SONGWRITING BASS PLAYERS

Just how accurate is the “bass player/ drummer” syndrome in the history of popular music?

The long held belief that bass players earn their income solely from live performances [due to the fact that you can’t write a song on a bass guitar] can be put to the test when you examine the following list of songwriters who are well known for playing bass:

• Paul McCartney – one of the top 5 greatest songwriters in the history of music, firstly with The Beatles and then his solo career and Wings.

• Sting – the principal songwriter for The Police, who has also enjoyed a commercially successful solo career.

• Roger Waters – let’s face it, he wrote Pink Floyd’s most identifiable songs, “Money” and “Another Brick In The Wall [Part II].

• John Paul Jones – the “quiet one” in Led Zeppelin, albeit a key collaborator in the body of the group’s work.

• John Deacon – the “quiet one” in Queen. His compositions “Another One Bites The Dust”, “You’re My Best Friend” & “I Want To Break Free” are 3 of the British supergroup’s most enduring songs.

• Steve Harris – he writes all of the hits for Iron Maiden.

• Lemmy – what would Motorhead sound like without Lemmy’s input?

• Geezer Butler – whilst Tony Iommi is assumed to be the key writer in Black Sabbath’s golden era, Geezer was an equal contributor.

• Tony Mitchell – Sherbet were Australia’s most popular band in the mid-1970’s. “Howzat” forms part of Mitchell’s catalogue.

• Peter Cetera – the jazz-influenced group Chicago had many songwriters, however their 2 big hits “If You Leave Me Now” and “Baby What A Big Surprise” were penned by their bass player.


Let’s be realistic in acknowledging that the abovementioned artists are all multi-instrumentalists, as most popular songs are composed on guitar or piano/ keyboard. The “X-Factor” which makes bass players great song writers is that they understand the groove of a song. When this is combined with a memorable melody, you have the formula for a winning composition.