Courtesy Buffalo Springfield Com

By Thomas Semioli

 

Derailed by substance abuse, Bruce Palmer’s career could have been much more – as evidenced by his lone solo slab The Cycle Is Complete (1971) wherein the multi-instrumentalist / bassist turns in a turns in a rather engaging and eccentric jazz, psychedelic, new age song-cycle comprised of extended electric Miles- like jams and improv.

 

 

His first band of renown was Jack London & The Sparrows, a smokin’ rhythm and blues outfit that featured a cat who went on to fame and (mis)fortune as Rick James. Bruce assumed the bass chair from RJ’s player Nick St. Nicholas, later of Steppenwolf – and they took flight as the Mynah Birds, adding another Canadian, guitarist, singer, and songwriter Neil Young. The band scored a deal with Motown which fell apart when James was busted for going AWOL from the United States Navy. Neil and Bruce headed to Los Angeles wherein they formed Buffalo Springfield and the rest, as they say, is history…

 

Though Stephen Stills and Young were the primary composers, according to Stills and Atlantic Records honcho Ahmet Ertegun – Bruce emerged as the rhythmic glue that held the band together. However drug busts and deportations in ’67 and ‘68 caused Palmer, a Canadian, to leave the band on two occasions. The troubled bassist was eventually replaced by Jim Messina and bassist Jim Fielder, later of Blood, Sweat & Tears.

 

Palmer failed an audition with CSN&Y and Neil tried in vain to get Bruce in playing condition for his early 80s Trans tour, but to no avail. Bruce Palmer passed in 2004.

 

Bruce Palmer Sound & Vision

 

“For What It’s Worth” https://youtu.be/1eD-8NTwP9I

 

“Sit Down I Think I Love You” https://youtu.be/bLvKvEeyNtA

 

The Cycle Is Complete https://youtu.be/yCl2zI8c-D4

 

By Thomas Semioli

Rick Price joined The Move in 1969 just in time promote their classic slab Shazam (1970) which featured one bass track cut by Tony Visconti.

 

An accomplished singer and composer, it’s not certain if Price actually waxed any tracks on Shazam, and his tracks on the Move’s final platter Message from the Country (1971) were allegedly wiped out and re-rendered by Roy Wood. Hence Looking On (1970) was his sole recorded work with the band wherein Price traverses prog, pop, experimental, and what was soon to be considered “heavy metal.”

 

After splitting from the band, which morphed into the Electric Light Orchestra,  Price joined his ex-Move mate Wood in the experimental glam pop collective Wizzard, wherein he cut two discs amid the war-paint, freakish costumes, and pageantry.

 

Rick waxed a solo side, and also collaborated with Mike Sheridan on various recordings magnificently traversing pop and art-rock as captured on the archival This is To Certify (1970).

Rick Price Sound & Vision…

 

“Top Ten Record” https://youtu.be/qW0mp_BA5Yg

 

The Move:

 

“Turkish Tram Conductor Blues”  https://youtu.be/vUo1eGOwX-k

 

“Feel Too Good” https://youtu.be/n5iW-PGAkYY

 

Wizzard:

 

“See My Baby Jive” https://youtu.be/y7F25rNsnyo

 

“Are You Ready to Rock” https://youtu.be/5aaUfYYcYFA

 

Sheridan & Price “Sometimes I Wonder” https://youtu.be/wiPHeOiHCBM

 

 

By Thomas Semioli

 

To my recollection, he was dubbed “Rick the Bass Player” on the Howard Stern Show during one of several raucous Joe Walsh appearances.*

 

 Among the top sidemen on the LA scene until his passing in 2014, Rick Rosas was an exemplary pocket / song player whose list of credits include several laudable slabs and tours with Neil Young (including CSN&Y, as a sub for Billy Talbot in Crazy Horse, and for a Buffalo Springfield reunion), Joe Walsh, Johnny Rivers, Terry Reid, Etta James, Ron Wood, and Johnny Rivers to cite a select few.

 

Rick appeared as “Buster” the bass player in Jonathan Demme’s final film Ricki and the Flash (2015).

*According to bassist Bill Cherensky Prior to Howard Stern, Joe Walsh had a show on FM radio (WPLJ, I think). He was Rick The Bass Player on there. The funniest thing I ever heard was his brilliant skewering of McCartney’s Silly Love Song. I mean, it takes talent to use bass playing as satire!

 

Rick Rosas Sound & Vision:

Joe Walsh “The Gamma Goochie” https://youtu.be/SVo8QQelhvU

Neil Young “Living With War” https://youtu.be/P5tNjdgLqws

Live with Terry Reid and Waddy Wachtel “You Don’t Know” https://youtu.be/C2OG7FXht6E

 

Courtesy of Wolfgang’s Vault

By Thomas Semioli

 

 

“I don’t play bass, I just fill space!”

 

Along with drummer Levon Helm, Richard Clare Danko anchored one of American music’s most potent and influential ensembles: The Band.

 

Whereas most bassists tend lock in with the kickdrum and go with the flow, Danko’s bass passages defied convention, dancing betwixt the melodies and rhythms forged by Helm, guitarist Robbie Robertson, and keyboardists Richard Manuel and Garth Hudson.

 

Adept on guitar, mandolin, upright, cello, accordion, trombone, banjo, piano, and fiddle: Danko was also an accomplished vocalist and composer. Akin to Johnny Cash and Billie Holiday, you could feel the weight of the world in Rick’s impassioned vocal style – which directly translated to his bass playing.

 

His greatest work was in the company of his Band mates. Their ten studio slabs (with and without Robertson), archival, and live platters are essential. Whether they realize it or not, every Americana artist and ensemble owes a debt to Rick and The Band that can never be repaid.

 

 

Not to be overlooked is Rick’s extraordinary body of work with The Band’s mentor Bob Dylan. Throughout the grooves of Planet Waves (1974), Before the Flood (1974), and The Basement Tapes (1975) and assorted vault releases, Danko served as Bob’s most formidable harmonic and rhythmic foil.

 

Though Danko waxed several concert and collaborative platters, his true signature solo outing was his eponymous 1977 gem, which was overlooked during the punk era zeitgeist. Though weary from his tenure in The Band, Danko was still a force to be reckoned with. Sadly Rick’s career was beset by personal problems and substance abuse, passing at the age of 56 in 1999.

 

Rick’s weapons of choice were equally legend. No matter what instrument he chose, Danko’s rich tone was unmistakable. Among his tools of the trade was the Fender Jazz which he used on the legendary Dylan 1966 Tour, Music From Big Pink (1968) and The Band (1969). Rick’s command of the fretless Ampeg AMUB is astonishing, given the fact that he sang and played countermelodies simultaneously. Danko also commandeered a fretted Ampeg bass, an Ampeg baby electric upright, and several Gibson Rippers which featured custom pick-ups. 

 

 

Rick Danko Sound & Vision

 

Rick Danko, The Band, The Staples Singers “The Weight” https://youtu.be/TCSzL5-SPHM

With The Band

“Stage Fright” https://youtu.be/NZMfZe7OFFk

“King Harvest Has Surely Come” https://youtu.be/yeKY5PUMgvQ

“Acadian Driftwood” https://youtu.be/GoV52WsmDG4

“Look Out Cleveland” https://youtu.be/9igu3Ht3Jvs

“Life is a Carnival” https://youtu.be/a2L7SrUWZWY

“A Change is Gonna Come” https://youtu.be/byqq8iqKZv8

With his Bobness:

“Something There Is About You” https://youtu.be/mtfyuYKYO4M

 Solo Rick:

“What a Town” https://youtu.be/sMNjhzBh7k0

“Brainwash” https://youtu.be/rzz26zGFQgQ

 

 

 

Among the heroes of the classic rock era, the James Gang brought attention to two bona-fide guitar heroes: founding member Joe Walsh, and the late Tommy Bolin.

 

Bassist Dale Peters, who came aboard for the band’s definitive platter Rides Again (1970), was a versatile player who also composed, sang, and doubled on keys, guitar, and percussion.

 

To my ears, Peters’ extended bass improve as heard on “Lost Woman” from Live In Concert (1971) proves that excess is not necessarily a bad thing!

 

From KYBP Readers:

 

Dale, thanks for all the great bass lines. I’m still learning from your playing 35 years later. Dan O’Brien

 

“My Door Is Open” has the best bass track of all time. Absolutely the most overlooked track in ROCK AND ROLL HISTORY! The drummer banged it out pretty good too. I imagine these guys had a lot of fun playing this song together. Loji

 

Dale Peters Sound & Vision…

 

“My Door Is Open” https://youtu.be/m5eV7SgoNIY

 

“Lost Woman” https://youtu.be/zcap1-J-V58

 

“Walk Away” https://youtu.be/zo0vBdlWQs0

 

 

Just two years after she first picked up the instrument in her native Australia, Tal Wilkenfeld commenced studies at Los Angeles Academy of Music. She split college for New York City wherein she sat in on local jam sessions and quickly built her reputation as a top player. An invitation by Allman Brothers Oteil Burbridge and Derek Trucks to join the band on stage at their annual Beacon Theater residency led to widespread exposure and an impressive audition tape which she sent to Jeff Beck. Within months of that performance, Tal waxed her debut slab Transformation (2006) and was on the bandstand with Chick Corea. She later joined Beck’s band for several tours, one of which is  captured on the incendiary Live At Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club.

 

Wilkenfeld quickly rose to the top echelons of her profession, which is where she sits now, collaborating with the crème de la crème of rock, jazz, and pop artists including Prince, Herbie Hancock, Warren Hayes, Corinne Bailey Rae, Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, The Roots, Wayne Krantz,  David Gilmour, Macy Gray, Ryan Adams, Pharrell, Buddy Guy, Jackson Browne, Todd Rundgren, Ringo Starr, Brian Wilson, and Dr. John to cite a very select few. Tal’s weapons of choice are Sadowsky basses, and EBS amplifiers.

 

Her solo bow entitled Transformation (2007) is a 21st Century jazz-fusion masterpiece.

 

Tal’s sophomore slab, Love Remains (2019) was a surprise to her “bass only” fans as she emerged as a formidable singer-songwriter, drawing influences as diverse 70s Laurel Canyon and 90s alt-rock!

 

Tal Wilkenfeld Sound & Vision…

 

Tal with Jeff Beck at Ronnie Scott’s “Nadia” https://youtu.be/drAv2FoYji8

 

“Transformation” https://youtu.be/iBKChtJ2AeU

 

“Corner Painter” https://youtu.be/sJuO_HKrVPQ

Of all the American bands who aspired to the mighty metal mantle of Led Zeppelin, to my ears, none remotely approached such manic nirvana as did the Stone Temple Pilots – in their original configuration. 

 

Though they emerged in the grunge era, there was nothing “alternative” about this quartet.  Astute hard rockers to the core who knew how to ply an acoustic ballad when necessary, the Stone Temple Pilots were mercurial in their melding of pop hooks with sonic riffs.  Akin to John Paul Jones and Carl Radle – two players propelled guitar heroes to greater heights – STP bassist Robert Emile DeLeo is also a defacto James Jamerson disciple – purveying passages peppered with rhythm & blues, and soul influences.

 

An arranger, writer, and master motif maker, and former employee of Schecter Guitar Research, Robert utilized a wide array of instruments, spanning vintage Fender, Rickenbacker, Danelectro, and his signature Schecter Model T.

 

Regardless of his choice of tools, Robert DeLeo glided through the chord changes and over the bar line with a warm tone, smooth articulation and harmonic prowess – which is the mark of an exemplary bassist. Outside of STP, DeLeo anchored one-off projects aplenty including Hollywood Vampires, Talk Show, and Army of Anyone.

 

Robert DeLeo Sound & Vision

 

“Days of The Week” https://youtu.be/JXqeYwUXRis

 

“Lady Picture Show” https://youtu.be/ds_43MdYiuQ

 

“Vaseline” https://youtu.be/ht672-wYelc

 

“Sour Girl” https://youtu.be/YxS4lqppZ6Y

By Thomas Semioli 

 

“He’s the baddest bass player in the U.S.A!” proclaimed the late, great Donny Hathaway from the stage of the Bitter End in New York City nearly 50 years ago (1971) – and that proclamation still holds true well into the 21st Century.

 

You know that jukebox that goes “doyt doyt” at Danny’s All-Star Joint? That’s Willie Weeks!

 

From the late 1960s to the present day, Willie Weeks continues to set the bar as a session player and sideman. A laid-back pocket player, Willie’s command of rhythm and blues, soul, country, jazz, and pop, and just about any permutation thereof has can be heard throughout the seminal recorded works of several artists including Stevie Wonder (“Misstra Know It All”), Rolling Stones (“It’s Only Rock n Roll), Chaka Kahn, Rickie Lee Jones, Herbie Hancock, John Mayer, Vince Gill, Ron Wood , Etta James, John Scofield, Aretha Franklin, Joe Walsh, George Harrison, Eric Clapton, BB King, Buddy Guy, Rod Stewart, Gregg Allman, Randy Newman, David Bowie (“Young Americans”), and Richard Thompson, to cite a very select few.

 

Willie’s weapons of choice include: Fender Precision and Fender Jazz basses, Kay, Alleva Coppolo, and his “WW” Willie Weeks signature bass by Bee Basses.

 

A giant of the instrument, Willie Weeks is long overdue for recognition in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

 

Tom Semioli / Huffington Post “A Bass Player’s Rant: 33 Who Belong in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame” : https://bit.ly/2POxUJr

 

Willie Weeks Sound & Vision… (See Best Bass: Willie Weeks Know Your Bass Player Playlist – Spotify) 

 

Willie Weeks’ watershed solo on “Voices Inside (Everything is Everything)” https://youtu.be/3gpN-SJD-VY  from Donny’s iconic Live (1972) album remains a benchmark for bassists.

 

A rare Willie slap passage with  George Harrison “Woman Don’t You Cry for Me” https://youtu.be/47l0EzvjN4I

 

Willie and Eric Clapton on a live rendition of  “Motherless Children” https://youtu.be/h9d2ZeAvBgA

 

Rolling Stones “It’s Only Rock and Roll” https://youtu.be/DmgCy__eUa8

 

David Bowie “Young Americans”  https://youtu.be/iO6OvHxD_m8

 

Willie’s bass solo composition with Ron Wood “Crotch Music” https://youtu.be/KNAg8TVS2RY

 

Vince Gill “Never Alone” https://youtu.be/MtQvLF1ZKCg

 

James Taylor “I Was a Fool to Care” https://youtu.be/SnwZySCHyNw

 

Stevie Wonder “He’s Misstra Know It All” https://youtu.be/uivvYGyQiow

 

Rickie Lee Jones “Danny’s All Star Joint” https://youtu.be/T9dRLzd0sXU

 

The late, great Wilton Louis Felder first made his mark in the music biz as a saxophonist and founding member of the groundbreaking Crusaders jazz ensemble with Joe Sample and Stix Hooper. Originally tabbed the “Jazz Crusaders” – this innovative collective was among the early practitioners of “soul jazz” and “jazz funk” – later to be referred to as “jazz fusion” and ultimately “smooth jazz.” 

 

In the late 1960s, Felder commenced to working sessions on electric bass, waxing sides with the Jackson 5, Marvin Gaye, John Cale, Seals & Crofts, Joni Mitchell, Billy Joel, Randy Newman, Michael Franks, Steely Dan, Ringo Starr, Ronnie Laws, Shuggie Otis, Dee Dee Bridegwater, and Joan Baez, to cite a select few.

 

With a Fender Precision that growled when he grooved, Wilton also waxed eight solo sides, and also served as a producer, composer, and arranger.

 

Wilton Felder Sound & Vision…

 

Joni Mitchell “Free Man in Paris” https://youtu.be/jQj6h8KpkiQ

 

Jackson 5 “I Want You Back” https://youtu.be/UvynvnxZJ3Q

 

Billy Joel “The Entertainer” https://youtu.be/d_VHFyaSXQw

 

 

Resplendent in his kaleidoscopic haberdashery and long braided hair, which complimented his multi-colored Warwick instruments, Thomas Michael Stevens was among the preeminent bassists in pop, rock, jazz, funk, metal, punk, hip-hop and permutations thereof in the 1980s-90s until illness necessitated his retirement.

 

A composer, vocalist, producer, recording artist, first call session cat, clinician, educator, and showman extraordinaire – TM anchored platters and concert performances aplenty by artists spanning James Brown, Steve Vai, The Pretenders, Joe Cocker, Billy Joel, Tina Turner, Nona Hendryx, Tupac Shakur, Cissy Houston, and Narada Michael Walden to cite a very, very select few.

 

A brilliant slap, and finger player, TM was a warm, and spirited presence on the New York City music scene, frequenting clubs and talking bass with anyone – myself included, who shared a love for the instrument.

 

T.M. Sound & Vision….

Corey Glover and Van Romaine on a remake remodel of Deep Purple’s “Burn” https://youtu.be/pY56aonrm48

 

From his Shocka Zooloo LP “The River Flows” https://youtu.be/vuJbkBAmi88

 

With Eric Gales on Jimi’s VooDoo Chile https://youtu.be/TCx-quZVzAw

 

The Pretenders “Don’t Get Me Wrong” https://youtu.be/pKzoXuEkk00

 

The Pretenders “How Much Did You Get for Your Soul” https://youtu.be/47AfhCQAlrU

 

With Neil Zaza “I’m Alright” and “I’m A Believer” https://youtu.be/MIn0XrMn9Fc