ConsequenceBass Week begins with a list of the 100 greatest bassists of all time. Keep checking back throughout the week for charts, artist-driven content, and more.
“None of us wanted to be the bass player. In our opinion, he was the fat one who always played behind.” –-Paul MCCARTNEY
While Macca's quote may be a bit harsh, it's true that bears mostly stay out of the spotlight. However, they can often be the driving force of the band, whether keeping the drummer's beat or delivering a groovy line of their own. Or, as in the case of McCartney, they may be among the most beloved musicians of all time.
When Consequence We set out to determine the greatest bassists of all time, we didn't want to rely solely on skill; otherwise the list below would look very different. Sure, technical skill plays a role, but clout, songwriting, innovation, stage presence and more were factors.
Not to mention we got a lot of help. We surveyed over 30 bassists from various bands across all genres. Each of them gave us their own personal Top Five, and we took their picks into account with those of our own staff. We also asked them to tell us why their choices deserved recognition and to include those testimonials in the final list.
The result is a list featuring old-school jazz and Motown musicians who laid the foundation for future rock bassists, along with notable musicians from classic rock, punk, heavy metal, pop, R&B, new wave, disco and more. Wherever they made their name, each of these artists has left a deep (literally) mark on music.
So, take a stroll through the bass as we count down the 100 greatest bassists of all time. We'll be keeping up the pace all week with contributions from more artists during Bass Week, so check out all the content here.
-Spencer Kaufman
Editor-in-Chief, Big Consequences
thanks to our partners at consequence.net
