1973

This song, bassline included, sounds like it was released in the year-title. However, it's a recent recording by James Blunt.
I like the way the bass sounds low and deep on this one.

Song: 1973
Artist / Band: James Blunt
Album: All the Lost Sould
Bass: Malcom Moore
Year: 2007

bass tab (external link)

Sunny Afternoon

Don't you love chromatic scales? Great song by The Kinks - a band that was missing here.

Song: Sunny Afternoon
Artist / Band: The Kinks
Album: Face to Face
Bass: Pete Quaif
Year: 1966

bass tab (external link)

Every Breath You Take

You see, easy bass lines and root notes are, sometimes, the best solutions to songs. Even the most celebrated bass players use them. Here's an example of that. Suggested by TB member Elrend.

Additional note: Perhaps you can make this line harder by playing it, as Sting did, on a double bass.

Song: Every Breath You Take
Artist / Band: The Police
Album: Synchronicity
Bass: Sting
Year: 1983

bass tab (external link)

No You Girls

(A question has been bugging me all week: why do record labels prevent people from embedding their YouTube official videos?)

Closing our 2000s week, here is a band who has become extremely popular lately. Franz Ferdinand has in Bob Hardy a perfect player for their style. His bass line for No You Girls is a lesson on how dancing pop-rock lines should be.

Song: No You Girls
Artist / Band: Franz Ferdinand
Album: Tonight: Franz Ferdinand
Bass: Bob Hardy
Year: 2009

bass tab (external link)

Trouble

Coldplay is a band who, I guess, suffered a bit from being over-exposed. Yet, they gave (give) us some great songs (and albums).

Guy Berryman, on the other hand, is an example of the low-profile-bass-player-who-plays-for-the-song, but that doesn't mean his work shouldn't be heard and acknowledged more often. His bass line for Trouble is melodic, smooth, and perfectly integrated to the song.

Song: Trouble
Artist / Band: Coldplay
Album: Parachutes
Bass: Guy Berryman
Year: 2000

bass tab (external link)

Lessons in Love

How could we spend so many weeks posting about pop basslines without mentioning Mark King, from Level 42?! Another classic from the 80s, Lessons in Love is a fine example of King's work. He's the one who sings, too.

Song: Lessons in Love
Artist / Band: Level 42
Album: Running in the Family
Bass: Mark King
Year: 1986

Bass tab (external link

It`s My Life

I bet you it was No Doubt's bass player idea to cover this song - it`s a great bassline that sounds like fun to play. Here's the original version, by Talk Talk. Pop bass done the right way.

Song: It's My Life
Artist / Band: Talk Talk
Album: It's My Life
Bass: Paul Webb
Year: 1984

Bass tab (external link)

Everybody (Backstreet's Back)

Yes, it's a boyband. Yes, it's purely commercial. But hey, that's a nice bass riff.
Jaco Pastorius one day, Backstreet Boys the next. We can't get more eclectic than that!

Song: Everybody
Artist / Band: Backstreet Boys
Album: Backstreet's Back
Bass: If you know who plays the bass on this song, drop us a comment!
Year: 1997

Bass tab (external link)

Jenny Was a Friend of Mine

The opening track for The Killers debut album has a really powerful bass that sounds just perfect, specially during the intro. Mark Stoermer, the bassist, is a co-author for that song. I wonder if the bass riff was the starting point of the composition process.

Song:Jenny Was A Friend Of Mine
Artist / Band: The Killers
Album:Hot Fuss
Bass: Mark Stoermer
Year: 2004

Bass tab (external link)

Under Pressure

Another one that got sampled (actually ripped-off by Vanilla Ice), the bassline for Under Pressure is a classic played by Queen's bass player (and all-around musician)John Deacon. This simple but effective bass riff is really something - the soul of this collaboration between Queen and Bowie.

Hum, maybe we should cover "Another One Bites the Dust" some other time...

Song:Under Pressure
Artist / Band: Queen + David Bowie
Album:Hot Space or Best of Bowie
Bass: John Deacon
Year: 1981

Bass tab (external link)

Super Freak

I have to admit that I heard this bassline first on MC Hammer's U Can't Touch This. But Rick James is the real thing. The riff is repeated over and over and over during the song... and you never get tired of it!

Song:Super Freak (Album Version)
Artist / Band: Rick James
Album:Street Songs
Bass: Rick James
Year: 1981

Bass tab (external link)

Save a Prayer

dum. duum-duu-du-dum. duum-duu-du-dum. duum-duu-du-dam, da-dam, da-dum. How can anyone ever forget this bass intro? That's the song trademark! That and the pitch-crazy keyboard, of course.

Song:Save A Prayer (2001 Digital Remaster)
Artist / Band: Duran Duran
Album:Rio
Bass: John Taylor
Year: 1982

Bass tab (external link)

Billie Jean

The contagious bassline of Michael Jackson's Billie Jean was played by Louis Johnson - one of the precursors of slap and an incredible bass player all around. I was a fan of the Thriller album when I was a kid, and this is the kind of song that I hear, years later, and think "ooohhh, so it was the bass that did the trick"!

Song: Billie Jean
Artist / Band: Michael Jackson
Album: Michael Jackson 25th Anniversary of Thriller (CD+DVD)
Bass: Louis Johnson
Year: 1983

Bass tab (external link)