Larry Graham is that rare musician: a sound innovator. He changed the bass guitar, revolutionized it, and should be elevated above most all other electric bass players.
They wanna change the definition of 'Slap' and remove Larry Graham from it. Listen to how the guy says "larry learned slap in a very interesting way". He didn't learn s#!t, he innovated it!
@@erikkillmonger5624 Thats right! Larry Called it Thumping, Louis called it thumping, Stanley Called it thumping and Marcus called it thumping. I remember when white people made fun of that sound. Victor Wooten comes along and they all wanna sound like him.
As a Funk Bass Player since 1971 and an unofficial Funk Bass Player since 1965. There is only two things that I'd like to add. One Larry Graham was slappin with Sly in the sixties and an honorable mention should be Mark Leslie Adams of Slave highlighting the song "Slide", absolutely brought out Slap Bass the the masses. GREAT VIDEO!
He missed Prince, who did ALL the bass work on His first 7 albums, 3 The Time albums, 1The Family, 1 Jill Jones and two Vanity/Appolonia 6 albums…Prince was doing the double thumb technique before Wooten. So was Brownmark(taught by Prince) Norwood Fisher Brownmark Mohini Dey Juan Nelson Mark Haynes Sonny Thompson Rhonda Smith Jimmy Anton
The problem with Prince is that he's too good on so many instruments. When there's a list of top 20 vocalists, he's left off. When there's a list of the top 20 guitarists, he's left off. Songwriter, bass player, drums etc. I don't understand why people don't give this man his recognition as one of the greatest musical artists in modern history. - The owner of this channel Andrew Freed, respects and thinks Victor Wooten has contributed more to slap-based than anyone. But even Victor Wooten recognized Prince's greatness: th-cam.com/video/EPA_A3J5kYU/w-d-xo.html "Another guy who is an amazing bass player that influenced me...is Prince" V.W.
I first met Victor Wooten around 1977/1978 and was aware of his double thumb technique then. In fact, he demonstrated it on one of my basses. He was then living in Newport News, VA and played in a band with his siblings, The Wooten Brothers.
True! While Prince was more popularly known as a guitarist and pianist, he was a monster on bass. And drums as well. The reason I can see Prince being left off the list is because he was a well-known multi-instrumentalist in lieu of being a dedicated bassist.
He is definitely not under rated, because he flies way under the radar as do many Polish artists, so not many people to rate him elsewhere! Poland needs to sell their better artists a lot harder on the world market. Not sure why they are so isolated in that regard, as there's no shortage of Polish sausages and other deli treats to be had!!
Abraham is the only bassist in the video that I had the honor to meet. Actually sat in a class he taught, about 6 feet from him. When I shook his hand I was amazed that his pinkie was bigger than my thumb. His humility is great… he plays from his heart!
a good honorable mention for the present day/social media bassist is Thundercat, his work with slap, tapping, fingerstyle is insane. he's worked with the likes of Mac Miller, Kendrick Lamar, Suicidal Tendencies, childish gambino, N.E.R.D (Pharrell Williams, Chad Hugo and Shay Haley), Flying Lotus, Erykah Badu, Danny Brown, and many others. his work is widely regarded under the R&B/Soul category, but he's amazing at anything he does, he even won a Grammy in 2016 for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration with Kendrick Lamar for Lamar's song "These Walls" off of "To Pimp A Butterfly", and he just recently won a Grammy in 2021 for Best Progressive R&B Album for his album "It Is What It Is". definitely an underrated bassist for sure.
I feel Nick Beggs from Kajagoogoo should've been included among the 80's bassists. As far as I know, he's the only one who used a slapping technique on a regular basis.
Wow! I had never seen so much virtuoso slap in a single video before. It felt like a whole hour but it's only 26 minute long. I could re-watch every morning with my coffee.
Very good video! One bass player that constantly gets looked over is Mark Adams of the funk group Slave. Anything he played on was great but check out "Stone Jam". Also Nathaniel Phillips of the group Pleasure. He was phenomenal!
Great, & fun, summary! One guy I might add to the list would be Verdine White, of Earth Wind and Fire. He’s also a killer percussive player. Always plays to the song, and there is some insane footage of him live on TH-cam in various places. He’s fantastic, if you ever have a chance to catch him live!
Verdine White is not a SLAP bassist. He's classically trained and very much a finger style bassist. The style of playing Verdine is KNOWN FOR, in no way warrants his inclusion in this video of PROMINENT "slap" bassists.
@@XCLent0 Unfortunately THIS is what happens when "other people" put together a history of OUR innovations. Especially when it comes to bass THEY wont stop until they pull Mark King or Geddy Lee out THEIR butts...lol...Its HILARIOUS but can also make you mad at the same time. Trying to COLUMBUS the FUNK !!! 😆😠😡😅😅
And to think that Mark Adams was 16 or 17 when Slide came out. Definitely 17 when the 2nd album was released. Maybe 18 when Stellar Fungk came out. 19 for Just A Touch of Love & 20 when Stone Jam was released! That young man was AMAZING! Late 70s/early 80s, all I wanted was new material from Slave & Prince. We need a documentary on Slave!
Great video! I have to make mention of my old boss, Mr. T.M. Stevens. I was his guitar player in his own group, Shocka Zooloo, and also have to speak to his resume with Miles Davis, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Tina Turner, the Pretenders, Steve Vai’s Light Without Heat band, Aretha Franklin, Joe Cocker, Billy Joel, Little Steven and the Desciples of Soul… too many others! …would also add Prince to this list. Great video though!
The only bassist I would add for his slap contribution would be Bill Dickens. He was the first bassist I ever saw slap with all five fingers. Dude is unbelievably fast! That said, great video. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
Yeah, he missed Bill the Buddah Dickens. Remember that video where he was playing the bass and ended up shorting the power to the entire venue? I was there for that. He was great!
@12:48 Doug Wimbish was NOT a part of Living Colour in the 1980s. He did not join the band until 1992, two albums and one EP AFTER the also great Muzz Skillings had created the bass lines for most of what we now know as Living Colors' greatest success. Doug Wimbish is obviously amazing and did his own thing and created his own great bass lines when he joined Living Color in the 90s. But the way this video is worded, it is incorrectly crediting Wimbish as part of the success Living Color had in the 80s, when in fact it was original bassist, Muzz Skillings.
Larry Graham, Louis Johnson , Marcus Miller , Stanley Clark and victor Wooten . Larry graham started slap bass in church to replace the drummer . No one was doing that on electric before him
I don't think that's Larry Graham in that sly stone clip i thnk Larry had already left by that time. You can even tell if you listen to the baseline. It's different. But then they always said we all look alike.
Damn, this was really well put together and quite enjoyable. Wooten is in a class all by himself. His stuff breaks my brain. For me, Claypool is my absolute favorite. I can still remember the first time I heard Here Come The Bastards off the Seas Of Cheese. At the time, I was heavy into Alice In Chains, Soundgarden, and all the classic rock staples: Zeppelin, Hendrix, Stones, CCR, The Who, etc. Claypool's sound is instantly recognizable and at that time in my life, I'd never heard a bass sound like that. I was hooked, bought up every Primus album I could get my hands on and then went straight into all of the side projects (Sausage, Oysterhead, etc) and haven't looked back. There is a really interesting evolution of the music, most folks know My Name Is Mud, Tommy The Cat and, Fish On... Pretty much all songs from the Cheese era. There's a lot more to it than the stuff that broke into the popular charts. The Claypool Lennon Delirium is an experience unto itself. You are correct: Claypool is an acquired taste for sure and I love it.
Great resume of slapping.Thanks. Mark Kings contribution to bass technique was considerable. Although he did play a Status his John Diggins Supernatural Bass underpinned his great work. Look deep enough you’ll see Jaco also using one. World renown basses from Birmingham UK😎
For the current day bassists section, Remco's Groove Lab is a must. Super unique style, typically slapping on a fretless with marching triplets. One of the unique qualities is he uses his thumb more to pop more than to actually thumb down. Just check it out
Remco is one of the *very* few bassists that makes me reallyyyyyy appreciate the fretless. he's so fuggin talented. he does a LOT of what i think i would do in each situation. i can co-sign to this.
I know of 98% of these players, so it's the other 2% that I thank you for showcasing so many bassists. Doug Johns is another slap monster. And you have to listen to Brian Bromberg slap with his stereo pickups, especially on the tune, "My Bass".
Great video! I love playing this way. I mean once I learned, I've never really gone back to traditional walking style. But honorable mentions: Verdine White from Earth, Wind and Fire and Nate Watts who has played some of the greatest basslines of all time, including Isn't She Lovely, I Wish and of course, Sir Duke. Also Doug Wimbish joined after Time's Up for Living Colour. The first bassist was Muzz Skillings who is severely underrated as well! Great video again.
My introduction to slap was with guys like Flea, Les Claypool and Tim Commerford, and they’re still some of my favourite bassists and biggest influences. I’ve also met Victor Wooten at a music camp my college held a few years ago and it was definitely an an awesome experience, he’s a really nice guy and has some solid advice as well
Fieldy on a list like this is controversial, but I think it shows that Andrew Freed has a deep understanding of music. It’s not always about outstanding technique, but about a feeling. And Fieldy, no matter how simple his technique is, delivers a dark grimy funk that was groundbreaking in its time.
Having the wonderful experience of working with and playing "sit-ins" with Vic and all of his brothers (his entire family of musicians) - I can tell you that not only is Victor Wooten a player to emulate and learn from - but he is an amazing human being! ---- his talents might actually be exceeded by his kindness. - This was a great piece, by the way.
Thank you very much for this presentation. I already had great admiration for bass players. This history only increases it. I still remember as a young person back in 1977 hearing this tune called New Day on the Friends and Strangers album by Ronnie Laws. I think that that was the first time that I'd ever heard anybody play slap bass. The next time I heard it so prominently was when David Sanborn had Marcus Miller on several recordings ( Backstreet from 1984 ). Of course there were more popular tunes like Jump To It and Every Girl ( Wants my Guy ) - Aretha Franklin and most of Luther Vandross early 80s output. All of those have the stamp of Marcus Miller on them. He spared no expense using the slap technique. Thanks for showing off all the other bassists using the technique 😎😎🎸🎻
Thanks for doing something extensive about MARK KING. The Level 42 catalogue is worth delving into for any bass player. Or musician. All of them in the original band (Phil Gould, Boon Gould, Mike Lindup & Mark King) are incredible musicians, taking inspiration from Earth Wind & Fire, but also jazz fusion, pop, rock, reggae into this hybrid thing. "Something About You" is what they're most famous for, but it barely scratches the surface of what's there. And "Lessons in Love" is a challenge for any bass player using slap technique.
Of course Mark's live work in the early 80s - back before the World Machine album blew up the charts - was legendary. If you ever want to see true master-level slap bass technical showmanship, do yourself a favor and TH-cam Level 42's 1983-85 live material.
Really well done! It's a good reminder of how many styles there are within a technique. Slap isn't a monolith; there's so many ways to do it and so many sounds you can make.
Unfortunately the most common is the youtube slapper style which sounds like a filing cabinet kicked down a fire escape. A million "notes" a minute with no timing, no rhythm, no tune and no musicality, just a smug expression and a horrible clattering of strings on frets and pickups.
Dude all I can say is wow wow wow! You showed me most of all my favorites. The only ones that were left out were Richard Bona and Rhonda Smith. The whole video was very informative. Especially speaking about the early days which I was not aware of of the 20s 40s and 50s. I will definitely subscribe to your channel keep doing the good work!
Wo, In the end I just knew that Mononeon was going to make the list. This kid played with Prince and Victor Wooten and pass on this guy. At 17 he was killing it. I’m just floored 🤷♂️
Excellent video! I, admittedly, am one of the many inspired to pick up a bass by Les Claypool and while I knew of quite a few of the bassists you included, there were a great handful I had no idea of but am super excited to dive into the works of as a beginner bassist! Thanks for the great video!
100% right! He was a beast at tasteful groove. He didn't need to show off, he just stayed in the pocket until he could poke his bright and classy bass lines out like the star on a Christmas tree. Every note was flawlessly considered.
definitely.. I remember hearing Jamiroquai's early work and immediately fell in love with his melodic lines. One of my favorite tracks till i die is Cosmic girl, the groove, the melodic contagious bass line ...does anyone know whatever happened to Stu Zender? i couldnt find anything on him
That was very cool. Next time, would please add Bill 'The Buddha' Dickens. He's definitely one of the most astonishing slappers I've ever seen. Thanks, keep up the good work! Bob A.
Great job on the video my brother,I’m glad to see you really did your homework. I’ve been playing bass for 44 years and I grew in a time where if you didn’t go to a concert or was fortunate enough to see some of these bass players live,as a young bass player,most struggled to learn the technique. I’m an instructor and currently work with students young and older on this unique technique. Kudos again on the video,it’s a very good history for those wanting ton incorporate this technique in their playing!✌🏽
I'm sure not mentioning Nathaniel Phillips from the group Pleasure was a slip. 1979's "Glide" was the bass line that any slap bass player was measured. ... good information & good video. thanks for giving the bass players some recognition.
Man, really loved this video! What a fantastic job you made, congratulations! 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼 One serious missing name: monsieur Alain Caron! His contribution to the slap style was huge…playing double thumb in the mid 80’s(check some Uzeb records from those years) using slap technique for melody, chords and grooving…all of that on a 6 string bass!! 😱
Je suis tout à fait d'accord ! More than agree for Alain Caron, in fact😍 Bravo pour la video ! Really happy to see Nathan East & Abe Laboriel🥰 If we look further east, Japan has a bass beast namely Tetsuo Sakurai (Casiopea), replaced in 1987 (cmiiw) by Yoshihiro Naruse, and he is a real monster...!!! Going further than slapping, he "rapes" his bass like Keith Emerson to his keyboards. Just check this out: th-cam.com/video/qSr0tL_Beno/w-d-xo.html
Great video! You included all my slap-bass-guitar-heroes from my youth (early 80's) and many more. Especially Marcus Miller made a huge impression on me. Also Mark King, Level 42. But I had completely forgotten about Abe Laboriel. 😵 Here is how Chuck Rainey sneaked in some bass slapping in "Peg" by Steely Dan, th-cam.com/video/waIBA6_0GQc/w-d-xo.html
Slap bass is my favorite musical sound ever. It's hard to describe it, but I genuinely love and adore slap. It has everything for me. I'm learning bass guitar myself so I can keep the tradition alive!
My dad was a bass player during the late 40’s & most of the 50’s, he slapped his upright bass as long as I can remember, sounded so cool, I was a trumpet major in high school and trade school.
Which albums did Remco play on to deserve this placement in this video? What was the band or hit song that propelled his style to influence this style? I mean, as it relates to the history of this style.
@@skineyemin4276 What albums has Charles Berthoud played on to deserve recognition? Doesn't really matter. The kid is still innovative. As a bass player, I'm so much more enthralled with others who help advance the technique and break what's conventional. It's not very often that you see a fretless player employ slap skills.
@@jeredalmeida1880 Why? He didn't invent slap. also, what records is he on fundamentally change the electric bass' history? He's a great player (on TH-cam), but....gtfoh.
@@jeredalmeida1880 And yes, it does matter for the most part, because that style, as introduced by Larry Graham, changed the entire funk music genre as well as other fusion, rock, and pop genres and as much as Jaco did for fretless bass. Also, Alphonso Johnson was actually the first guy I heard play an electric fretless bass in a different way, then...., Jaco totally changed it with his virtuosity and intonation by having the fret lines visible, making his bass lines consistently in perfect pitch.
Mark King was usually seen live with a ‘Jaydee Supernatural’ bass in Level 42’s heyday. I believe that he recorded with multiple brands though. That said though, Jaydee was THE early Mark King sound. Around 1988, he appeared to move primarily to Alembic for a few years before apparently going exclusively with Status.
Love this. Very comprehensive and informative. As a side note, while you covered Larry Graham very well, you should have mentioned that much like Mark King of Level 42 and a few others you mentioned, he also was the front man and lead singer of his group Graham Central Station. Impressively singing while shredding the bass.
I stumbled across this randomly. I had to bookmark this so I can come back later. there are guys I knew in here and several I did not. the point of discovering music you did not know, that's what makes life worth living
There are a couple of things I should correct you on. - Both Bootsy Collins and Larry Graham emerged in the sixties, NOT the seventies, the footage of Bootsy playing with James Brown is from 1968. - Doug Wimbish was NOT Living Colour's bass player during the eighties, that was Muzz Skillings. Wimbish replaced Skillings in the early nineties. - Flea pretty much abandoned playing slap bass completely on their "BloodSugarSexMagic" album because he felt that he was painting himself into a corner. Apart from "Naked in the rain" there is NO slap on that album anywhere.
Yea i don't like how he put the thumbnail with white bass player's and only two black player's but its all black bass player's that started the slap bass sound
Giovanni Bottesini, NHOP, Eddie Gomez, Anthony Jackson, John Patitucci, a bit off topic but bassists and composers everyone should know about. Also, personally, Christian McBride's rendition of Stars Fell On Alabama changed me forever as a bassist when I first started years ago. Thank you for this video!🙌
So many great performances! Thank you for putting this together. I can recommend three exciting young bassists from Japan: Misa plays “lead bass” in the all-female hard rock group BAND-MAID. Whether locking down a groove, driving the main riff, or playing what amounts to a four minute bass solo, the “barefoot assassin“ switches seamless from picking to slapping and back again in the same song. Also check the bassists in the amazing trios Soko ni Naru and Asterism.
Andrew, I appreciate the fact you considered so many more aspects of slap bass than we normally think of. Yo get an A+ for including Abraham Laboriel. Keep up the good work! By the way, I am not a bass player but enjoy extremely good bass players. Thanks!!
I don't think Pilichowski can be called a "social media" bassist. He became known internationally through social media, that's true, but he's been present in Polish pop/rock/jazz/funk music since 90's. He's been one of the most wanted session musicians on Poland for years, and the number of records he made... Cheers from Poland.
He's one of my favorites. Really colorful playing and always percussively interesting. It feels like a lot of slap is root-hammer-octave at max possible speed and is lame; never feels that way with him.
Going back to the 1980s I remember one of the first times I remember hearing some slap bass. In the movie, "Give My Regards To Broadstreet" where Paul McCartney takes fresh looks on a lot of his older material, there's a scene where they are shooting a video for an 80s version of "Silly Love Songs" which has a great bass line to begin with. In it, Paul is behind the keyboards and none other than Louis Johnson is on bass where he does a funky solo near the end.
Glad to see Trujillo at least made the honorable mentions, though I'd have replaced Fieldy with him on the main list... His time with Infectious Grooves is why I became a bass player 25 years ago. Edit: On second thought, Fieldy can stay. Trujillo should have Mudvayne guy's spot.
Excellent video, a great reference. I am old enough that I remember the bass taking over from the electric guitar in the early 90's rock scene. BTW, we find that "slap bass" techniques go back to West African instruments. Very old way of attacking the string, but new in European lineages. Again, thanks for making this vid.
You say Doug Wimbish was with Living Colour in the 80s. He only joined in 1992 (after Time's Up), replacing Muzz Skillings, who was also an awesome bassist
Fingersmoran deserves to be on this list, i got started because of Les but when i discovered this guy in the early TH-cam days i listened religiously and wanted to play even more because this guy was recording badass rock music in his living room just having fun which made me want to do the same
So glad you mentioned Abe Laboriel. He has always been one of my favourite players. He did this solo on Paul Clarke's gospel album "Aim For The Heart" that is astounding. One of the best instrumental solos of all time in my opinion. Like Larry Carlton's solo on Kid Charlemagne, Laboriel adds to the song perfectly and comments on the lyric powerfully and eloquently.
Nice video. Wish some of the guys from Japan were included I. The 80's section like tetsuo sakurai or tomohito Aoki. I didn't know about the pulling style of upright plays very early on!
Nice job Andrew. Thought I knew all there was to know about slap bass, having heard a lot of the stand-up guys back in the 50s. Spent a lot of time gigging with Stanley clones but I had never heard Larry Graham play, beyond the Family Stone stuff. Fabulous player. Thanks for filling that in for me.
He could have at least mentioned Ida Nielsen she was prince bassist for 6 years. Now she has several albums out. She was heavily influenced by Larry Graham.
@@skineyemin4276 Well, I'm not comparing her to these amazing bass players, we just watched. I'm taking her on her own recognizance, so to speak. She was good enough to hold down Prince's band, when he stopped playing all instruments on his LPs, and in live performances. She's worthy of an honorable mention IMHO. I know she's not in the slap/funk field, but I think Esperanza Spalding is a wa-ay better musician. But that's just me.
Hey Andrew, nice video. Great digging into the past and how slapping bass evolved. Two bassists to consider: Bakithi Kumalo and Nick Begg. First time watching your channel. Educational and informative. Nice job. Subscribed.
Dude!!! What a fantastic video!! Loved every piece of it! Loved when the first TH-cam bassist was Charles Berthoud. That guy is totally talented! I think another good honorable mention might be Nathaniel Phillips, the bassist of Pleasure. They had a hit in the 80's called Glide that I feel is a slap bass staple! I saw them live and he soloed and slapped the S*** out it behind his head!
While Victor took the double thumbing thing to new heights, adding in other techniques, I had discovered it more than 10 years earlier. There was a guy who did a clinic at Berklee in the early 80s who, while hiding out from the cops in a case of mistaken identity, demonstrated what he had come up with. After seeing him, I changed the angle of my right hand and discovered how useful it was. Not to diss Vic. I got to jam with him for a few hours in 1997 when he sat in with my band and it was a peak musical experience.
Seriously great video. For most of these videos which rate bass players I always have a few of my favourites missing and yeah I understand that it's about one's personal opinion. But this had everyone! Even Bernard Edwards, the king of disco, who I would say is not noted for slapping.
How could you leave out Gershwin’s song “Slap That Bass?” 1937! Obviously slapping was a huge technique going back to the earliest days of jazz. I’m also shocked you skipped over Verdine White from Earth, Wind and Fire. Very influential 70s bassist! Other than that - pretty good.
Louis Johnson boggled my mind. The sound he produced live on his Stingrays was one of a kind. He had this built in Funkateer metronome... incredible. You are missed!
The very first slap I heard was the base in Super Disco by The Rimshots.....I was a child then but when I heard the first Brothers Johnson Album I switched from Sax to Bass..!!...still playing today!!!yeah!!!
Oh wait! You forgot about Mike Watt (Minutemen). He was an early pioneer with blending slap bass in the punk, funk, alternative genre. He came on the scene about 5 years before Flea. Awesome player as well.
I've always loved Mark King's bass playing. Thanks for including him!
Me too. Have you checked out his solo album, Influences?
@@seandoyle2983 No, but I will now I know about it.
Larry Graham is that rare musician: a sound innovator. He changed the bass guitar, revolutionized it, and should be elevated above most all other electric bass players.
As the bassist in a church praise and worship band, I can tell you that it’s the bass that brings the anointing.
@@theozarktrekker Amen.
They wanna change the definition of 'Slap' and remove Larry Graham from it. Listen to how the guy says "larry learned slap in a very interesting way". He didn't learn s#!t, he innovated it!
@@percyvolnar8010 You got it exactly right. And it isn’t “slap” either. Larry calls it “thumping” and since he invented he gets to name it.
@@erikkillmonger5624 Thats right! Larry Called it Thumping, Louis called it thumping, Stanley Called it thumping and Marcus called it thumping. I remember when white people made fun of that sound. Victor Wooten comes along and they all wanna sound like him.
Thanks a lot! I’m very proud & honored to be in this video 🙏🙏🙏
You are awesome man 💪🏽
As a Funk Bass Player since 1971 and an unofficial Funk Bass Player since 1965. There is only two things that I'd like to add. One Larry Graham was slappin with Sly in the sixties and an honorable mention should be Mark Leslie Adams of Slave highlighting the song "Slide", absolutely brought out Slap Bass the the masses. GREAT VIDEO!
Yes, Mark Adams should have gotten a mention!
Thank you 👍
Thanks for the Mark King mention, it is hard to sing and play bass at this level
He missed Prince, who did ALL the bass work on His first 7 albums, 3 The Time albums, 1The Family, 1 Jill Jones and two Vanity/Appolonia 6 albums…Prince was doing the double thumb technique before Wooten. So was Brownmark(taught by Prince)
Norwood Fisher
Brownmark
Mohini Dey
Juan Nelson
Mark Haynes
Sonny Thompson
Rhonda Smith
Jimmy Anton
Trueeeeeee
The problem with Prince is that he's too good on so many instruments.
When there's a list of top 20 vocalists, he's left off.
When there's a list of the top 20 guitarists, he's left off.
Songwriter, bass player, drums etc.
I don't understand why people don't give this man his recognition as one of the greatest musical artists in modern history.
-
The owner of this channel Andrew Freed, respects and thinks Victor Wooten has contributed more to slap-based than anyone.
But even Victor Wooten recognized Prince's greatness:
th-cam.com/video/EPA_A3J5kYU/w-d-xo.html
"Another guy who is an amazing bass player that influenced me...is Prince"
V.W.
I first met Victor Wooten around 1977/1978 and was aware of his double thumb technique then. In fact, he demonstrated it on one of my basses. He was then living in Newport News, VA and played in a band with his siblings, The Wooten Brothers.
True! While Prince was more popularly known as a guitarist and pianist, he was a monster on bass. And drums as well. The reason I can see Prince being left off the list is because he was a well-known multi-instrumentalist in lieu of being a dedicated bassist.
@@flappyflapjacks9733 Exactly what you just said.
Wojtek Pilichowski has been known as the "cult" bassist in Poland since the 1990s :)
Its True
Yeah he’s crazy good, he’s kinda reminds me as a more technical mark king who plays jazz
@@ethanlocke3604 actually, Mark King was one of his main inspirations, if not THE biggest.
He is definitely not under rated, because he flies way under the radar as do many Polish artists, so not many people to rate him elsewhere! Poland needs to sell their better artists a lot harder on the world market. Not sure why they are so isolated in that regard, as there's no shortage of Polish sausages and other deli treats to be had!!
I just learned about him. He’s fucking legit.
Abraham is the only bassist in the video that I had the honor to meet. Actually sat in a class he taught, about 6 feet from him. When I shook his hand I was amazed that his pinkie was bigger than my thumb. His humility is great… he plays from his heart!
a good honorable mention for the present day/social media bassist is Thundercat, his work with slap, tapping, fingerstyle is insane. he's worked with the likes of Mac Miller, Kendrick Lamar, Suicidal Tendencies, childish gambino, N.E.R.D (Pharrell Williams, Chad Hugo and Shay Haley), Flying Lotus, Erykah Badu, Danny Brown, and many others. his work is widely regarded under the R&B/Soul category, but he's amazing at anything he does, he even won a Grammy in 2016 for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration with Kendrick Lamar for Lamar's song "These Walls" off of "To Pimp A Butterfly", and he just recently won a Grammy in 2021 for Best Progressive R&B Album for his album "It Is What It Is". definitely an underrated bassist for sure.
I feel Nick Beggs from Kajagoogoo should've been included among the 80's bassists. As far as I know, he's the only one who used a slapping technique on a regular basis.
Was a great video on slap bass.
Norwood Fisher from Fishbone wasn’t mentioned. He’s pretty note worthy. He inspired Flea and Les Claypool.
Especially his bassline on _Bonin in the Boneyard_ stands out.
Good call, Give a Monkey a Brain... has to be one of the most underrated albums of all time.
@@Pedroleum100 okmp
@@janetfowler7977 - I don't know what that means, but I see how my comment is unintentionally amusing.
Wow! I had never seen so much virtuoso slap in a single video before. It felt like a whole hour but it's only 26 minute long. I could re-watch every morning with my coffee.
Very good video! One bass player that constantly gets looked over is Mark Adams of the funk group Slave. Anything he played on was great but check out "Stone Jam". Also Nathaniel Phillips of the group Pleasure. He was phenomenal!
Yes indeed
Hell yeah to both of those great players!
Yes! The Showtime Album by Slave stays on my playlist..
And Glide by Pleasure....Just Damn!!!
@@kenhdog RIP Mark Adams such a beast!!!!
The Hansolar Mr.Mark Adam's is a slap God. My favorite bass-line of his has to be Snapshot ,that growl on that track is insane.
Great, & fun, summary! One guy I might add to the list would be Verdine White, of Earth Wind and Fire. He’s also a killer percussive player. Always plays to the song, and there is some insane footage of him live on TH-cam in various places. He’s fantastic, if you ever have a chance to catch him live!
Verdine White is not a SLAP bassist. He's classically trained and very much a finger style bassist. The style of playing Verdine is KNOWN FOR, in no way warrants his inclusion in this video of PROMINENT "slap" bassists.
@@Igaveyoumyfakename so correct.
You missed the Dayton Ohio Band 'Slave' [Bassist Mark Adams]!!!
Word a true legendary BEAST!!!!
Lotta nonsense in this video. Larry Graham created Thump and Pop. To leave Mark Adams off of this list removes all credibility.
@@XCLent0 Unfortunately THIS is what happens when "other people" put together a history of OUR innovations. Especially when it comes to bass THEY wont stop until they pull Mark King or Geddy Lee out THEIR butts...lol...Its HILARIOUS but can also make you mad at the same time. Trying to COLUMBUS the FUNK !!! 😆😠😡😅😅
Wow!!! No mention towards the end of MONO NEON !?!?!?! That is an INSANE and criminally overlook bro !!!
And to think that Mark Adams was 16 or 17 when Slide came out. Definitely 17 when the 2nd album was released. Maybe 18 when Stellar Fungk came out. 19 for Just A Touch of Love & 20 when Stone Jam was released! That young man was AMAZING! Late 70s/early 80s, all I wanted was new material from Slave & Prince. We need a documentary on Slave!
Great video! I have to make mention of my old boss, Mr. T.M. Stevens. I was his guitar player in his own group, Shocka Zooloo, and also have to speak to his resume with Miles Davis, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Tina Turner, the Pretenders, Steve Vai’s Light Without Heat band, Aretha Franklin, Joe Cocker, Billy Joel, Little Steven and the Desciples of Soul… too many others!
…would also add Prince to this list. Great video though!
The only bassist I would add for his slap contribution would be Bill Dickens. He was the first bassist I ever saw slap with all five fingers. Dude is unbelievably fast!
That said, great video. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
Yeah, he missed Bill the Buddah Dickens. Remember that video where he was playing the bass and ended up shorting the power to the entire venue? I was there for that. He was great!
Great video Andrew! Very informative. I was really surprised to see myself on it. Thanks a bunch.
.....kim clarke of defunkt!!!
Bassbaba🔥🖤
Bassbaba...I bend a knee to you...Respect
@12:48 Doug Wimbish was NOT a part of Living Colour in the 1980s. He did not join the band until 1992, two albums and one EP AFTER the also great Muzz Skillings had created the bass lines for most of what we now know as Living Colors' greatest success. Doug Wimbish is obviously amazing and did his own thing and created his own great bass lines when he joined Living Color in the 90s. But the way this video is worded, it is incorrectly crediting Wimbish as part of the success Living Color had in the 80s, when in fact it was original bassist, Muzz Skillings.
True. Doug Wimbish cofounded Tackhead in the 80s.
@@stephenweiss3119 Yep - and Tackhead was AWESOME! I also saw him with King's X! That WAS EPIC! Doug was a ROCKER for sure!
Growing up in the Midwest we called it and still call it thumping!! Where that word slap comes from baffles me.
Larry Graham, Louis Johnson , Marcus Miller , Stanley Clark and victor Wooten . Larry graham started slap bass in church to replace the drummer . No one was doing that on electric before him
THUMP not slap.
@@4thumb4 I just made a comment you might be interested in
It's so refreshing to see somebody who understands that the history before rock is also important.
The second pic of Graham is actually Stanley Clarke 😉 Still a father of slap bass!
Good catch ... a demon of slap bass to be sure!
Yeah, lol I was gonna mention that.
Sorry guys haha can't believe I didn't notice that :P
Yep. And the first clip is Rustee Allen not Larry Graham.
I don't think that's Larry Graham in that sly stone clip i thnk Larry had already left by that time. You can even tell if you listen to the baseline. It's different. But then they always said we all look alike.
Incredible sick compilation!!!!
Damn, this was really well put together and quite enjoyable. Wooten is in a class all by himself. His stuff breaks my brain.
For me, Claypool is my absolute favorite. I can still remember the first time I heard Here Come The Bastards off the Seas Of Cheese. At the time, I was heavy into Alice In Chains, Soundgarden, and all the classic rock staples: Zeppelin, Hendrix, Stones, CCR, The Who, etc. Claypool's sound is instantly recognizable and at that time in my life, I'd never heard a bass sound like that. I was hooked, bought up every Primus album I could get my hands on and then went straight into all of the side projects (Sausage, Oysterhead, etc) and haven't looked back. There is a really interesting evolution of the music, most folks know My Name Is Mud, Tommy The Cat and, Fish On... Pretty much all songs from the Cheese era. There's a lot more to it than the stuff that broke into the popular charts. The Claypool Lennon Delirium is an experience unto itself.
You are correct: Claypool is an acquired taste for sure and I love it.
@Mr.Joetatoehead Thank you for the recommendation, I'll be sure to check them out!
For today's bassist and TH-cam bassist, I'm a BIG fan of Juna Serita
Check out kevin chown
Great resume of slapping.Thanks. Mark Kings contribution to bass technique was considerable. Although he did play a Status his John Diggins Supernatural Bass underpinned his great work. Look deep enough you’ll see Jaco also using one. World renown basses from Birmingham UK😎
For the current day bassists section, Remco's Groove Lab is a must. Super unique style, typically slapping on a fretless with marching triplets. One of the unique qualities is he uses his thumb more to pop more than to actually thumb down. Just check it out
Hellz yea Remco is awesome. His fretless bass is top notch.
Remco is one of the *very* few bassists that makes me reallyyyyyy appreciate the fretless. he's so fuggin talented. he does a LOT of what i think i would do in each situation. i can co-sign to this.
I know of 98% of these players, so it's the other 2% that I thank you for showcasing so many bassists. Doug Johns is another slap monster. And you have to listen to Brian Bromberg slap with his stereo pickups, especially on the tune, "My Bass".
I made a similar comment also.... what about Brian Bromberg and let's not forget Vail Johnson!
Great video! I love playing this way. I mean once I learned, I've never really gone back to traditional walking style. But honorable mentions: Verdine White from Earth, Wind and Fire and Nate Watts who has played some of the greatest basslines of all time, including Isn't She Lovely, I Wish and of course, Sir Duke. Also Doug Wimbish joined after Time's Up for Living Colour. The first bassist was Muzz Skillings who is severely underrated as well!
Great video again.
My introduction to slap was with guys like Flea, Les Claypool and Tim Commerford, and they’re still some of my favourite bassists and biggest influences. I’ve also met Victor Wooten at a music camp my college held a few years ago and it was definitely an an awesome experience, he’s a really nice guy and has some solid advice as well
Fieldy on a list like this is controversial, but I think it shows that Andrew Freed has a deep understanding of music. It’s not always about outstanding technique, but about a feeling. And Fieldy, no matter how simple his technique is, delivers a dark grimy funk that was groundbreaking in its time.
Having the wonderful experience of working with and playing "sit-ins" with Vic and all of his brothers (his entire family of musicians) - I can tell you that not only is Victor Wooten a player to emulate and learn from - but he is an amazing human being! ---- his talents might actually be exceeded by his kindness. - This was a great piece, by the way.
Thank you very much for this presentation. I already had great admiration for bass players. This history only increases it. I still remember as a young person back in 1977 hearing this tune called New Day on the Friends and Strangers album by Ronnie Laws. I think that that was the first time that I'd ever heard anybody play slap bass. The next time I heard it so prominently was when David Sanborn had Marcus Miller on several recordings ( Backstreet from 1984 ). Of course there were more popular tunes like Jump To It and Every Girl ( Wants my Guy ) - Aretha Franklin and most of Luther Vandross early 80s output. All of those have the stamp of Marcus Miller on them. He spared no expense using the slap technique. Thanks for showing off all the other bassists using the technique 😎😎🎸🎻
Thanks for doing something extensive about MARK KING. The Level 42 catalogue is worth delving into for any bass player. Or musician. All of them in the original band (Phil Gould, Boon Gould, Mike Lindup & Mark King) are incredible musicians, taking inspiration from Earth Wind & Fire, but also jazz fusion, pop, rock, reggae into this hybrid thing. "Something About You" is what they're most famous for, but it barely scratches the surface of what's there. And "Lessons in Love" is a challenge for any bass player using slap technique.
Of course Mark's live work in the early 80s - back before the World Machine album blew up the charts - was legendary. If you ever want to see true master-level slap bass technical showmanship, do yourself a favor and TH-cam Level 42's 1983-85 live material.
@@blackromulan "Follow Me" is one of my favourite songs of theirs.
the first 4 level 42 albums 79-83 are delicious!!
the dates you give make Barney Miller theme song even more groundbreaking
Really well done! It's a good reminder of how many styles there are within a technique. Slap isn't a monolith; there's so many ways to do it and so many sounds you can make.
Unfortunately the most common is the youtube slapper style which sounds like a filing cabinet kicked down a fire escape. A million "notes" a minute with no timing, no rhythm, no tune and no musicality, just a smug expression and a horrible clattering of strings on frets and pickups.
Dude all I can say is wow wow wow! You showed me most of all my favorites. The only ones that were left out were Richard Bona and Rhonda Smith. The whole video was very informative. Especially speaking about the early days which I was not aware of of the 20s 40s and 50s. I will definitely subscribe to your channel keep doing the good work!
Brothers been jamming that thump since the 1800,s. Amazing sound even back then when played right.
Wo,
In the end I just knew that Mononeon was going to make the list. This kid played with Prince and Victor Wooten and pass on this guy. At 17 he was killing it. I’m just floored 🤷♂️
I knew I'd miss some! He deserves to be in there!
Charles berthoud is a gem. Thanks for giving him some spotlight. He is a bassist unlike any other.
Excellent video! I, admittedly, am one of the many inspired to pick up a bass by Les Claypool and while I knew of quite a few of the bassists you included, there were a great handful I had no idea of but am super excited to dive into the works of as a beginner bassist! Thanks for the great video!
Thanks so much!
There will never be another Les Claypool.
Agreed on the point that I loved learning about all the session bassists and other talent I hadn't heard of.
Claypool, with the Bucket of Bernie Brains and the Fearless Flying Frog Brigade bands are what inspired me to switch fr guitar to bass
My grandad has a 1976 LP record for school days. I always listen to it when I’m at his house.
Nice to see Stuart Zender...a "groove machine" often forgotten.
Stuart Zender to me is what gave early Jamiroquai its beat and power. Pretty much 80% of my favourite Jamiroquai songs came from the Zender era.
@@AntoniusTyas Facts!!
100% right! He was a beast at tasteful groove. He didn't need to show off, he just stayed in the pocket until he could poke his bright and classy bass lines out like the star on a Christmas tree. Every note was flawlessly considered.
@@CNNBlackmailSupport the radio edit version of Space Cowboy (or the Stoned Mix, to others) sets the example for me.
definitely..
I remember hearing Jamiroquai's early work and immediately fell in love with his melodic lines. One of my favorite tracks till i die is Cosmic girl, the groove, the melodic contagious bass line ...does anyone know whatever happened to Stu Zender? i couldnt find anything on him
That was very cool. Next time, would please add Bill 'The Buddha' Dickens. He's definitely one of the most astonishing slappers I've ever seen.
Thanks, keep up the good work!
Bob A.
Great job on the video my brother,I’m glad to see you really did your homework. I’ve been playing bass for 44 years and I grew in a time where if you didn’t go to a concert or was fortunate enough to see some of these bass players live,as a young bass player,most struggled to learn the technique. I’m an instructor and currently work with students young and older on this unique technique. Kudos again on the video,it’s a very good history for those wanting ton incorporate this technique in their playing!✌🏽
I'm sure not mentioning Nathaniel Phillips from the group Pleasure was a slip. 1979's "Glide" was the bass line that any slap bass player was measured. ... good information & good video. thanks for giving the bass players some recognition.
Man, really loved this video! What a fantastic job you made, congratulations! 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
One serious missing name: monsieur Alain Caron! His contribution to the slap style was huge…playing double thumb in the mid 80’s(check some Uzeb records from those years) using slap technique for melody, chords and grooving…all of that on a 6 string bass!! 😱
+1 !!!!
I'm agree, Alain Caron have an incredible technique on fretted bass and fretless bass.
You're SO right!!!
Agree alain caron have a completely slaps style
Je suis tout à fait d'accord ! More than agree for Alain Caron, in fact😍
Bravo pour la video ! Really happy to see Nathan East & Abe Laboriel🥰
If we look further east, Japan has a bass beast namely Tetsuo Sakurai (Casiopea), replaced in 1987 (cmiiw) by Yoshihiro Naruse, and he is a real monster...!!! Going further than slapping, he "rapes" his bass like Keith Emerson to his keyboards. Just check this out: th-cam.com/video/qSr0tL_Beno/w-d-xo.html
thank you for putting Abraham in this! I have study him for years!!!!! And you right, very unrated, this dude needs to be in the hall of frame
Alain caron is an important one that you didn't mention. He have a very unique style since the seventies
And he was already double thumping back then.
@@Chris-dp1el true
On a custom 6 or more string fretless bass no less. He is amazing, either in UZEB or solo work after.
So glad you included Wojtek Pilichowski. I’m completely addicted to his style.
Great video! You included all my slap-bass-guitar-heroes from my youth (early 80's) and many more. Especially Marcus Miller made a huge impression on me. Also Mark King, Level 42. But I had completely forgotten about Abe Laboriel. 😵
Here is how Chuck Rainey sneaked in some bass slapping in "Peg" by Steely Dan, th-cam.com/video/waIBA6_0GQc/w-d-xo.html
Slap bass is my favorite musical sound ever. It's hard to describe it, but I genuinely love and adore slap. It has everything for me. I'm learning bass guitar myself so I can keep the tradition alive!
Doug Wimbish didn’t join Loving Colour until the 90s. Muzz Skillings plays on Vivid, Time’s Up and the Bisquits EP.
My dad was a bass player during the late 40’s & most of the 50’s, he slapped his upright bass as long as I can remember, sounded so cool, I was a trumpet major in high school and trade school.
I think Norwood Fisher of Fishbone and Lonnie Marshall of Weapon of Choice are both worthy of places on this list.
MISA is an incredible bassist who can switch from pick to slap an back again effortlesly. She is truly a marvel to watch.
Remco's Groove Lab deserves a shout for his ability to slap a fretless. His harmonics skillset is amazing.
Second this thought. His pluck style seems much like the pre-thumb era stuff.
Which albums did Remco play on to deserve this placement in this video? What was the band or hit song that propelled his style to influence this style? I mean, as it relates to the history of this style.
@@skineyemin4276 What albums has Charles Berthoud played on to deserve recognition? Doesn't really matter. The kid is still innovative. As a bass player, I'm so much more enthralled with others who help advance the technique and break what's conventional. It's not very often that you see a fretless player employ slap skills.
@@jeredalmeida1880 Why? He didn't invent slap. also, what records is he on fundamentally change the electric bass' history? He's a great player (on TH-cam), but....gtfoh.
@@jeredalmeida1880 And yes, it does matter for the most part, because that style, as introduced by Larry Graham, changed the entire funk music genre as well as other fusion, rock, and pop genres and as much as Jaco did for fretless bass. Also, Alphonso Johnson was actually the first guy I heard play an electric fretless bass in a different way, then...., Jaco totally changed it with his virtuosity and intonation by having the fret lines visible, making his bass lines consistently in perfect pitch.
A lot of these legends are so underrated. They deserve more recognition definitely
Mark King was usually seen live with a ‘Jaydee Supernatural’ bass in Level 42’s heyday. I believe that he recorded with multiple brands though. That said though, Jaydee was THE early Mark King sound. Around 1988, he appeared to move primarily to Alembic for a few years before apparently going exclusively with Status.
This is a phenomenal documentary.
Love this. Very comprehensive and informative. As a side note, while you covered Larry Graham very well, you should have mentioned that much like Mark King of Level 42 and a few others you mentioned, he also was the front man and lead singer of his group Graham Central Station. Impressively singing while shredding the bass.
I stumbled across this randomly. I had to bookmark this so I can come back later. there are guys I knew in here and several I did not. the point of discovering music you did not know, that's what makes life worth living
Salvador Cuevas is also worth mentionning : the man who introduced slap bass in salsa music. Listen to "Tumbao Africano" with Ray Barretto !
Not a bass player but got stuck on this and watched it through: great job kid!
There are a couple of things I should correct you on.
- Both Bootsy Collins and Larry Graham emerged in the sixties, NOT the seventies, the footage of Bootsy playing with James Brown is from 1968.
- Doug Wimbish was NOT Living Colour's bass player during the eighties, that was Muzz Skillings. Wimbish replaced Skillings in the early nineties.
- Flea pretty much abandoned playing slap bass completely on their "BloodSugarSexMagic" album because he felt that he was painting himself into a corner. Apart from "Naked in the rain" there is NO slap on that album anywhere.
Power of Equality has slap in it
Wimbish was active in the 1980s with the Sugar Hill label (early rap) and later with Tackhead and other Adrian Sherwod projects.
Flea uses slaps all of the Peppers' albums. Listen to One Hot Minute from 1995...
LOL, Sir Psycho Sexy and Give it Away Now have slaps sneaked into them.
Yea i don't like how he put the thumbnail with white bass player's and only two black player's but its all black bass player's that started the slap bass sound
Giovanni Bottesini, NHOP, Eddie Gomez, Anthony Jackson, John Patitucci, a bit off topic but bassists and composers everyone should know about. Also, personally, Christian McBride's rendition of Stars Fell On Alabama changed me forever as a bassist when I first started years ago. Thank you for this video!🙌
So many great performances! Thank you for putting this together.
I can recommend three exciting young bassists from Japan:
Misa plays “lead bass” in the all-female hard rock group BAND-MAID. Whether locking down a groove, driving the main riff, or playing what amounts to a four minute bass solo, the “barefoot assassin“ switches seamless from picking to slapping and back again in the same song.
Also check the bassists in the amazing trios Soko ni Naru and Asterism.
I imagine you have heard Tetsuo Samurai, Yoshihiro Naruse, Mitsuro Sutoh, Hojin Egawa, Ken Watanabe, .....
Takuma Kaneko is a cool up-and-comer
This is so good. You even included some of my social favorites. Thanks for this.
Andrew, I appreciate the fact you considered so many more aspects of slap bass than we normally think of. Yo get an A+ for including Abraham Laboriel. Keep up the good work! By the way, I am not a bass player but enjoy extremely good bass players. Thanks!!
I don't think Pilichowski can be called a "social media" bassist. He became known internationally through social media, that's true, but he's been present in Polish pop/rock/jazz/funk music since 90's. He's been one of the most wanted session musicians on Poland for years, and the number of records he made... Cheers from Poland.
He's one of my favorites. Really colorful playing and always percussively interesting. It feels like a lot of slap is root-hammer-octave at max possible speed and is lame; never feels that way with him.
Going back to the 1980s I remember one of the first times I remember hearing some slap bass. In the movie, "Give My Regards To Broadstreet" where Paul McCartney takes fresh looks on a lot of his older material, there's a scene where they are shooting a video for an 80s version of "Silly Love Songs" which has a great bass line to begin with. In it, Paul is behind the keyboards and none other than Louis Johnson is on bass where he does a funky solo near the end.
Absolutely !!! I have the exact same memory of that. I thought wow ! Bass? OK!
Paul and Louis that's one I'd love to checkout especially Silly Love Songs
@@xyere4984 th-cam.com/video/RN6lWjN0ups/w-d-xo.html
Didn't Abe's son play drums for Paul McCartney for a while?
I remember how much I liked playing that bass part on guitar. 🔥🙌
Larry Graham was on the music charts in the late 1960's(remember a little event called Woodstock?).🤔
You left off Mono Neon and Thundercat with the modern bassists. Also, how can you talk about bass without mentioning Norwood Fisher from Fishbone?
its about slap air head
Mark King and Level 42 are still performing today and they are still amazing!!
Glad to see Trujillo at least made the honorable mentions, though I'd have replaced Fieldy with him on the main list... His time with Infectious Grooves is why I became a bass player 25 years ago.
Edit: On second thought, Fieldy can stay. Trujillo should have Mudvayne guy's spot.
Robert was (still is) a BEAST on his ST / IG days, he's also one of the reasons I also play bass.
You asked who else we'd like to see in relation to this and my top 2 I felt were missing from this are Chuck Rainey and Thundercat.
Excellent video, a great reference. I am old enough that I remember the bass taking over from the electric guitar in the early 90's rock scene.
BTW, we find that "slap bass" techniques go back to West African instruments. Very old way of attacking the string, but new in European lineages. Again, thanks for making this vid.
Mark king! Him singing and playing the bass is just amazing! Great job acknowledging him
You say Doug Wimbish was with Living Colour in the 80s. He only joined in 1992 (after Time's Up), replacing Muzz Skillings, who was also an awesome bassist
Fingersmoran deserves to be on this list, i got started because of Les but when i discovered this guy in the early TH-cam days i listened religiously and wanted to play even more because this guy was recording badass rock music in his living room just having fun which made me want to do the same
th-cam.com/video/mnk5-IGPL4k/w-d-xo.html
Amazing work. The Bass community salutes you
So glad you mentioned Abe Laboriel. He has always been one of my favourite players. He did this solo on Paul Clarke's gospel album "Aim For The Heart" that is astounding. One of the best instrumental solos of all time in my opinion. Like Larry Carlton's solo on Kid Charlemagne, Laboriel adds to the song perfectly and comments on the lyric powerfully and eloquently.
Nice video. Wish some of the guys from Japan were included I. The 80's section like tetsuo sakurai or tomohito Aoki. I didn't know about the pulling style of upright plays very early on!
Nice job Andrew. Thought I knew all there was to know about slap bass, having heard a lot of the stand-up guys back in the 50s. Spent a lot of time gigging with Stanley clones but I had never heard Larry Graham play, beyond the Family Stone stuff. Fabulous player. Thanks for filling that in for me.
He could have at least mentioned Ida Nielsen she was prince bassist for 6 years. Now she has several albums out. She was heavily influenced by Larry Graham.
Why?
@@skineyemin4276 Well, cuz she's pretty damn good.
@@DK-bk1vq Compared to who, though?
@@skineyemin4276 Well, I'm not comparing her to these amazing bass players, we just watched. I'm taking her on her own recognizance, so to speak.
She was good enough to hold down Prince's band, when he stopped playing all instruments on his LPs, and in live performances. She's worthy of an honorable mention IMHO.
I know she's not in the slap/funk field, but I think Esperanza Spalding is a wa-ay better musician. But that's just me.
Abe Laboriel is Spiritual! What A Legend! Must be something special with him that almost all if not all want to hire him in their albums!
Hey Andrew, nice video. Great digging into the past and how slapping bass evolved. Two bassists to consider: Bakithi Kumalo and Nick Begg. First time watching your channel. Educational and informative. Nice job. Subscribed.
Awesome, great video and thanks for sharing!
Why does this video not have Millions of views (yet) is a mystery!
Dude!!! What a fantastic video!! Loved every piece of it! Loved when the first TH-cam bassist was Charles Berthoud. That guy is totally talented! I think another good honorable mention might be Nathaniel Phillips, the bassist of Pleasure. They had a hit in the 80's called Glide that I feel is a slap bass staple! I saw them live and he soloed and slapped the S*** out it behind his head!
Glide! Wooo! Classic! Our High School music section went bonkers when that came out!
We will continue more tanks
While Victor took the double thumbing thing to new heights, adding in other techniques, I had discovered it more than 10 years earlier. There was a guy who did a clinic at Berklee in the early 80s who, while hiding out from the cops in a case of mistaken identity, demonstrated what he had come up with. After seeing him, I changed the angle of my right hand and discovered how useful it was. Not to diss Vic. I got to jam with him for a few hours in 1997 when he sat in with my band and it was a peak musical experience.
Seriously great video. For most of these videos which rate bass players I always have a few of my favourites missing and yeah I understand that it's about one's personal opinion. But this had everyone! Even Bernard Edwards, the king of disco, who I would say is not noted for slapping.
Finally a comprehensive video on this topic, been looking at a lot of the pioneers, but this is good stuff!
The creator was Larry Graham. Period.
I'm glad to see you include Wojtek Pilichowski. Good job!
How could you leave out Gershwin’s song “Slap That Bass?” 1937! Obviously slapping was a huge technique going back to the earliest days of jazz. I’m also shocked you skipped over Verdine White from Earth, Wind and Fire. Very influential 70s bassist! Other than that - pretty good.
Louis Johnson boggled my mind. The sound he produced live on his Stingrays was one of a kind. He had this built in Funkateer metronome... incredible. You are missed!
awesome video!!
just noticed my Ryan Martinie clip made it into this video ;) really great job man, more please!
Outstanding video! Really well done and informative.
Thanks for putting this together.
wish he included jaco pastorius and joe dart tho
@@procerus3654 I never heard Jaco or Dart Slap. The title is "History of Slap Bass."
@@procerus3654 perhaps you might've missed the "slap bass" - part of the title there champion.
The very first slap I heard was the base in Super Disco by The Rimshots.....I was a child then but when I heard the first Brothers Johnson Album I switched from Sax to Bass..!!...still playing today!!!yeah!!!
Oh wait! You forgot about Mike Watt (Minutemen). He was an early pioneer with blending slap bass in the punk, funk, alternative genre. He came on the scene about 5 years before Flea. Awesome player as well.
Damn Straight!!!!!! Respect!!!
Larry Graham called his style thumping and plucking