It seems like, next to dedicated vocalists, the musicians who most often handle the(lead)vocal duties are the bass players. For my money, the following are head and shoulders above the rest:
John Gustafson
Mont Campbell
Steve Gould
Jack Bruce
John Entwistle(RIP)
What say you? And please, no backup/harmony vocals need apply here, this is strictly for the bassplayers who are the primary lead vocalist for their group.
Greg Lake
Richard Sinclair
Randy Monaco
John Greaves
Helmut Koellen
Burke Shelley
John Gustafson
Aldo Tagliapietra
"and what music unites, man should not take apart"-Helmut Koellen
John Wetton hands down.
Do not suffer through the game of chance that plays....always doors to lock away your dreams (To Be Over)
Timothy B. Schmidt
Sting
Paul McCartney
Nick Beggs (Kaja/Kajagoogoo)
Andy McClusky (OMD)
Aimee Mann (Til Tuesday)
Richard Page (Mr Mister)
Tony Lewis (The Outfield)
Mike Mills (R.E.M.)
Ben Orr (The Cars)
Ronnie James Dio (Elf)
Kip Winger (yes, he can sing - although I don't care for his music or bass playing)
John Wetton
Peter Cetera
Jack Blades ( if he plays bass the way he did in Rubicon)
EDIT:
I forgot to mention
Phil Lynott (Thin Lizzy)
Graham Gouldman (10cc)
Bud Cockrell (Pablo Cruise)
Last edited by klothos; 02-24-2014 at 08:32 PM.
Mont Campbell
Jack Bruce
Richard Sinclair
John Wetton
Greg Lake
Lemmy
Sting
Not so much
Geddy Lee
Roger Waters
Added Lemmy & Sting after seeing posts after my original one.
Last edited by NogbadTheBad; 02-24-2014 at 08:12 PM.
Ian
Host of the Post-Avant Jazzcore Happy Hour on progrock.com
https://podcasts.progrock.com/post-a...re-happy-hour/
Gordon Haskell - "You've got to keep the groove in your head and play a load of bollocks instead"
I blame Wynton, what was the question?
There are only 10 types of people in the World, those who understand binary and those that don't.
John Wetton
Greg Lake
Geddy Lee
Sting
...off the top of my head.
Reading some others here, Richard Page is a good one!
Music isn't about chops, or even about talent - it's about sound and the way that sound communicates to people. Mike Keneally
Paul McCartney
John Wetton
Greg Lake
Roger Waters
Boz
Lemmy
Check out my solo project prog band, Mutiny in Jonestown at https://mutinyinjonestown.bandcamp.com/
Check out my solo project progressive doom metal band, WytchCrypt at https://wytchcrypt.bandcamp.com/
Had to read this thread twice because I couldn't believe the absence of Chris Squire.
Kasim Sulton's pretty good with the right song, although he has the odd glitch (eg 'The Martyr' from Oops! Wrong Planet).
Greg Lake and Roger Waters waver between great and terrible.
Aldo Tagliapietra is #1 imo.
Jack Bruce, Macca, Wetton & Sting tied for #2.
I'd also definitely name Jesse Colin Young, but he (in the studio anyway) played both bass & guitar after Jerry Corbitt left the Youngbloods.
"My choice early in life was either to be a piano player in a whorehouse or a politician, and to tell the truth, there's hardly any difference"
President Harry S. Truman
Completely disagree about Waters.Originally Posted by Luckie
Great songwriter, etc., but I'd never call him a "best" singer or bassist. Mediocre, at best, at both.
Music isn't about chops, or even about talent - it's about sound and the way that sound communicates to people. Mike Keneally
The OP asked for (opinions of) "Best Singing Bassists'.....Often, people tend to confuse "Favorite" (biased) and "Best" (unbiased) in which a Favorite List of any topic can drastically differ from my Best List of any topic. Chris Squire, Greg Lake, and Geddy Lee are amongst my favorites but I dont think any are the "best".
Also - the OP asked for "Singing Bassists" which drastically differs from "Vocalist/Bassists" (Lemmy is a great vocalist, but a great singer?!? Yeeesh)
+1
Perfect example of someone on my "Favorite List" but nowhere close to my "Best List"
Jimmy Dewar
Jack Bruce
Steve Gould
Gordon Haskell
Alan Gorrie
Last edited by mogrooves; 02-24-2014 at 09:54 PM.
Hell, they ain't even old-timey ! - Homer Stokes
What about Dug Pinnik from Kings X.
I wasn't a million miles away from describing RW as mediocre myself; I certainly wasn't saying he was "best". But I do think he's great in Shine On You Crazy Diamond (singing and playing), for instance, although I'm well aware of the low points elsewhere.
good one
i forgot him
I'd add Graham Gouldman.
Slam Stewart
Esperanza Spalding
NOT a lead singer. See original requirements.
Gorrie for sure. Forgot about Haskell, but, yeah, he belongs.
John Entwistle
Chris Squire
Ace Frehley (ok, I'm being slightly facetious on this one, but Ace did play a pretty mean bass line on Torpedo Girl)
Paul McCartney
Gary Thain (maybe not a lead vocalist, but he did great vocal harmonies with Uriah Heep)
Phil Lynott (also one of the best lyricists in rock)
Peter Cetera (before he hijacked Chicago and turned them into a bunch of pussies)
Steve Kilbey
Great call that I forgot to include!
"My choice early in life was either to be a piano player in a whorehouse or a politician, and to tell the truth, there's hardly any difference"
President Harry S. Truman
HELLOOOOOO...........Phil Lynott! (@ everyone bar GG) C'mon peepz 21 posts before Wynott Lynott gets a mention...Really?
Surprised it took the thirdpost to nominate him, and even more for Roger Waters and Geddy Lee
my music collection increased tenfolds when I switched from drug-addicts to complete nutcases.
Xhile Greg sounded awful in some places (and Wetton was not always perfect either), but Waters in never off key... and many Floyd songs wouldn't be the same without his vocals and have Gilmour's voice placated on them
my music collection increased tenfolds when I switched from drug-addicts to complete nutcases.
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