The best bass player of alltime?

Wed 29th Sep, 2010 in International News

Dream Theater’s John Myung has been declared the ‘Best Bassist of All time’ with a massive 42 percent of the votes in a poll conducted by MusicRadar.com.

Nearly 11,000 people voted for Myung, who beat Cliff Burton (Metallica), Steve Harris (Iron Maiden), Paul Gray (Slipknot) and Geddy Lee (Rush), for the top spot. The only woman to make the list was famed Wrecking Crew session bassist Carol Kaye who has played on an estimated 10,000 recording sessions.

Taken in conjunction with Rhythm Magazine’s recent list of the 25 best drummers of the last 25 years the greatest rhythm sections in modern music belong to Dream Theater, Rush, Slipknot, Iron Maiden, Them Crooked Vultures and Red Hot Chilli Peppers.

In an interview to mark the win, Myung humbly noted that “in no way [do I] feel that it’s true in the sense of the title of the award, because there’s so many great players all over the world who contribute amazing music. So, even though I’m deeply flattered and appreciative, let’s say that it’s taken with a bit of objectivity.”

He also commented on the recent departure of Mike Portnoy from Dream Theater : “I can’t say I saw it coming. And of course, nobody likes conflict. Dream Theater works best as a creative unit, and it’s not going to be easy to find a replacement and have somebody we can really bond with. I’d say the general band vibe is positive. We’re looking for the right guy, and I’m sure we’ll find that person.”

Greatest Bassists Of All Time:
25.Joseph “Lucky” Scott (Curtis Mayfield)
24.Doug Wimbish (Living Colour)
23.Carol Kaye (session musician; Wrecking Crew)
22.Gary “Mani” Mounfield (Stone Roses, Primal Scream)
21.Aston “Family Man” Barrett (Bob Marley & The Wailers)
20.Nathan East (session musician; Aretha Franklin, Michael Jackson)
19.Mark King (Level 42)
18.Phil Lynott (Thin Lizzy)
17.Bootsy Collins (Parliament-Funkadelic, James Brown)
16.Jack Bruce (Cream)
15.James Jamerson (Motown Records)
14.Chris Squire (Yes)
13.Les Claypool (Primus)
12.John Paul Jones (Lep Zepplin, Them Crooked Vultures)
11.Billy Sheehan (Steve Vai, David Lee Roth)
10.Paul McCartney (Beatles)
9.Victor Wooten (Béla Fleck and the Flecktones)
8.John Entwistle (The Who)
7.Flea (Red Hot Chilli Peppers)
6.Jaco Pastorius (Weather Report)
5.Cliff Burton (Metallica)
4.Steve Harris (Iron Maiden)
3.Paul Gray (Slipknot)
2. Geddy Lee (Rush)
1.John Myung (Dream Theater)

It’s worth noting that many acclaimed bassists including Jah Wobble, Mike Watt, Lemmy, Mark Sandman, Tina Weymouth, Bernard Edwards and former members of the bass supergroup Freebass Peter Hook and Andy Rourke were not even nominated for the poll.