Every rock bassist, regardless of the respective sub-genre(s) in which they toil, owes infinite homage to the late William Patton “Bill” Black.

A showman, bandleader, upright slap master, and one of the first electric players to wax a side (“Jailhouse Rock’) – Black and his longtime colleague guitarist Scotty Moore, and D.J. Fontana were Elvis Presley’s “Blue Moon Boys.”

Bill’s motifs for “That’s All Right,” “Hound Dog,” and “Heartbreak Hotel” set the standard for rock bass.  

Born in Memphis, Bill started out on guitar and took up the bass as a teen, modeling his technique after Fred Maddox, known for his slap style. Black met future Elvis guitarist Scotty Moore while working the club circuit with such notable local cats as Paul Burlison, Johnny Burnette, and Dorsey Burnette.

In July 1954, Moore and Black were tabbed to back a fresh-faced kid named Elvis, and the rest as they say is history.  Bill had a profound influence on Elvis’ stage antics, prodding the shy singer to exaggerate his moves.

Following his tenure with Presley, Black formed Bill Black’s Combo which waxed several albums and chart hits from 1959 to 1962. Black passed from a bout with cancer in 1965. His upright bass is owned by Paul McCartney.

Bill Black Sound & Vision…

“Good Rockin’ Tonight” https://youtu.be/6FeWJHUB8aU

“Heartbreak Hotel” https://youtu.be/W4euyTDhFnk

“That’s All Right” https://youtu.be/DCP_g7X31nI

“Hound Dog” https://youtu.be/lzQ8GDBA8Is

“Jailhouse Rock” https://youtu.be/PpsUOOfb-vE

Dig The Bill Black Combo “Smokie” with Black workin’ the thumb! https://youtu.be/Lm_xBHCtubM

Dig Sir Paul with Bill’s bass: https://bit.ly/2G6i5Wh

He is a tall Guy who anchored “Georgy Girl,” “I’ll Never Find Another You,” and “Someday One Day” ….

Bassist, singer, composer, Victorian Parliament member, television host, community minded corporate consultant, and wine maker, among other endeavors, Athol George Guy is a founding member of Australia’s legendary pop folk quartet The Seekers.

A pure pocket player with an engaging stage demeanor, nowadays the Aussie bassist continues to tour and record with Athol Guy and Friends, along with occasional reunions of his iconic ensemble. 

Athol Guy Sound & Vision with The Seekers…

“Georgy Girl” https://youtu.be/wsIbfYEizLk

“I’ll Never Find Another You” https://youtu.be/wZf41UudAbI

“Someday One Day” https://youtu.be/VfJ-ul4TfBc

His crisp plectrum tone and deftly articulated passages anchored one of rock’s most influential ensembles: The Smiths.  Though Moz and Marr garnered the glam and glory, the rhythm section of Mike Joyce and Andy Rourke added a swing element to their slabs ‘n’ singles which afforded the Mancunian lads a unique rhythmic identity.

Andy braided Morrissey’s tuxedoed tenor croon with the sus-chord sorcery of Johnny Marr with pocket grooves punctuated with fluid counter-melodic passages, double-stops, chords and soulful rhythms. 

Dig Andy on “Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now” with many of the above referenced assets on one track!

A producer, writer, collaborator, bandmember, among Rourke’s post Smiths endeavors included waxing tracks and/or stage work with The Pretenders, Badly Drawn Boy, Ian Brown, Blitz Vega, Free3bass (with Mani and Peter Hook), D.A.R.K with the late Dolores O’Riordan and Ole Koretsky, and various stints as a DJ and radio host.  Andy also composed for television (Anthony Bourdain) and film.

His main weapon of choice was the Fender Precision, along with old reliable Peavey Mark III bass head.

Andy Rourke Sound & Vision…

Andy with D.A.R.K. “Curvy” https://youtu.be/YWo-tNkHnOE

Andy with Mike and Moz “Last of the Famous International Playboys” https://youtu.be/Bk1wUKoXL20

Andy with Free3bass: https://youtu.be/SMiKVwInp7g

Classically trained at New York University, flautist/bassist Andy Kulberg anchored one of rock’s most influential ensembles; Blues Project. Composer of “Flute Thing” Andy was among the first wave of electric rock bassists who drew from jazz, blues, and folk in an improvisational rock context. Following Blues Project, Andy formed Seatrain, which broke ground in rock roots music including a fine self-titled sophomore slab produced by George Martin.    

Andy Kulberg Sound and Vision:

With Blues Project:

“Flute Thing” https://youtu.be/ERxBkzoYIp8

“Steve’s Song” https://youtu.be/HeYLMC7W6ZE

“I Can’t Keep from Crying” https://youtu.be/1Uxalc0o10s

With Seatrain:

“Willin’ https://youtu.be/iV9C8jlhOmY

By Tom Semioli

Aside from his highly acclaimed tenure in Ride as a singer, songwriter, and guitarist – Andy Bell helmed the bass chair for Oasis following Guigsy’s sack, and later, for Liam Gallagher’s Beady Eye.

Essentially a riff and roots player, Bell kept his head down, avoided conflict, collected his cheques, and was the only member of the brothers Gallagher gang that composed songs that didn’t sound as if they were lifted from Lennon outtakes such as “The Nature of Reality,” “Turn Up the Sun,” and “Keep the Dream Alive”  among others.  

Andy Bell Sound and Vision with Oasis:  

“The Nature of Reality” https://youtu.be/N_7gFLkzT6g

“Turn Up the Sun” https://youtu.be/V_Pxz8keRww

“Keep the Dream Alive” https://youtu.be/neoqgelvmu4

By Tom Semioli

Known primarily as the band that launched Van Morrison’s career, Them morphed into a groovy, psychedelic blues pop band following the Belfast Cowboy’s departure in 1966.

Bassist Alan Henderson, who kept a version of Them in business well into the 1980s, allegedly was the only bona fide band member aside from Van to play on their early slabs with the others being replaced by seasoned session cats. Henderson was a flexible bassist, rocking the pocket with soulful passages distinctive of the era. 

Alan Henderson Sound & Vision with Them

“Mystic Eyes” and “Gloria” live https://youtu.be/3Z3ITXYVPI0

“Square Room” https://youtu.be/n-9l0JnwoLw

When I look up to the sky, I see your eyes a funny kind of yellow, I rush home to bed I soak my head, I see your face underneath my pillow, I wake next morning, tired, still yawning see your face come peeping through my window, pictures of matchstick men and you….

A founding member of one of Britain’s most enduring ensembles, dare I say “institution” – bassist Alan Lancaster anchored Status Quo from its early psychedelic yearnings to its establishment as a premiere rhythm & blues boogie outfit. 

Among Alan’s tools of the trade was the mighty Fender Mustang. Lancaster, who was also a vocalist and composer, departed the band in 1985 to work on a myriad of musical projects, which also include occasional reunions with his former Quo comrades. He last performed with the band in 2015.    

Status Quo Co UK: During Alan’s time with the band, Quo opened Live Aid, sold countless tens of millions of records, appeared on Top Of The Pops dozens of times, and had around 30 hit singles and 30 hit albums, two thirds of which went Top 10, with five reaching Number One. That was just his UK track record – but the pattern was repeated in numerous territories worldwide as Quo became one of the biggest rock bands on the planet.

Alan Lancaster Sound & Vision…

By Tom Semioli

Go figure why one of rock’s great regional bands, Boston’s Barry and the Remains, or simply The Remains failed to reach lasting national attention despite appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show and opening for The Beatles’ final 1966 American trek. Immortalized in Lenny Kaye’s Nuggets: Original Artyfacts From the First Psychedelic Era and the documentary America’s Lost Band, The Remains’ bassist Vern Miller was a no frills pocket player with a rhythm and blues approach.

After their ’66 split, The Remains reunited for one more slab in 2002, a benefit tribute single to Red Sox hurler Bill Monbouquette, and assorted garage rock fests such as Cave Stomp among others.  The archival A Session with The Remains may just be rock’s greatest live collection!

A composer, producer, musical director (“All Good Things”), educator (Maplewood-South Orange Public School system) Vern’s post-Remains career includes composing the theme song for the 1995 NJEA Martin Luther King Conference on Human Rights, and several local radio jingles in the greater New York area.

Dig Vern and The Remains…

“Why Do I Cry” https://youtu.be/VQH8ny0DuCM

“Heart” https://youtu.be/_Xq8gBBxgUU

“Don’t Look Back” https://youtu.be/t-ne_H5HL88

By Thomas Semioli 

Detroit keeps producing more great musicians than any other place on Earth, and that’s a true story… Ralphe Armstrong

A student of James Jamerson and Ron Carter, and classically trained at Michigan’s Interlochen Arts Academy, Ralphe Armstrong succeeded Rick Laird in the Mahavishnu Orchestra in 1974 at the age of 16 – a gig that Jaco Pastorious had also auditioned for.

An upright player, solo recording artist, and among the early proponents of the fretless, Ralphe went on to work with Herbie Hancock, Jean Luc-Ponty, Santana, Aretha Franklin, Lenny White, Earl Klugh, Narada Michael Walden, Eddie Harris and as a studio cat on sessions produced by George Martin, among others. Armstrong’s weapons of choice in this era was the Gibson Ripper, G-3, RD Artist, and Victory.

After a brief break from the biz to raise a family, Ralphe was back on the bandstand and recording studio with Sting, Roger Daltrey, and Eminem’s ensemble D-12. In addition to gigs and sessions, Ralphe is currently an educator at the Oberlin Conservatory in Ohio.

Ralphe Armstrong Sound & Vision…

Mahvishnu Orchestra “Smile of the Beyond” https://youtu.be/IjM-UQ0zVUU

Jean-Luc “Egocentric Molecules” https://youtu.be/bFQyqJNwFI8

Lenny White https://youtu.be/CxPe0ucLjro  

Aretha “Wonderful” https://youtu.be/S9X3IAYzh48

KYBP Adjunct Professor Tony Senatore’s rendition of “Mirage” replete with a comedic preamble, as played on Ralphe’s fretless bass: https://youtu.be/uFR32Zx6MDQ

By Thomas Semioli 

He grabbed the bass chair for one memorable song for Led Zeppelin at their infamous Live Aid ‘85 debacle, and is among the most prolific and versatile pocket / melodic studio cats / sidemen of his generation…however his name is known primarily to those in the know and liner notes devotees…

British session ace Paul Martinez anchored a trio of Robert Plant slabs including the ex-Zep singer’s engaging Honeydrippers retro outfit, along with the sole studio release of Paice Ashton Lord, and seminal sides by such artists as Cat Stevens, Dakota Staton, Bernard Purdie, Stan Webb’s Chicken Shack, George Harrison, Maggie Bell, Peter Gabriel, Jimmy Page, Phil Collins, Neil Innes, and Dave Edmunds to cite a select few. 

Whilst a member of Plant’s touring/studio band, Paul joined Led Zeppelin on stage at Live Aid 1985 in Philadelphia when Jonsey moved to keyboards for “Stairway to Heaven.” (I won’t dare post the video link lest Zep’s lawyers dispose of me….)

Dig Paul with Robert, Phil, and Dave Edmonds “Philadelphia Baby” https://youtu.be/fHSZRWtSRvg

Dig Paul with Bernard Purdie “Day Dreamin” https://youtu.be/jUPNPAodSug

Dig Paul with Robert Plant “Burning Down One Side” https://youtu.be/n_7abjQe3J0

Dig Paul and Robert on Top of the Pops “Big Log” https://youtu.be/G9PeHWXBwKc

Dig Paul live with Paice, Ashton Lord “Remember the Good Times” https://youtu.be/QJVodufFxuc

Dig Paul with Cat “The Hurt” https://youtu.be/-T5hQZ_nfWE

Dig Paul with the Honeydrippers “Good Rockin’ Until Midnight” https://youtu.be/4vRUnT-TeRg