The Bass Speaks Different (Musical) Languages (or Dialects, at Least) #2
The Bass Chronicles, Part 3B
SOUL AND FUNK 2
Get Up Offa That Thing, James Brown
Keep On Smilin’, Wet Willie
Play That Funky Music, Wild Cherry
Reggae
Wonderful World, Wonderful People, Jimmy Cliff
Stir it Up, Bob Marley
One Love, Bob Marley
Disco
I wore a “No Disco” shirt in high school, but now (half a century later), I find disco songs have some of the greatest bass lines.
Disco Inferno, The Trammps
Disco Yes, Tom Misch
And I thought Tom Misch was a cowboy!
Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!, Abba
Pop
Time After Time, Cindy Lauper
I Want it That Way, BackstreetBoys
Soak up the Sun, Sheryl Cow
Sister Golden Hair, America
Show Me the Way, Peter Frampton
Country Rock
Heart of Gold, Neil Young
Take it Easy, Eagles
12 Bar Blues
12-bar blues are not to be confused with 12-Saloon-Blues or 12-Tavern-Blues.
Normally heard in songs that are at a juncture between jazz and rock, the 12-bar (saloon, tavern) blues is a chord progression that is very popular. Despite the name, it doesn’t have to be a blues song, it’s just a chord progression (1 for 4, 4 for 2, 1 for 2, 5 for 1, 4 for 1, 1 for 2 with turnaround). Here are just a few of the songs you may be familiar with that use the 12-bar blues progression across various genres:
Wipeout, Surfin’ Safaris
You would be forgiven for not knowing this is a 12-bar-blues, as attention is normally focused on the drums.
Shinkicker-esque boogie, Me, Rory Gallagher/Gerry McAvoy-inspired
This riff is my own, but inspired by the Rory Gallagher song Shinkicker and bassist Gerry McAvoy’s playing on it
Papa's Got a Brand New Bag, James Brown
This is not a brown bag 12-bar-blues; only the really astute would recognize it as such
Green Onions, Booker T & the MGs
This is the song that made me a Booker T & the MGs fan back in the decade
Batman Theme
1966, 3rd grade in Eureka, California. Our class was instructed to go to the music room to hear a concert of piano music. I was not enthused and, expecting to be bored, dragged myself there despondently and collapsed into a chair. But then the man who was to put on the show for us looked over at us, gave us a wry grin, turned to his piano, and started off the concerto by pounding away playing the Batman theme; we all livened up and rewarded him with joyful outcries followed by a sitting ovation. My impression was that some of the teachers seemed a little scandalized and discouraged by the “scene” he caused. The guest pianist must have thereafter settled down into what was expected of him, though, because I don’t remember a thing about the rest of the show.
Where would music be without the bass? After all, as Meghan Trainor made clear, it’s All About the Bass!