There is a video of the Stones recording sympathy for the devil and there is another guy playing the bass ... some black guy playing a fender bass ... and I know they didn't have a black bass player until many years later ... now maybe I'm wrong on this but I don't think so ... actually it was very common back then for studio musicians to lay down some of the tracks ... and then the band would play them live ...
Also those are not drawings ... that is a modified photo taken into photoshop and made to look hand drawn ...
and I am reluctant to admit that I have played a few monkee songs ...
Who were/are you main influences on bass?
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jwr2
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ricnvolved
Bob Young-- You're absolutely correct about Keith playing bass on a few selected tracks ("Live with Me" from the "Let It Bleed" album comes to mind, *AND* the original studio recording of "Jumpin' Jack Flash". How many of you knew *THAT* little tidbit? There were some others that I can't remember right offhand.) I was also aware of Mick Taylor playing bass on a few tracks, especially on "Exile on Main Street", and I'm sure Ron Wood has probably done the same during his tenure. Yes, Ron Wood is a helluva bass player. And speaking of "Exile on Main Street", it seems there was some guy who played a stand-up on "Turd on the Run" and perhaps Mick Taylor playing electric bass during that song also.
But aside from these instances, I'm not aware of any actual *studio musicians* who played bass on any of the final recorded releases during what I consider to be the band's Golden Age. Dave Westheimer would appear to be the resident Bill Wyman expert here and it would be highly interesting for him to post his thoughts about this. Until someone presents some pretty conclusive evidence to the contrary, I remain highly skeptical.
As for the black bass player Jeff Rath mentions, if the film clip he saw was from 1968 I can only make the following speculation. Perhaps this guy was temporarily covering on bass while Wyman was testing out some ideas for percussion on "Sympathy for the Devil". That song is loaded with a full percussion arrangement and Brian Jones, who normally handled most of the percussion stuff, had pretty much turned into a walking zombie at this point. Whether the assignment was spoken or not, Wyman may have felt the need to pick up Brian's slack in the percussion department. No other explanation comes to mind at the moment.
But aside from these instances, I'm not aware of any actual *studio musicians* who played bass on any of the final recorded releases during what I consider to be the band's Golden Age. Dave Westheimer would appear to be the resident Bill Wyman expert here and it would be highly interesting for him to post his thoughts about this. Until someone presents some pretty conclusive evidence to the contrary, I remain highly skeptical.
As for the black bass player Jeff Rath mentions, if the film clip he saw was from 1968 I can only make the following speculation. Perhaps this guy was temporarily covering on bass while Wyman was testing out some ideas for percussion on "Sympathy for the Devil". That song is loaded with a full percussion arrangement and Brian Jones, who normally handled most of the percussion stuff, had pretty much turned into a walking zombie at this point. Whether the assignment was spoken or not, Wyman may have felt the need to pick up Brian's slack in the percussion department. No other explanation comes to mind at the moment.
I'm a long way from being a Wyman or Stones expert, really.
Here's a link to the '98 interview in BP: http://archive.bassplayer.com/z1998/9805/wyman.shtml
When I said that Wyman played bass on all the albums, I didn't mean on every track. But the Stones' sessions are well documented. Keef played bass on Sympathy for the Devil, while Bill played the maracas. Keef also played bass on Let's Spend The Night Together and bowed the upright on Ruby Tuesday while Bill fingered the notes.
The Stones did re-record some of their earlier stuff a few years back, I'm not sure which songs, but could the video be from those sessions?
Here's a link to the '98 interview in BP: http://archive.bassplayer.com/z1998/9805/wyman.shtml
When I said that Wyman played bass on all the albums, I didn't mean on every track. But the Stones' sessions are well documented. Keef played bass on Sympathy for the Devil, while Bill played the maracas. Keef also played bass on Let's Spend The Night Together and bowed the upright on Ruby Tuesday while Bill fingered the notes.
The Stones did re-record some of their earlier stuff a few years back, I'm not sure which songs, but could the video be from those sessions?
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jwr2
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shamustwin
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What a great interview with Bill wyman, coincidently I heard Otis Readings version of "Satisfaction" today for the first time in years before I read this article and it is a great version.
This is probably a stupid question, but what is flatpicked? I always thought that meant a regular pick, and Bill always used his fingers didn't he? And obviously he didn't start on upright as I had thought.
This is probably a stupid question, but what is flatpicked? I always thought that meant a regular pick, and Bill always used his fingers didn't he? And obviously he didn't start on upright as I had thought.
I read somewhere that Bill said he got his gig with the Stones because he was the only player they tried out that actually owned a bass amp. I guess electric bass gear was really rare in England in those days.
I have no specific main influence on bass, but I do have a specific WORST influence. It was the bass player from the Indian rock group Redbone back in '75. The band had recently gotten out of jail in Seward or Kenai for public intoxication and were doing a concert in Anchorage. All the band seemed to be Indians with long hair except for the bass player who looked white and had very short hair. He must have been stoned out of his head still yet because I doubt that he played more than 4 different notes on the bass during the whole concert. His hand mostly stayed in the same place on the neck and he might play the same note for 20 beats. The worst bar band I ever heard in an Anchorage nightclub was better than these guys, and they had a couple of albums out and a big hit single called "Come and Get Your Love", which they also managed to do in a completely screwed up manner. Thankfully, the concert didn't last long and it was far and away the worst one I ever paid to see. Really, just about any sober person with two weeks of practice and no previous experience could have done better than that bass player. He may not have even been a member of the band as it would seem likely judging by the rest of the band that the regular bass player could still be in jail somewhere along the way and they just had to grab somebody to do the gig. There were more than a few people that got up and left after a few songs. I do remember the ticket price being rather low, so that should have warned me in advance. I also remember the news report of them getting thrown into jail a few days before the concert.
There is no way Bill Wyman or the most zonked out Rolling Stones member during any concert they ever did could have been more "musically naive" than that Redbone bunch on that night. Imagine an Alzheimers band at a rock 'n' roll nursing home, and you get the picture. They have thankfully passed into Oblivion, and if you bothered to call there, they are probably in jail there as well.
I have no specific main influence on bass, but I do have a specific WORST influence. It was the bass player from the Indian rock group Redbone back in '75. The band had recently gotten out of jail in Seward or Kenai for public intoxication and were doing a concert in Anchorage. All the band seemed to be Indians with long hair except for the bass player who looked white and had very short hair. He must have been stoned out of his head still yet because I doubt that he played more than 4 different notes on the bass during the whole concert. His hand mostly stayed in the same place on the neck and he might play the same note for 20 beats. The worst bar band I ever heard in an Anchorage nightclub was better than these guys, and they had a couple of albums out and a big hit single called "Come and Get Your Love", which they also managed to do in a completely screwed up manner. Thankfully, the concert didn't last long and it was far and away the worst one I ever paid to see. Really, just about any sober person with two weeks of practice and no previous experience could have done better than that bass player. He may not have even been a member of the band as it would seem likely judging by the rest of the band that the regular bass player could still be in jail somewhere along the way and they just had to grab somebody to do the gig. There were more than a few people that got up and left after a few songs. I do remember the ticket price being rather low, so that should have warned me in advance. I also remember the news report of them getting thrown into jail a few days before the concert.
There is no way Bill Wyman or the most zonked out Rolling Stones member during any concert they ever did could have been more "musically naive" than that Redbone bunch on that night. Imagine an Alzheimers band at a rock 'n' roll nursing home, and you get the picture. They have thankfully passed into Oblivion, and if you bothered to call there, they are probably in jail there as well.
I thought on the record anyway that the bass player was pretty good, a little busy maybe but funky. I remember seeing his bass, it was a Fender wuth a couple of extra pickups. Maybe the real one was in jail, haha. Of course then again I remember that gig I did in 1973...... where the heck did that Hofner bass come from anyway? And why was I strumming it like Danny Partridge?