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THE TRUTH ABOUT: 2 | History Defined

“I couldn't afford a real bass guitar, so I just tuned the strings down on a Telecaster”: How Geezer Butler went from playing bass on a guitar to the ominous riff that defined one of Black Sabbath’s darkest moments

Geezer Butler’s iconic bassline announces this tune from the classic 1970 LP Paranoid

Guitar World

“I was attracted to melodic bass players like Carol Kaye. Why should a rock bassist play dumb notes all the time?” How Tony Visconti rethought rock bass for David Bowie’s The Man Who Sold the World

The legendary producer revisits his ground-shaking bass work on Bowie’s 1970 breakthrough album

Guitar World

“I’m the first bass player to ever MD a stadium tour like this. We make history every night”: As Musical Director for Kendrick Lamar, Tony Russell could be the greatest bass player you've never heard of

He’s played with Usher, Jamie Foxx, P. Diddy, and Jay-Z – is Tony ‘Chicago’ Russell the best-kept secret in bass?

Guitar World

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“Never in a million years did I think that doing those once-a-month Friends sessions would turn into the highest-paying gig I've ever had”: Elton John bassist Matt Bissonnette looks back on one of his best gigs – playing on the Friends soundtrack

Despite playing with bona fide stars, Bissonnette reveals that playing on the hit show was his most lucrative gig

Guitar World

“I lost everything – the only thing I held onto was my Fender Jazz Bass”: How Tommy Shannon broke a 7-year cycle of jail and halfway houses to record his most famous bassline with Stevie Ray Vaughan

Shannon played an Olympic White 1962 Jazz Bass tuned down a half-step to match Vaughan's Eb tuning

Guitar World

“I remember when Led Zeppelin II came out and hearing The Lemon Song. That bass solo is one of my favorite bass parts ever”: Why The Lemon Song is John Paul Jones’ finest moment in Led Zeppelin

The third cut from 1969's Led Zeppelin IIis considered the peak of John Paul Jones’ melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic brilliance

Guitar World

“Metallica is nearly equal to Ozzy in terms of the respect factor – not all the way, but nearly”: When Jason Newsted swapped bands with Robert Trujillo

Why Jason Newsted got the call from Ozzy – and what lay in store for Robert Trujillo, who signed with Newsted’s old band, Metallica

Guitar World

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“When I played with Jason Newsted, I knew he was the one. Not that Robert Trujillo is a bad bass player, but Jason just has this edge”: In March 2003, Ozzy Osbourne introduced the world to his new bassist

Earplugged journalists from MTV News, CNN, and ABC News, gathered to hear Jason Newsted turn out alongside Ozzy, Zakk Wylde and Mike Bordin

Guitar World

“Cliff played guitar as well as bass – I picked up a few things from him that ended up on Master of Puppets”: Before Robert Trujillo and Jason Newsted, Cliff Burton set the musical bar for Metallica and established an indelible legacy

Cliff Burton’s playing style may have been an offbeat fit for the cutting-edge thrash of Metallica, but it worked perfectly

Guitar World

“I just went nuts and added lots of parallel distortion!” Thunderstruck on bass? With slapping and tapping? Modern-day bass hero Toby Peterson-Stewart flexes his formidable chops in tribute to AC/DC

From parallel distortion to cutting-edge tapping, Toby Peterson-Stewart breaks down some of the highlights from his latest cover

Guitar World

“He got really upset and ran off down the street. He turned the corner, and I never saw him again”: Jack Bruce’s final encounter with Jaco Pastorius

According to his brother, Rory Pastorius, Jaco was influenced by the late Cream bassist’s midrange sound and aggressive lead style

Guitar World

“If we played a two-hour show, the blood would be dripping down the bass!” Nile Rodgers on what made Bernard Edwards a bass genius – and the making of some iconic 4-string moments

With Chic, Bernard Edwards delivered some of the most infectious basslines of all time

Guitar World

“We were all ready to become millionaires after a couple of years... He was great at that age. I couldn’t believe it”: How Gary Moore came to join Skid Row at just 15 years old – and why the guitar legend left

Brush Shiels, bassist with the Irish blues rock band, explains why despite two albums plus prestigious support tours with The Allman Brothers Band and Mountain under their belt – Moore still decided to leave

Guitar World

“If you’re a bass player in a rock band, you are by definition a moron”: As Frank Zappa’s bassist, Scott Thunes rose to legend status, then turned his back on it all

The bass enigma delivers the inside track on Zappa’s genius and why bass players need to know their place

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Guitar World

“Bass players aren't supposed to have ideas. If you're a bass player in a rock band, you are by definition a moron”: He was Zappa’s bassist and remains a low-end enigma – but Scott Thunes has never held back on his opinions

Scott Thunes blazed a unique trail with Frank Zappa – but maintains solo bass is a complete no-no

Guitar World

“Keep your mind on the music. I never thought of myself as a ‘woman’ musician at all, but a guitarist and then a bass player”: Studio bass icon Carol Kaye on why it is not about who you are, but how and what you play that defines you as a musician

As one of L.A.’s top studio musicians during the ‘60s, Carol Kaye’s credits rival anyone's. In this classic 2009 interview, she talks influences, teaching, and how she feels about being a role model

Guitar World

“Paul Simon called Stax and said, ‘Who are those Jamaican musicians?’ They told him, ‘Those are some white boys from Alabama!’” David Hood on being starstruck by Aretha Franklin, what Otis Redding taught him, and tales from golden age of Muscle Shoals

In this interview from the Bass Player archive, Hood reflects on his career as a ‘Swamper’, playing on hits by Paul Simon, the Staple Singers Aretha Franklin and more

Guitar World

“I left without a penny to my name. I was bitter for a while, but I’ve got a great legacy”: Though Pete Quaife gets credit for jumpstarting the Kinks bass chair, John Dalton and Jim Rodford pushed the band forward on many of their classic albums

From the powerful bass tone on You Really Got Me to 1979’s Low Budget, smart low-end was a key ingredient of the Kinks sound

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“I said, ‘If I could have it my way it would sound like this,’ and I pulled the bass guitar out of the mix”: Why Prince removed the bassline from When Doves Cry

From the beginning, Prince had an inkling that Purple Rain’s landmark single would be better without bass guitar

Guitar World

“I asked him to get me four bass strings because I only had a $29 guitar from Sears”: Bootsy Collins is one of the all-time bass greats, but he started out on guitar. Here’s the sole reason why he switched

Before he became ‘the’ Bootsy Collins, William Collins was a young guitarist who desperately wanted to join his brother's band

Guitar World

“I said, ‘If I could have it my way it would sound like this,’ and I pulled the bass guitar out of the mix”: Why Prince stripped the bassline from one of his biggest hits

From the beginning, Prince had an inkling that Purple Rain’s landmark single would be better without bass guitar

Guitar World

“He fined me 50 bucks and fired me, even though I didn’t mess up”: The bassists of James Brown reveal what life was really like playing alongside the Godfather of Soul

Fred Thomas, Ray Brundidge and Bootsy Collins dig into what it meant to play with Soul Band No. 1

Guitar World

“The bass is the instrument you need to play the longest to become truly funky”: 20 funk bass legends who took low-end groove to new heights

A rundown of the best funk bass players of all time, featuring the trailblazers, the early innovators, and the monster groovers around today

Guitar World

“There’s an art to simplicity, and Jason Newsted brought that art. Cliff Burton was more aggressive, and a busier player”: The bassists of Metallica

From Ron McGovney to Robert Trujillo, we trace the evolution of Metallica’s low-end sound

Guitar World

“The six-string bass guitar was a dream – if Leo Fender could come back today I think he would approve”: 10 6-string bassists you need to know

From John Myung to Felix Pastorius to Thundercat, we follow their historic quest for the ultimate extended-range axe

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