“The radio is playing some forgotten song, Brenda Lee’s comin’ on strong…”

 

Noted for his double neck Danelectro, among numerous other instruments (including his own Vox Humana line of basses), Rinus Gerritsen has anchored Dutch legends Golden Earring since 1961. From their beginnings as a traditional pop band to their far-flung forays into metal, prog, psychedelic, boogie, and permutations thereof; Rinus rocks into his sixth decade as a fluid pocket and harmonic player. Gerritsen also toils as a producer with Steve Harris, and Herman Brood among his distinguished clientele.

 

Born in 1946, Rinus turned on to rock and roll when he first heard Little Richard and Eddy Cochran. His first band was “The Jumping Jewels” wherein Rinus switched from guitar to bass out of necessity – as so many of us do. His father was a craftsman who built his son his first bass – which Gerritsen occasionally plays in the studio.

 

Rinus Sound & Vision….

 

“The Devil Made Me Do It” https://youtu.be/9QiN0zzqHEc

 

“She Flies On Strange Wings” https://youtu.be/xXeJ7JooE3w

 

“Twilight Zone” https://youtu.be/wIaaBuGNwNw

 

“Radar Love” https://youtu.be/ckM51xoTC2U

 

 

 

“Matty told Hatty about a thing she saw. Had two big horns and a wooly jaw. Wooly bully, wooly bully.”

 

He anchored the iconic Tex-Mex hit “Wooly Bully.” Founding Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs bassist David Martin plied supportive passages with a rhythm and blues disposition for a few platters and minor hits including “Ju Ju Hand,” “Lil’ Red Riding Hood,” and “Ring Dang Do.”

 

Following his Pharaohs foray, David ran a TV repair shop in Garland, Texas until he passed in 1987.     

 

David Martin Sound & Vision…

 

“Wooly Bully” https://youtu.be/DKG57e8XZDE

 

“Little Red Riding Hood” https://youtu.be/NQqBAP7Du5c

 

“Rang Dang Doo” https://youtu.be/bOd64IqJJ1c

 

 

A master compositional and counter-melodic player akin to Sir Paul and Chris Squire, Mike Rutherford’s work with Genesis as a bassist was often overshadowed by his more high-profile bandmates and his own skills as a guitarist, songwriter, and bandleader.

 

“Fountain of Salmacis” https://youtu.be/zE3dYof_rbE

 

“Squonk” https://youtu.be/mmPf1rGClzA

 

With a treble laden tone enhanced by a myriad of effects (Moog Taurus among others), Rutherford’s potent passages, especially during Genesis’ watershed early prog-rock era, exuded technical prowess and a deft command of rhythm, space, and melody.

 

Rutherford’s weapons of choice include Rickenbacker, Status, Gibson, and Shergold basses.

 

 

And when he moonlighted from his platinum selling stadium filling day job with Genesis under the moniker Mike & The Mechanics – he added more gold and platinum to his resume.  

 

Mike and the Mechanics “The Living Years” https://youtu.be/5hr64MxYpgk

 

Tony Senatore’s rendition of “Afterglow” https://youtu.be/ORFBcYmOzlU

 

Tony Senatore’s rendition of “Earl of Mar” https://youtu.be/Zx6jy96DNfM

 

 

By Allen Fields

 

Rutherford is an amazing and gifted bass player, but unknown to many he is equally adept on the 6-string and 12-string guitars as well as the Bass Pedals.

 

In early live footage of Genesis, especially from 1970 to 1974, you can see how smoothly Rutherford moves from the 4-string bass to his 6 and 12 string electric and acoustic guitars.

 

Most famously when seen playing tracks from the 1971 Genesis release, Nursery Cryme (my personal favorite). His expertise on the Bass Pedals is most notable on the 1974 masterpiece The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway, and the 1976 releases A Trick of the Tail and Wind and Wuthering — the first two Genesis releases post Peter Gabriel.

 

Starting with the 1978 release, …And Then There Were Three, Rutherford took over the 6-string and 12-string studio duties almost completely due to Steve Hackett leaving Genesis.

 

In 1980, Rutherford released his first solo album, a critically acclaimed but vastly unheard slab of vinyl titled Smallcreeps Day.

 

Here is a link to that amazing solo work. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_lg6FYXVFdI

 

 

 

 

Unjustly snubbed by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2015 for inclusion with the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, bassist Bugsy Maugh brought an aggressive rhythm and blues approach to the ensemble as heard on such seminal sides as The Resurrection of Pigboy Cranshaw (1967) and In My Own Dreams (1968).

 

A vocalist, composer, and solo recording artist, Bugsy also plied his craft with Buddy Miles, Janis Joplin, and Todd Rundgren (Something /Anything) among others.

 

Bugsy Maugh Sound & Vision..

Paul Butterfield Blues Band

 

“Driftin’ and Driftin’ https://youtu.be/BtgpDdKP3fA

 

“Pity the Fool” https://youtu.be/r-6l4yhw0js

 

“In My Own Dream” https://youtu.be/ZrpjD20bIyA

 

“Drunk Again” https://youtu.be/vHa_0cdM8Mo

 

Todd Rundgren “Some Folks…” https://youtu.be/32ZJabuG-yQ

 

Bugsy solo….

 

“I Can Thank Heaven” https://youtu.be/2HF29uDFIQ4

 

“Away” https://youtu.be/wccvS0bvYAQ

 

“It All Comes Back to Me” https://youtu.be/mCMvOsQ-JBw

 

 

Go figure why the Tuff Darts canon, with crooners Robert Gordon or Tommy Frenzy – didn’t position this fiery collective among their celebrated CBGB peers The Ramones, Blondie, Television, and the Talking Heads. They had the songs, the riffs, the looks, the chops…

 

Melding pub with punk, bassist / songwriter John DeSalvo worked a straightforward, punchy Fender P pocket with an occasional melodic riff. Woulda…shoulda…coulda…

 

John and the Tuff Darts with….

 

Robert “All for the Love of Rock and Roll” https://youtu.be/381hvkh4vj4

 

Tommy “Nuclear Waste” https://youtu.be/Dro6Ysjd5RQ

 

By Thomas Semioli

With his “rock star” good looks and patented “rock star” coiffe, the late rock star Benjamin Orzechowski anchored Boston’s new wave Rock and Roll Hall of Famer quartet: The Cars.

An accomplished lead singer who crooned with an icy Bowie Berlin era delivery, and composer – Ben belted out the band’s signature hits “Just What I Needed,” and “Drive,” among others. Orr’s playing style exemplified the genre’s rudimentary roots rooted, eighth-note modus operandi which afforded a solid platform for the synths and shiny guitars to do their thing.

Orr continued his career when The Cars split with Big People, and Voices of Classic Rock. He also waxed a fine solo slab in ’85 entitled The Lace which featured the hit “Stay The Night.” 

Ben was a bass collector as well, among his weapons of choice included: Rickenbacker 4001, Fender Precision, Spector N2, Dean Metalman ML, Guild Pilot, Gibson Flying V, Gibson EB 6, and a Vox Teardrop

“Just What I Needed” at Live Aid https://youtu.be/Ukfkqs9LU4E

“Drive” https://youtu.be/xuZA6qiJVfU

“Stay the Night” https://youtu.be/1WGVG3_IoG8

Inspired by Sir Paul, John Paul Jones, and James Jamerson, Garry Gary Beers anchored the mega-platinum INXS with a distinctly soulful approach, working the pocket with melodic motifs that fueled the Aussie ensemble’s signature hits.

 

Doubling on upright and guitar, outside of INXS Beers collaborated with the late Scott Weiland, Sean Kelly and His Absent Friends, and Ciaran Gribbin, among others.

 

Garry’s weapon of choice is usually the Fender Precision, though he did wield a vogue, functional Steinberger XL in the equally fashionable early ’80s.

 

Gary Gary Beers Sound & Vision…

 

“Devil Inside” https://youtu.be/hv_zJrO_ptk

 

“What You Need” https://youtu.be/FoEPrbdfmT4

 

“Listen Like Thieves” https://youtu.be/bJn73b4SkpQ

 

Dig Tony Senatore’s rendition of “Don’t Change” https://youtu.be/qaugH2H_OBM

 

Along with Jeffrey Hammond-Hammond of Jethro Tull, Gary Gary is the most prominent double-named bassist in the history of rock!