10 More Bassists Who Built R&B's Greatest Grooves (Part 2)

In Part 2 of the RnB Nocturne bassist series, we go behind the records with ten R&B, funk and jazz-fusion bassists, from Weather Report to Earth, Wind & Fire to James Brown's band. Bassists rarely get the headline. They hold the floor under the singer, the horns and the drums, and when the bass drops out, you hear how much the song was leaning on it. These ten players shaped records you've heard for decades, and some of their stories aren't the ones usually told: a broken club organ, a wah-wah pedal in a Philadelphia studio, a credit sheet that doesn't say who played what. Where the credits are unclear, we say so. THE TEN BASSISTS, IN COUNTDOWN ORDER #10 Alphonso Johnson: Weather Report's bassist on Mysterious Traveller, Tale Spinnin' and Black Market #9 Aaron Mills: Cameo, and the question of who played bass on Word Up! #8 George Porter Jr.: The Meters and the New Orleans funk groove behind "Cissy Strut" #7 Paul Jackson: Herbie Hancock's Headhunters, and the twist behind "Chameleon" #6 Anthony Jackson: "For the Love of Money" and the six-string contrabass guitar #5 Stanley Clarke: from accordion to Return to Forever, and bass as a lead voice #4 Larry Graham: Sly and the Family Stone, and "thumpin' and pluckin'" #3 Louis Johnson: The Brothers Johnson, Quincy Jones and Michael Jackson's Off the Wall #2 Verdine White: Earth, Wind & Fire #1 Bootsy Collins: James Brown's J.B.'s, Parliament-Funkadelic and "the one" CHAPTERS 00:00 Cold open 01:10 #10 Alphonso Johnson 03:25 #9 Aaron Mills 05:35 #8 George Porter Jr. 07:45 #7 Paul Jackson 10:00 #6 Anthony Jackson 12:10 #5 Stanley Clarke 14:20 #4 Larry Graham 16:35 #3 Louis Johnson 18:45 #2 Verdine White 20:45 #1 Bootsy Collins 23:15 Final thoughts If you love the stories behind the records, subscribe to RnB Nocturne and turn on notifications. We go behind the records and into the rooms where they were made. Which bassist do you think deserves more recognition, and who should we cover in Part 3? Tell us in the comments. #rnb #funkbass #musichistory #bassplayers #soulmusic #funk #bootsycollins #larrygraham #VerdineWhite #stanleyclarke #bassist #JamesBrown #MusicDocumentary #RnBNocturne #greatestbassist