. If people are not professionally interested and haven’t got a good ear for the music, they don’t even notice when the bass plays. Actually this precious instrument, usually consisting of four thick wire, is the base for the music with the drums together.In this article, I’ll try to mention about the greatest rock bass players in Rock music (Hard Rock & Heavy Metal). These names may vary according to the different sources and people, but I will try to talk about the players who has brought a different style, techniques and mood to this instrument. Of course according to my opinion …


Geddy Lee: One of the legendary Bass guitar players, Geddy Lee, Rush’s vocalist at the same time. He was selected 6 times as the best bass player of the year by Guitar Player Magazine and also elected in the Bass Hall of Fame. His style, ability and technique impressed so many bass players like, Cliff Burton, Les Claypool etc. His best performances are YYZ, 2112 & Tom Sawyer.


John Paul Jones: Led Zeppelin’s legendary bassist, have performed best in almost every song. In 2000, Guitar magazine ranked him third in the “Bassist of the Millennium” readers’ poll. His notable performances are Dazed And Confused, Black Dog, The Lemon Song, Good Times Bad Times, Ramble On.


Cliff Burton: Metallica’s legendary bassist, who died in a bus accident in 1986 at the age of 24. In his very short life, Burton has performed his ability, such songs as Call Of Ktulu, Anesthesia & Orion,


Les Claypool: Primus’s talented bassist Claypool is everything for the band. He’s always respected with his technique and style . His notable performances are Jerry was a Racecar Driver, Tommy the Cat, Eleven.


Geezer Butler: Played for Black Sabbath, Ozzy Osbourne and Heaven & Hell.


Steve Harris: Founder of Iron Maiden. He writes most of the songs, so the bass impact is felt clearly in their music. He has outstanding performances in many songs like Powerslave, Rime Of The Ancient Marriner, 2 minutes to midnight, Clairvoyant. And also “Only The Good Die Young’ has a terrific bas solo played by him.


Billy Sheehan: He played for David Lee Roth, Steve Vai & of course Mr. Big. Sheehan, is one of the best bass player in Rock music, impressed so many players.


In addition to them, there are some other talented bass player in rock music like, John Myung (Dream Theater), John Entwistle (The Who), Flea (Red Hot Chili Peppers), Lemmy Kilmister (Motorhead), Chris Squire (Yes), Roger Waters (Pink Floyd), Stu Hamm…


0 comments

Comments


bottom of page