James Jamerson

(Motown's one and only). If one were to write an article on the evolution of soul bass playing in the 1960s, the article would be about one man: Jamerson (it could also be written about one woman: Carole Kay but speculation about what she actually played and why its been kept secret still runs rampant in the bass world).  He influenced Paul McCartney to a great degree. After switching from upright to electric bass, he kept his action (the distance between the string and the neck) very high. This makes the player work harder to hit each note and therefore tends to keep the player from being too "cute" or fancy. Although he apparently was a very strong fingered man and could play as fast as he ever needed, he was one of the best in the world at laying in the pocket, or playing what was most needed to move a song.

John Entwhistle

(The Who) would have to be mentioned as the predecessor of the archetypal progressive rock bass player and to this day is nothing short of outstanding on the instrument.

Jet Harris

There are some unfortunate aspects of having spent my entire life in America.   One of them is that I have heard very little of the Shadows playing.   I am rectifying that now, but any discussion on influential bass players from the 1960s would be incomplete without a nod to The Shadows' Jet Harris.   I've never heard McCartney discuss Harris, but I can hear a lot of Harris' influence in his playing.   More to come on this talented bass player.

Jack Bruce

(Cream/much solo work) was and is a major influence on rock bass playing. He was the first major bass player on the scene whose instrumental work was taken as seriously as the lead instruments in a band. During solos, Cream wouldn't feature just guitarist Eric Clapton, but all three musicians interplaying with one another.

Donald "Duck" Dunn

(Booker T/M.G.s and almost all Memphis records from Redding to Sam & Dave, etc) laid back behind the beat just a little bit along with drummer Al Jackson Jr (a much missed musician) and yet was/is so enthusiastic in his playing. This combination was in contrast to the Motown sound and always seemed perfect for such records as Soul Man, Midnight Hour, Dock of the Bay, Time Is Tight and other such great Memphis hits.

Led Zeppelin's John Paul Jones, Jimi Hendrix's Noel Redding, The Animals Bryan Jones 'Chas' Chandler, the Yardbirds' Paul Samwell-Smith, The Venture's Bob Bogle and Brian Wilson (one of Paul's influences2) all put their stamp, as well, on bass playing in the 1960s.

But it is safe to say that even none of these players had the effect and influence on the musical world as one J. Paul McCartney.

To "Large Scale vs. Small Scale Bass" section