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BIZARRE: 2 - What They Never Told You

“Eric was a bit taken aback”: When Jack Bruce radically reworked Cream hits to Eric Clapton’s surprise – and that time Marvin Gaye asked him to join his band

Some people believe rock ’n’ roll should never leave the cozy three-chord confines of the garage – and then there’s Jack Bruce

Guitar World

“I’d cover the strings in cheeseburger grease, barbecue sauce – even blood. I didn’t want the bass to sound like a friggin’ guitar!” Crosby, Stills & Nash’s 1969 debut took bassist Stephen Stills on an unlikely tone journey

Nicknamed Captain Manyhands, Stephen Stills ranks among pop music’s finest unsung bass talents

Guitar World

"He became just my hero, really": Paul McCartney's bass idol, 'incomparable' Motown session giant James Jamerson

We celebrate one of the greatest of them all

MusicRadar

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“Be yourself and play what moves you. James Jamerson said it best: ‘If you don’t feel it, don’t play it’”: Parlor Greens’ Jimmy James is putting the soul back into guitar, groove by groove

With his inspired new trio, Seattle guitarist Jimmy James digs deep into Meters-style funk, rocking his Silvertone and making the world a better place

Guitar World

“Technical bass players might be able to spell it out in print, but if the pocket isn’t there, it’s just dots on paper”: The Meters’ George Porter Jr on surviving Hurricane Katrina, the subtleties of New Orleans funk and his unusual slap style

According to George Porter Jr., his job as a bassist is to tie the groove and the rhythm together

Guitar World

“My hand was starting to swell up and blood was coming out of my ears. If I hadn't worked on that stuff, there's no way I could have done it”: Basil Fearrington breaks down his bassline on Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway’s Back Together Again

Basil Fearrington tracked with a custom Carl Thompson that had become “almost impossible to play”

Guitar World

“Shania Twain got me into alternate tunings. I use them a lot on gigs now, and they’ve seeped into my solo stuff”: What session bass supremo Derek Frank learned from playing with pop’s A-listers – and how he brings it to his own music

Serving the songs of Shakira, Gwen Stefani and Orianthi doesn’t mean the bass journeyman can’t bring a bit of Rocco Prestia, James Jamerson and Pino Palladino to proceedings

Guitar World

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“Jamerson pushed the intercom button and said, ‘Not bad for a white chick!’” How Suzi Quatro cut her teeth on Motown hit-maker James Jamerson

Suzi Quatro’s soul and Motown-influenced rock bass playing made her a huge star throughout the 1970s and beyond

Guitar World

“Dad would never touch the gunk that had built up on the fingerboard. He told me, ‘The dirt keeps the funk’”: Inside the sound and style of Motown master James Jamerson

Five top low-enders with links to the bass great dissect the James Jamerson style

Guitar World

“Playing with a pick is not something you learn over the weekend. It requires the same commitment as learning to play upright bass with a bow”: Listen to Anthony Jackson’s landmark bassline on the O’Jay’s For the Love of Money

Anthony Jackson’s use of a pick and phase shifter was famously first heard on the O’Jays’ 1973 hit

Guitar World

“I think Sgt Pepper was a ‘prize period’ when I was playing my best bass”: Paul McCartney’s 10 best basslines with The Beatles

Paul McCartney is, to state the obvious, a bass guitar legend – and these are his 10 best basslines

Guitar World

10 of the best love songs to test your hi-fi system

We all like Valentine’s Day, but if hi-fi is your one and only, then this list is for you.

What Hi-Fi?

The 20 greatest bass solos of all time – from the fastest ‘lead bass guitarist’ to the only bass solo James Jamerson ever recorded

We count down moments of bass guitar genius from Tal Wilkenfeld, Flea, Victor Wooten, John Myung and many more

Guitar World

Paul McCartney on bass: "When we met Elvis, I was like, ‘You’re trying to learn bass, are you, son? Sit down, let me show you a few things’"

Classic 1994 interview: "Once I got over the fact that I was lumbered with it, I did get quite proud to be a bass player"

MusicRadar

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Guitar World

“All these older blues players would come to Detroit to play local clubs. I was too young to get in, so I’d cut my hair short and glue a mustache on my face”: Tony Newton on playing with Gary Moore, Allan Holdsworth, and holding down the pocket at Motown

A blues, fusion, and studio veteran, Tony Newton is a low-end titan who has covered incredible stylistic ground over the decades, but to him, it's all about simplicity. He recalls the lessons James Jamerson taught him, his experiences playing with guitar legends John Lee Hooker and T-Bone Walker, and what…

Guitar World

“Marvin Gaye was used to hearing James Jamerson, so he had me overdub a second bass part to fill out the original track”: An untold story from Motown’s Studio A. How Bob Babbitt's '65 P-Bass drove Marvin Gaye’s Inner City Blues

By 1971, James Jamerson’s demons had started to affect his consistency, so Bob Babbitt was called for this Motown classic

Guitar World

“It’s hard to think who the greatest bass players are. You could say Flea, but he doesn’t need the plug!” Jack Bruce on the bass players that shaped his sound

Back in 2010, we asked Cream bassist Jack Bruce to nominate five albums that influenced his bass playing

Guitar World

For decades no-one even knew his name. This month, James Jamerson will have a street named after him

How James Jamerson became a bass guitar hero: with tributes from Jack Bruce, Suzi Quatro and Paul McCartney

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Guitar World

“That incredible musicality James Jamerson would bring to his parts – nobody wants to hear that today”: Duran Duran bass legend John Taylor on why music is becoming simpler

The British bass player says pop music has lost its complexity – and he understands why

MusicRadar

"Nobody wants to hear that today" – has the musicianship in contemporary pop music become too simplistic? Duran Duran's John Taylor weighs in

Does the hectic internet age demand more accessible chart music?

MusicRadar

Paul McCartney on bass: "When we met Elvis, I was like, ‘You’re trying to learn bass, are you, son? Sit down, let me show you a few things’"

Classic 1994 interview: "Once I got over the fact that I was lumbered with it, I did get quite proud to be a bass player"

Guitar World

“Like James Jamerson, Tommy Cogbill was a take-charge guy in the studio”: Inside the recording of Son of a Preacher Man

Why Dusty Springfield’s mega hit was indebted to bassist Tommy Cogbill

Guitar World

Did Paul McCartney overplay on this Beatles’ Abbey Road hit? Listen to the isolated bassline on Something

“I don’t think George was too pleased with what I did with the bassline on Something; I mean, I had to sell it to him!”

Guitar World

Nate Watts picks his top 5 Stevie Wonder basslines

Stevie’s long-serving bassist names his 5 favorite bass grooves, and the James Jamerson line that helped get him the gig

Guitar World

Snarky Puppy's Michael League: “I’m a 4-string guy. I just play better when I have less to work with”

The Snarky Puppy bassist on his bass collection – and where he stands on the 4-string vs 5-string debate

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