It’s easy to forget about the importance of the bass line, but it’s hard to imagine classics like Back in Black or Another Brick in The Wall without a bass player. The bassist provides so much depth and support to the song, almost keeping the whole song together. But who have been the most influential bass players of all times?

Flea

Perhaps one of the best bass players still around has to be Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. He has developed a unique sound and you can usually know when he is playing in a specific song.

Flea actually has a jazz background and you can see his playing style is deeply influenced by this genre. He also has picked up something from the 1980s punk scene in Los Angeles, which also adds depth to his unique style.

John Entwistle

The Who bass player is magnificent with his riffs. His nicknames the Ox and Thunderfingers are great examples of what John Entwistle does when he plays the bass. In fact, his bass lines are so powerful he was often able to overshadow Pete Townshend’s guitar riffs.

His training on the piano influenced Entwistle’s playing style. He also used to play the French horn before he switched to bass, and we are glad that he did!

Geddy Lee

You can’t but wonder how Geddy Lee manages to do everything, but this member of Rush is somehow able to be a masterful bass player, lead singer and the keyboards player simultaneously! When he has a keyboard part to play, he just uses bass pedals to create the tone.

If you want to learn from the best, then Geddy Lee’s bass playing talent is definitely worth exploring. His style is so intricate it always manages to surprise you.

Paul McCartney

Perhaps our most surprising pick comes in the form of Paul McCartney, who is better known as a songwriter and even guitarist. But he was the bass player in the Beatles and McCartney created some amazing, flawless bass parts.

McCartney is truly one of the most talented musicians of all times. As mentioned, he is known for his guitar skills, but he also briefly played the drums on The White Album in 1968 when Ringo Starr took a short break from the band.

Les Claypool

If you’d have to pick one slap bass player great, it would probably be Less Claypool. He was deeply influenced by Geddy Lee and you can get that Memphis vibe from his playing. Even though you can hear Geddy Lee’s influence in Claypool’s style, it is still very much a unique sound.

His bands Primus and Oysterhead have enjoyed his funky, slap bass sound and his unique sound has added plenty to the brilliant songs, yet crazy songs.

John Paul Jones

The Led Zeppelin mastermind has long been regarded as the greatest session bassists of all time. Not only has he formed the fantastic Led Zeppelin sound with Robert Plant, Jimmy Page and John Bonham, but also he has performed with the likes of Donovan and Cat Stevens.

Although he didn’t make a noise of himself when it came to publicity in Led Zeppelin, the bass lines he created truly transformed the songs. His most recent amazing adventure was the Them Crooked Vultures band with Dave Grohl and Josh Homme.

The above have all shown how important bass players are in a band and how the co-operation between a bass and a guitar can create some fantastic masterpieces. If you check out our guitar video lessons, you can learn how to create the amazing tunes that a good bass player is able to enhance and support.