I was the bass player

I didn’t study to be a bass player. I didn’t play the stand up bass or ever use a bow. 

I started my string plunking on a uke and then a banjo and then a tenor guitar, all with 4-strings. 

When ‘the band’ was formed, I had a 6-string electric guitar but was still learning chords. Since the other two guitar players could play better, I was assigned to play the ‘bass’ parts. 

What we were interesting in covering were the early English Invasion bands, which had easy ‘bass’ parts. A plastic pick and using the lowest four strings I learned to plunk along to the chords. No runs or fancy parts but keeping the beat with the bass drum.

I had heard country music bass patterns of E-A-E-A plunk back and forth from a stand up bass. I had heard the background bass players for the folk music but it was basically the same thing. The simple rock and roll songs we covered were pretty much the same so I just left the top two strings on the guitar alone. 

Then someone got me an electric bass guitar. 

It was bigger and heavier and had a neck that went off forever. The strings were huge and thick so it was a learning curve. I was still using a pick but got a heavy duty to plunk the wires. There was no thought of using fingers or slaps or runs. 

Then the band got horns. With the horns came rhythm and blues. With the r&b came dance tunes and suddenly I was listening to James Jamerson, Duck Dunn, Bootsy Collins, Carol Kaye and even John Entwistle got my attention.

At the same time, the band got a new drummer. 

Instead of playing little hoppy poppy songs of three chords and a bridge, this music had a groove and the whole band had to work together to make it work. 

Learned lots of dance moves at the same time. 

Still the bass player is the guy in the back next to the riser for the drummer. The bass player lives in the shadows and unless you are Paul McCartney or Geddy Lee or Sting, you will be forgotten.

I finally got my chops down on the 6-string guitar but kept the bass close. 

Any music I listen to today, I fill in the bass riffs in my head. If the song ain’t got no bottom, I pass it by.