Hitting the list at number eight, another John, is Queen’s John Deacon.  Deacon had the task of having to lay low in the spotlight behind such flamboyancies as Freddie Mercury’s operatic vocals and theatrical shenanigans, Brian May’s flashy and over-the-top guitar riffs, and the bombastic antics of Roger Taylor’s drums. Of the four members of the band, Deacon was the youngest and the last to join, but as far as being stuck with the stigma of being in the “most educated and intellectual band,” he did manage to write several compositions which were big hits, such as "You're My Best Friend” and “Another One Bites the Dust.”  He also played rhythm andacoustic guitars on several albums as well as occasional keyboards. Whether out of respect for the memory of Freddie Mercury or because real bass players have dignity, Deacon retired from the music business in the late 1990s and has chosen not to participate in the Queen + Paul Rodgers tour.

 

If man is five and the devil is six, then god must be seven…well, this is an article on rock bassists, so the god of bass—Charles Mingus—will not be found in this expose, but in his place is the bassist who carried jazz and reggae rhythms into a rock/pop format: that notorious ex-schoolteacher born Gordon Sumner and better known as Sting.  Though he would later go on to produce middle of the road soft rock for aging punkers between the years of 1978 and 1983, Sting had a great deal of fun successfully spanning his jazz background into the punk era with fellow Police band mates Andy Summers on guitar and Stewart Copeland on drums.  The quintessential three-piece, The Police never veered too far off the beaten path of minimalism in both structure and function of their thought provoking pop sensation.  This static structure was dynamically functional in that the talent of all three members was always showcased in their songs.

 

So, I guess it is only logical to choose Steve Harris of Iron Maiden to be number six, six, six.  Harris is a workhorse, not only for his signature galloping bass lines, but also for the fact that he is Iron Maiden.  As Maiden’s primary composer throughout their career, he has been the only member to remain true to the vision and mission of creating thunderous British heavy metal a source of musical force in a world of umpteen different subgenres of rock and roll.  A self-taught bass player (like myself), his playing style causes the strings to forcefully hit against the frets, producing his distinctive 'clanky' bass tone—a tone that would later be easily reproduced with the technological advances in high-end bass gear in all facets of amps, cabinets, and basses and copied by neophyte bassists who have to use a pick to keep up to par with Harris’s signature style of bass playing.

 

Where would the Rickenbacker bass be within the pantheon of bass guitar history if it weren’t for The Man, number five, Geddy Lee.  Though rarely seen these days sporting his Rickenbacker bass, for those of us old enough to remember the halcyon days of Rush, it was Geddy Lee who inspired all us budding bassists to save our money and dream of the day we could buy a Rickenbacker 4001—yes, eventually I did get one, but that was years after going through numerous swap meet and garage sale purchases.  Born Gary Lee Weinrib on July 29, 1953 in Willowdale, Toronto, he is not only one of Canada’s best known musicians as the lead vocalist, bassist, and keyboardist for the Canadian rock group Rush, he is also an award-winning musician. Lee's style, technique, and skill on the bass guitar have proven very influential in the rock and heavy metal genres, inspiring both Cliff Burton of Metallica and Steve Harris of Iron Maiden. Lee joined Rush in September 1968 at the request of his childhood friend, Alex Lifeson, and together with drummer extraordinaire Neal Peart created music that was more performance art than musical performance— known for the instrumental virtuosity of its members, complex compositions, and eclectic lyrical motifs a Rush concert was more of a bassist, guitarist, and drummer convention than a rock show.