Born on this day: Geezer Butler

Terence "Geezer" Butler was born on July 17th 1949 and turns 71 today. He's one of the most influential bassists in heavy metal with his very unique sound and melodic playing. He recorded 17 albums with Black Sabbath and also wrote a lot of the lyrics. 

I transcribed "Children Of The Grave" from the third studio album "Masters Of Reality" (1971). Here's an isolated bass track:

Here are the first four pages of my transcription:

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Flashback Friday: Satisfaction (The Rolling Stones)

"55 years ago on 10th July 1965, The Rolling Stones started a four week run at No.1 on the US singles chart with ‘(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction’, the group’s first chart-topper there. 
Keith Richards has said that he came up with the guitar riff in his sleep, waking up in the middle of the night. The guitarist then recorded the riff and the words “I can’t get no satisfaction” on his portable cassette recorder and promptly fell back to sleep. He later said when he listened back to the recording in the morning, there was about two minutes of acoustic guitar before you could hear him drop the pick and then Richards snoring for the next forty minutes. 



Here are the first two pages of my transcription of Bill Wyman's original bassline:

The track has been widely covered by numerous acts. Two of the best versions were done by Otis Redding (with Duck Dunn on bass) and by Aretha Franklin (featuring Tommy Cogbill on bass).



Here are the first two pages of the transcription to Otis Reddings version:

And finally the first two pages of Tommy Cogbills extraordinary bassline:

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Weekly Basslines #251: Funeral For A Friend / Love Lies Bleeding (Elton John)

"Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding" is the opening track on the double album Goodbye Yellow Brick Road by Elton John.
The first part, "Funeral for a Friend", is an instrumental created by John while thinking of what kind of music he would like at his funeral. This first half segues into "Love Lies Bleeding". In the Eagle Vision documentary, Classic Albums: Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, John said the two songs were not written as one piece, but fit together since "Funeral for a Friend" ends in the key of A, and "Love Lies Bleeding" opens in A, and the two were played as one elongated piece when recorded.

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Weekly Basslines #250: Pump It Up (Elvis Costello)

"Pump It Up" originally appeared on Elvis Costello's second album “This Year's Model” from 1978, which was the first he recorded with the backing group "the Attractions". The album was produced by Nick Lowe and the bass was played by the fantastic Bruce Thomas. His inventive and highly melodic bass work is a great source of inspiration on how to spice up a bassline by throwing in melodic fills.

Here's an isolated bass video of Bruce Thomas' Bassline:

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Weekly Basslines #249: Hang On To Yourself (David Bowie)

"Hang On to Yourself" is a song written by David Bowie in 1971 and released as a single with his band Arnold Corns. A re-recorded version was released on the album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars. The bass was played by Trevor Bolder.

Here is an isolated bass and vocals version:

Here is the Arnold Corns Version:

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Weekly Bassline #248: Baby Love (Mothers Finest)

Mother's Finest is an American funk rock band founded in Atlanta, Georgia, by the vocal duo of Joyce "Baby Jean" Kennedy and Glenn "Doc" Murdock in 1970 when the pair met up with guitarist Gary "Moses Mo" Moore and bassist Jerry "Wyzard" Seay. 

Their music is a blend of funky rhythms, heavy rock guitars and expressive soul/R&B-style vocals. „Baby Love“ is one of their greatest hits. Originally released on their third studio album “Another Mother Further” (1977) I transcribed the epic and more energetic live version from the 1979 album “Live”.

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