The Top 10 Teena Marie Bass Lines
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 5 ส.ค. 2024
- #funk #history #analysis #motown #basslines #ladyt #paulthompson
I've been wanting to do this one for a while. Celebrating my favorite bass lines from Teena Marie albums, who played them, and what makes them great. From Oscar Alston (Stone City Band) to Allen McGrier to Anthony Jackson and Charles Glenn. These are some of my favorite, and some of the funkiest bass lines you'll ever hear. Let me know what YOUR favorite is in the comments!
0:00 Intro
01:09 #10
02:51 #9
03:59 #8
05:02 #7
06:36 #6
07:54 #5
08:59 #4
09:48 #3
10:46 #2
11:59 #1
13:17 Outro
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doug grigsby was a friend of mine. i remember when he got the teena gig...he wasn't the only one of course....but he was a king and a great brother. still saddened over his death...
Lady T was one of the greatest ever. She left us way too soon man but she left behind some of the greatest, most timeless tunes you'll ever dance or just listen too.
God rest her beautiful Soul. 🙏🏾❤️❤️❤️❤️
Great to see Teena Marie and all the musicians she worked with get some deserved recognition… A class act!
Lady T. She was unique. She was the epitome of "Great things come in small packages". A voice you can pinpoint in a room and even a cooler nature to boot, she is the Desire to Rick James' Fire. Arranger, Guitarist, Vocalist, Pianist, more importantly, funkateer... She was one of a kind.
Well said indeed!
Well said!
The bass ballads are iconic. My faves are Portuguese ❤, shadow boxing , dear lover , oo la la la and out on a limb
'Behind the Groove' is the Funkiest bass line ever !!! i love it to death .RIP Lady T for sure she left us too early .
Hearing these riffs takes me back to my teenage years, when The Whispers, Slave, Cameo, The Brothers Johnson, ...as well as many others, graced the speakers of our boom boxes. If your box couldn't handle hard core bass, then you might as well leave it home! Teena Marie? Yea, she had her place right there up top! Oh, did I mention Bootsy Collins?
Slave! Doesn't seem to be well known, but let's have a Mark Adams episode..... Funky as anything.
That's because many of US couldn't afford 18 "D" batteries to put in those damn things. LOL
Hell. The JVC I had didn't go beyond six. LOL
Haha... the boom box! Ripping a chunck out of your wallet for batteries that died within a couple of hours because... full force on the volume dial 🤣
I've seen Bootsy in the Netherlands, in Utrecht, killing it so daymn hard on the bass, it would litteraly shake your stumach! Man oh man, what a party (way back, in the eighties). And I was so, so blessed to see Cameo live in the eighties. My band.
Slave - my love for that group was just near religious. I would love to hear Pdbass’s take on the group and the sound they produced.
Just got through listening to SLAVE this evening ❤
The opening to "I Need Your Lovin" always brings back good childhood memories of family parties. My dad would usually start the party off with either this song, or Earth Wind and Fire's "Let's Groove". That EW&F album art was always cool.
Worth mentioning her last bassist, Doug Grigsby from Philly. Doug played on many Philly artist hits like Patti Labelle, Phyllis Hyman, Eugene Wilde and others. Check youtube for videos of him killing the bass on tour with Teena. Sadly Doug passed away last year.
Thanks for the tip
My man Doug! 👍🏾
Doug Grigsby just passed a few months back, I only msg'd a couple times before he got ill. I bought his old touring road case rack from his Body Count days, from a fella down by Philly. I got it sitting right next to me. It used to have Ice-T's nickname for him 'Griz' painted on it but the dummy before me removed it all. Still I got Doug and Body Count vibe in da house. RIP GRIZ
💯 🔥🔥🔥
🙏🏾
I have always loved the bass line in all Teena's music, since my teen and young adult years in the 70-80s❣️ Bass is my favorite instrument and sound to listen to.
Even if you couldn’t play a note your analysis of the material is such a tribute the artists, this was a joy to watch. The fact that you perform every baseline on a variety of instruments is just the gravy that makes this channel elite. Amazing work here my friend.
Thank you--I always appreciate your comments, SATAN!
So much in agreement! I've JUST discovered you and your YT vids and am so in love with your instructive style of presentation! Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Oh yeah " Square Biz" and " I Need Your Lovin "! Definitely some of the greatest Bass lines ever recorded!!!!
Oscar Alston is extremely underappreciated especially for the bassline on Bustin Out by Rick James
Bustin Out is the MOVE!!!
I agree with you! I love Oscar's playing on the Rick James songs including " Super Freak " , " Glow", and " Moonchild " !!!!
Oh D*MN -- I did not know that! That line is the BOMB! (I also loved the "machine gun" riff at the beginning of that song, but that was probably played on guitar.) Why am I always thinking RJ played all the bass lines?
@@rwjoyner Rick rarely touched a bass and when he did it was a Fender not a Rickenbacher he chose the Rickenbacher for the album cover because he said it looked cooler he was right about that part
I will never forget her debut on Soul Train, and that baseline on I Need Your Lovin, unbelievable.
Thats my choice tina tune
Yes I forgot that I had heard her on "The Train".
i might be wrong but wasn't she on Soul Train with Sucker For Your Love first? She was on with Rick when she did that.
@@gtizzle7606 Good question. I'm not sure. I just remember the hype afterwards.
@@gtizzle7606 Yes
This is not something I expected to see in my YT notifications today, but I'm so grateful that it did.
I just finished having a "Teena Marie Marathon" playing her albums in which I have all of them (vinyl) all except the last which I have on CD 😊and I stumbled on your awesome channel👏🏼Love the content
Don’t know how this video appeared in my timeline, but I LOVE everything about it! I’m a huge Teena Marie fan and my favorite instrument is the bass guitar. I grew up spying on my father play his bass, imitating the greats, in our garage. As a little girl, Teena Marie and the bassist from ‘A Taste of Honey’ made me want to play the bass.
One of my favorite Teena songs is You Make Love Like Springtime along with its reprise. I love the Jaco like bassline. Also, another unsung bassist in my opinion is Gary Granger from Pockets and the Jon Scofield Band in the 80s.
Incredible work-up. Thank you. Allen McGrier is it.
Man I saw her at Jazz Fest in New Orleans years ago. The whole crowd was singing every word to every song. What a performance.
Spot on great licks for sure. When music still had musician's playing together and not just mixed together.
no question - Square Biz - even if all the other ones are also killing. Thank you for that wonderful tutorial with all background information!
Every time I watch one of your videos I learn something about the bass and the musicians that play them. Please keep up the great work. Still Hoping that you do something on the great Slave bassist, Mark Adams.
For sure! Thank you for watching! 🙏🏽
@@pdbass great video, just came across some great bass groove. Check this out you won't regret it
John Scofield live at the North Sea Jazz Festival • 13-07-1986 • World of Jazz
(time 20:16 "Rule of Thumb")
also just as good, 57:04 "The Nag"
Gary Grainger bass,
Rick Sebastian drums
Saw Slave live, Mark Adams= master class.
RIP Mark.
Absolutely! Mark Adams, RIP
His funk lines were so engaging and unique to him! Once Mark Adams starts playing, we all start moving! His bass reproduced out my Cerwin Vega & JBL speakers were undeniably full and authentic! I own All Slave recordings with Mark!
We miss him too.🙏
Man…. I love your channel. Listening to Lady T and her “Sophisticated Funk” is one of the main reasons that I play bass today!!
I knew about Allen , Oscar and Rick James of course.
Between Michael Jackson albums ( Louis Johnson) , Chic ( Bernard Edwards ) , Sade ( Paul S. Denman ) and Lady T albums , this is surely why I favor StingRay basses. 🎶❣️🎵💜✨🎧
Love Lady T!! Lovergirl is my favorite! Saw her in concert before she left us! Won the tickets on the radio station!
Man, how can ya go wrong talking about bass lines from Lady T! And explain it so us non musicians can understand it! Good freakin job dude! Love the knowledge!
Thank you for recognizing all these great bass players too bad the world doesn’t know anything about them but thank you for bringing them out front!!!!!
Definitely "Square Biz"! My favorite bass line out of all of her songs! Not only because of the articulate execution of the thumps and pops, but what I noticed right away is that the bassist was NOT in 440 when he laid down this track, and that's what grabbed me immediately! I have been a fan of that bass line ever since!
I never knew that ostinato had a name. I love metal. When I hear an ostinato, usually in the upper or middle range, it really does something for me. When a song starts with it, flows through the chord progression, and it almost seems to reemerge at the end, ugh... Beautiful...
Ostinatos are one of my favorite things too - finally learned what it was named last year. Feels good, eh?
"I need your Lovin" = her best. I also love Square Biz. She had the Funk . . . No Doubt. The Stingray sounds killer. Great job. Enjoyed-it. This was Necessary. oNe LoVe from NYC
I'm so glad you put Gigalette in there, a very much underrated jam. I play it often with deep bass just to feel it. Great job man, keep up the awesome work!!!!! Bass in your face.
Yes, PDBass! 70s, & 80s were Coming of Age themes of our lives!
So many Great bands. So many Great musicians.
We were very fortunate to have been alive during all those Glorious creative years! It was truly a blessing.🙏
If you ever heard Stanley Clarke and Lenny White jam live together in Funken Universe, would make a believer you were in the right place at the right time! Magical!🙏
Thx for all your vids giving homage to all the great bass players.
I was just reminded here about the late and great Teena Marie! RIP. A multi-talented, multi-instrumentalist. She was amazing. Teena is surely missed.🙏
I’m glad you highlighted Behind the Groove & I Need Your Lovin. 80s R&B was a golden age of great bass lines.
WOW! Outstanding presentation of Tina Marie and the fantastic bass players and bass lines from back in the day!
I love your history of iconic basslines and under mentioned and famous bassists ❤
As a former professional drummer I am very proud of myself because I had picked out the top Tina songs that I thought would be on your list and to my delight they were ALL here!
I love your channel and I love your passion! Thank you very much for this post!
Behind The Groove is my personal favorite. That "Ozone", joint is another fave. Teena did a special performance for the fans before leaving us. Most excellent. Thanks. Peace.
That Ozone joint, Gigolette, is my workout song!!!
After reviewing the the video, a year later, I still agree in my judgement. Thanks PD Bass. 😆
Thank you for letting us know a little about those gentlemen. Teena Marie is one of my favorite singers of all time. The music she gave us and her vocals are amazing.
I love this channel!! Your enthusiasm and 100% musically (and historically), accurate breakdowns and analysis are the best!! Thank you for all that you share with us!
Lady T was & still is ( R.I.P.) one of my favorite Artist/Musician/Singer...
Emerald City-my favorite Album
Work It- & You So Heavy
Lips 2 Find U & Shadow Boxing: Favorite Singles.. well Portuguese Love & Love me down easy...also... And can't forget Ooo La La & Lover Girl.... You know what I just Love Me some she... 😂 Wait Behind the Groove too...
Work It is one of my special songs. Love that tune.
Teena’s music was a big part of my life, such cracking dance tunes. Made you feel alive and certainly ready to groove on the dance floor, with the killer bass playing. Your presentations are always such a joy to watch and listen to 🙏❤️
When I was younger, I used to have friends who knew all the cool shit I hadn't heard. You're filling that void for me now! Thanks!
Man, these are all killer. I notice you continually talk about space. So important. So good.
Square Biz to this day is still my JAM! Thank you so much for your analysis. I always wondered who played the bass on the tracks I love and since we don’t have access liner notes from vinyl records anymore, I really appreciate your research! 🎸✨
Thank you for this video!
i couldn't agree more with your opening statement
Teena Marie was one of those artists that I somehow missed for years until I had to learn SquareBiz for a band I played with for a while. Such a great, fun bass line to chart and learn. Always a good day when you find new, great music.
Love this thank you, more please. Huge fan. Almost got her signed to a record label in the 90’s. Rode in her Jaguar. Priceless.
How did I miss this artist?? I'm digging the heck outta this!!
Teena Marie (The Vanilla Child) was a genius. Check out her "whole discography!
@@juliansevin9109 for sure! I have some catching up to do!
The Bass Line from "Playboy" is still one of my favorite Bass Lines🤘🏿🖤⚘️
My all time favorite singer and Deja vu (I've been here before) is my favorite song!! R.I.P T🫂💞🫂🎵🎵🎶🎶
Great Video, as always! There are so many overlooked bassists: Wayne Braithwaite, Joey Spampinato of NRBQ, Kim Clarke of Defunkt, Nate Phillips of Pleasure, Colin Moulding of XTC, Neil Jason...
Agreed. Wayne Brathwaite is top notch. How about Nigel Martinez.
Don't forget Graham Maby of Joe Jackson's band...
Man just hearing “It Must Be Magic” takes me back to running to a 7-11 & placing my quarters to “get next” on some video game! “Boogie bounce” ABSOLUTELY describes the sound of that time. 🎶
Had no idea about T. Marie being behind Ozone!! And thank you for sharing on Allem McGrier!
A year late to the party on this video, but I was so happy to see Gigolette by Ozone near the top of your list, and I agree, an absolute slap bass hidden gem. For me one of the things that makes it unique from a lot of slap bass lines is that even with the percussive attack, there's still the kind of low-end energy you'd get from playing fingerstyle. I always wondered if maybe he was playing through a sub-harmonic synth pedal or if a similar effect was added during mixing to give it that real deep growl.
embarrassingly this was my first time listening to her songs, but dude, my mind is blown! What a GEM she was, and what a bass influence! 🤯🤯 “first class love” is truely her best, and by far, one of the most funkiest ever.
Pdbass
Maaaaaaan, thank you sooo much for highlighting these unsung heroes.. This is one of the lost gems of knowing the musicians and all those people that were involved would be shown in the credits, and how cool it was to look at and in those albums, even photos, artwork, poetry, musicians at work in the studio. Etc….
Now that we have digital music, and no REAL physical album production, we don’t get to see all of the musicians who helped bring these artworks to life, even for new artists. How sad…
All Great Master Bassist and Monster Basslines. That Behing tge Groove is a Signature
I am so glad that I found and subscribed to your channel. It's filled with great insight, great musical history and great grooves. I'm a fellow Pittsburgher that picked up the bass one year ago at aged 49. Your content is a blessing. Excellent work.
Thanks for watching! 🙏🏽
Dude your insight and analysis is SPOT ON!! I’m gonna go back and listen to all of your videos. That’s amazing Stuff you’re cooking up!
Do Proceed!!
My favorite is 'Out on a limb'. Simply one of the most melodic bass lines I ever heard and a joy to learn/play.
When i first heard Teena Marie 22 days ago in a Duett with Rick James i Was Blown Aways i was Like Wow what Quality R n B Music.
Dang! I always thought TM played her own bass lines. I need to catch up on those liner notes. Good stuff!
Lady T lives on! those bass lines are some of the greatest ever !!!!!!!
Your speech delivery is percussive….and articulate. Seriously, you have an excellent sense of inflection and emphasis to get the importance out of each section of information, allowing the building blocks to support the subject with appropriate heft, while allowing the object its own space and time be its own entity, while also contributing to the bigger picture. Cheers.
I had never even heard of Teena Marie. This video was an eye-opener. Thank you also for the bass clef transcriptions. I'm going to put those into TAB so I can use them more readily, and then proceed to try some of those bass lines. (Just kidding friend. I will suffer through the bass clef in faith that it is indeed worth it.)
This is really great stuff and it's brand new to me so I'm really enjoying it. As far as funk and R&B, before this I knew some Parliament and Curtis Mayfield and that was about it. I don't know if "I can't get enough of your love babe" by Barry White counts but I knew that one too. But this stuff here is pretty cool. I guess it was underground all these years, or I just never found the right radio station.
I think "I need your lovin'" is my favorite. It's kind of robotic in a really pleasant way. It has an 80's sound without being obnoxious. Very nice.
So good to share good stuff. Thanks and God bless.
@pdbass these are my exact fave teena marie bassline. Great tastes in bass. That bottom drives all teenas hits
I love ALL of these songs and have them ALL on Vinyl LPs. This is my first time seeing your videos and I’m digging it!
“I Need Your Loving” is 🔥🔥🔥
“It Must Be Magic” is an absolute favorite of mine! I’m NOT a guitarist (I’m a DJ and played drums most of my life) but love a dope Bass player. Lady T had some of the best grooves!
Fantastic video!! Always thought the bass lines in her songs were insanely underrated
Great video. More people need to hear Teena Marie. My favourite song is portugese love… not the funkiest but it has sooo many elements.
I'm not ashamed that I went looking for Square Biz first. LOL. So many iconic bass lines though! And thanks for the breakdown on all of them though!
I had rhe pleasure to sit and chat with Doug Grisby at my cousin's kitchen table (my cousin played percussion for Lady T for a while). I learned so much from those 5 minutes just chatting.
With you ALL THE WAY on your chosen time line. You always open my eyes, even further, with your thorogh and thoughtful analysis. I hadnt heard Jamerson until you MENTIONED IT. that was nice for me. ❤
Louis Johnson was a very unique bass player and certainly showed a lot of it. I don't really know too much about him in other bands but certainly heard a lot of his skillful techniques in Michael Jackson albums and sounds great 👍 👌
Great list. All Teena Marie songs are bass gems but you forgot one of her greatest songs...365🔥🔥🔥 a great song that showcases how musicians with first class chops come together and make a song great💯 plus it's one of the few times Melvin Franklin did vocals outside of the Temptations.
my early childhood in a nutshell: roller skating, teena marie, chaka, and grandmaster flash.
I've never heard of Teena Marie or any of these bassists. Thank you for the education. Amazing playing too.
Saw an interview with her primary bass player. ❤ nice one. Plus she has a slew of great bassists throughout her album career 🎉
Not a bad for a “young guy.” I think all of my favorite Lady T bass lines are up here though in a different order. “Gigolette” has been my #2 for years, one of my favorite warmup cuts. “Square Biz” is my #1 largely because it was my intro to Teena. Lady T had some awesome bass players at her disposal during her Motown days (I was never a fan of her post-Motown work). I lived in Buffalo long enough to learn about the Rick James legacy, and I can appreciate the deep dive. Keep up the good work, just be careful of the vultures up here who’ll write down everything you say, put in a book and pass it off as THEIR research, and try to SELL this same information back to us.
Man…THIS is a masterclass! You are amazing at dissecting bass lines! Thank you for your videos!!
Never heard of her before. Now I'm on a mission to check out her work 🤩
Thank you for all these amazing insights.
finally....a chennel that covers music that I don't see much coverage of. So many pioneers from the 60s 70s and 80s. Incredible musicians, producers, audio engineers. I mean we know what guitar string and drum sticks the Beatles used on their earliest hits lol. Nice to see the greats from the r&B soul and funk land get their due! Well done.
You dig it 🤩
Lady T. Is one of my favorite Artist. Allan Mcgrier is one my favorite bass player. Tina music and bass lines was always funky.
God this woman could sing. Saw her live In Brooklyn Summer Concert Series in the park in the late 90's. Her voice was relentless.
I kinda knew her name due to several of my favourite musicians, but never actually listened to her stuff. Great recommendation! She seems a bit obscure nowadays, but really worth a few listens.
I was always a Teena Marie fan but had not realized how much the bass was upfront and featured on so many of her songs.
Golden Years in music! I was blessed to be in my prime during those years. Music please... "Behind the Grove"..... LOVE LOVE LOVE everyone sounds and RIP Teena Marie... You were one of the best in my opinion. Plain n simple
I stumbled on your video by mistake,I'm happy I did. I lov the history you give on musical artists, you fill in all the missing pieces to music I hav grown up on.
I LOVED Teena Marie!!! Total LEGEND! Thanks for this list.
Really enjoyed this video. Great song choices from Lady T catalogue.
Awesome video! Square Biz and It Must be Magic are the showstoppers for me, with the most distinctive bass parts... Ooo La La La is another great song of Teena's, not so distinctive in terms of bass but still many cool parts... Great that you're giving these players their props.
thanks! I am a fan of Lady T, and of bassplayers. nice video.
getting to know more and more bassplayers. I agree, why i so little known about mr McGrier? About lots of bassplayers in general.
Hi, I have to say the bass beginning in "I Need Your Lovin" and then many others. I am thrilled to find your channel that discusses one of the most interesting musical topics with samples and explanations behind them. Happily subscribed!
I love the way you give recognition to the bass players behind the scenes. I'm looking at you playing these bass lines and I must say you are an awesome musician. THANKS FOR WHAT YOU DO!!!!
I knew I should dig deeper into Teena Marie bass lines after "I need your lovin" :) Great video, great channel!
Thank you!
Wow! Yes "Lady T" was it for me in my youth, that funky bassline from "Square Biz" was the truth!. Ironically I would unknowingly run into "Allen McGrier" in 2001 backstage at the Hollywood Bowl.
Can't remember how we struck up a conversation about music or basses but I told him that I was bass player also. He said "you know that was me playing bass on Teena Marie's Square Biz."
I was like Really?! Oh Snap! You really through me with that funky jam "Gigolette" by OZONE, I had forgotten about that one. Though I seem to remember OZONE for their more rock / new wave oriented songs like "Lil' Susie" and "Glasses." It is to note however that "Ray C. Woodard" lead singer for OZONE sounded suspiciously like "Brian O'Neal" the lead singer from The Bus Boys on those tracks.
Loooove Teena. Too bad I didn't pay closer attention back in the day.
Fantastic choice of Lady T songs and thank you for shining a light on these great musicians…🤩👌🏾
One of the best contribution on You Tube Music section. Scores, bass lines, bassists' history. Explanation: clear, appassionate, useful. Thanks and bravo!!!!
Great list! Behind the Groove is my number one and Square Biz is my number two.
Excellent video. Her catalog is great. One of my faves is Behind the Groove!