“None of us wanted to be the bass player. In our minds he was the fat guy who always played at the back.”
- Paul McCartney
Two things:
Today is the birthday of Steven Tyler, frontman of Aerosmith. He's among the greatest in that role, isn't he. In my mind, right up there with Jagger, Plant, Roth, Daltrey, Scott and the like. When someone says that so and so did such and such like a “Rockstar”, Steven Tyler's image sort of pops into my head. He certainly has helped define that gig. Now, he's an aging rockstar, though, born on this day in 1948.
Recently I saw the question, “What is the greatest, most iconic opening bass line in a song?” Well, there are a ton, and several come to mind: Whipping Post by the Allman Brothers' Barry Oakley and Pink Floyd's Money, played by Roger Waters, for example. But since Aerosmith is in the conversation here, I'll go with my favorite, the opening throb of Sweet Emotion (played by Tom Hamilton, not Steven Tyler. Tyler only sang and played scarves and bracelets).