Bass part originally played by Paul McCartney. He wrote the song in C major, and the piano and harmonium parts were recorded thus. Further overdubs were recorded onto a slightly slowed-down tape, resulting in B major at 435 Hz. In later live shows during his solo career Paul would play it in C again.
Find the complete song on YouTube. The sheet music is available through my website.
Bass part originally played by Leland Sklar. I didn’t know until recently that he played on a Robbie Williams track. It was a late addition to the album and quite the spontaneous recording session, featuring other session musician greats such as Steve Ferrone on drums and Waddy Wachtel on guitar, as well as Rose Stone on vocals.
Find the complete song on YouTube. The sheet music is available through my website.
Bass part originally played by Tony Kanal, obviously. The chord sequence of the chorus must be one of the most beautifully sad there is.
Find the complete song on YouTube. The sheet music is available through my website.
Bass part originally played by Sting. He plucks mainly with his thumb, alternating with either his index or middle finger for the sixteenth notes. He also often frets the E string with the thumb of his fretting hand.
Find the complete song on YouTube. The sheet music is available through my website.
Bass part originally played by Stuart Zender. Amazingly, this seems to have been recorded without a click track, but with a rock-solid tempo. Hats off to drummer Derrick McKenzie. It’s only from the post-chorus onwards that there is a slight variation and increase in tempo.
Find the complete song on YouTube. The sheet music is available through my website.
Bass part originally played by Randy Hope-Taylor. It is very possible that he did not use those open strings in the chromatic runs in the chorus. He might have also played a 5-string, making the last two notes of the chorus easier to reach on the B string.
Find the complete song on YouTube. The sheet music is available through my website.
Bass part originally played by Francis Rocco Prestia. As always, he frets almost every note (other than when playing fifths or octaves) with either the index or middle finger and shifts his fretting hand a lot. He uses the remaining fingers of his fretting hand to constantly mute the notes, but my little finger is very short, so I can’t achieve quite the same level of muting. Apologies.
Find the complete song on YouTube. The sheet music is available through my website.
Bass part originally played by James Jamerson. This is a great example of him using open strings for a change of position of his fretting hand and using them as practically ghost notes while raking across the strings with his plucking hand to get to a lower note.
Find the complete song on YouTube. The sheet music is available through my website.
Bass part originally played by James Jamerson. Much has been said about his sound and style: plucking with just his index finger (“The Hook”), the Precision Bass with flatwound strings and high action, the foam mute at the bridge, the chromatic runs and frequent use of open strings etc. But rarely have I seen mentioned what is absolutely essential, at least in this tune: due to his right hand playing position with the middle, ring, and little finger resting on the pickup cover, his thumb was floating above the strings, making it very easy for him to mute the lower open strings with it.
Find the complete song on YouTube. The sheet music is available through my website.
Bass part originally played by Charles Larkey. This might be the most involved bassline of Carole King’s catalogue. The album was the first of two that saw the addition of session guitarist legend David T. Walker and drummer Harvey Mason, who would go on to play with Herbie Hancock & The Headhunters, to her band.
Find the complete song on YouTube. The sheet music is available through my website.
Bass part originally played by Leland Sklar, with wonderfully melodious basslines, but not afraid to leave space where needed.
Find the complete song on YouTube. The sheet music is available through my website.
Bass part originally played by Tony Levin. A very thought-out approach by him here, playing the exact same bass fills in both choruses.
Find the complete song on YouTube. The sheet music is available through my website.
Bass part originally played by John Deacon. I’ve always loved the slide up to the high octave at the end of the first chorus. So simple, yet so effective.
Find the complete song on YouTube. The sheet music is available through my website.
Bass part originally played by Dee Murray. The bass part from the second chorus was copied over the actual take in the fourth chorus for a couple measures. Otherwise it appears to have been a one-take recording.
Find the complete song on YouTube. The sheet music is available through my website.
Bass part originally played by Mike Rutherford. Wonderfully melodic, it complements the harmonically complex, yet effortless music. Truly masterfully written.
Find the complete song on YouTube. The sheet music is available through my website.
Bass part originally played by Leland Sklar. He recorded the bass part with an octaver. On the tour accompanying the album he also played it this way, but ditched the octaver on later tours and played an octave lower instead.
Find the complete song on YouTube. The sheet music is available through my website.
Bass part originally played by Brody Brown. I post a lot of music from the 70s, but the best song of this millennium (so far) can’t be missing, obviously. Contains some of the most elegant bass licks I’ve ever played.
Find the complete song on YouTube. The sheet music is available through my website.
Bass part originally played by Ronald LaPread, who passed away a few days ago, as I have just found out. He began writing this song a couple of days after his wife Kathy Faye was diagnosed with terminal cancer. You can feel all the emotion poured into this song. I certainly could, recording this. Find the complete song on YouTube. The sheet music is available through my website.
Bass part originally played by Aston “Family Man” Barrett. Although he is known for playing a Jazz Bass, there exists rehearsal footage of this song where he can be seen playing a Precision Bass. It is unclear which one he used in the studio. Find the complete song on YouTube. The sheet music is available through my website.
Bass part originally played by Hamish Stuart, playing with a pick as he predominantly does. He shared lead vocal, guitar, and bass duties with Alan Gorrie in the Average White Band. Find the complete song on YouTube. The sheet music is available through my website.