Behind every great rock band is a steady and sturdy bassist holding down the low end of things.
Rock ‘n’ roll might be a male-dominated line of work, but that doesn’t mean women haven’t been a key part of the genre’s development over time, including in the rhythm section. And not to bring up a controversial character, but as Margaret Thatcher once said: “If you want something said, ask a man; if you want something done, ask a woman.”
Tina Weymouth, bassist of Talking Heads, had played guitar before she switched over to bass, and she figured two less strings on an instrument would be no problem, despite having no prior experience. Her bandmate David Byrne gave her a 30-minute crash course in bass playing and that was it.
“That half hour was the only lesson I had: everything else came from observing and listening in rehearsal and in the clubs,” Weymouth said for Bassist magazine in 1998 (via Guitar World).
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“I knew that she had a great sense of rhythm, and I knew that she shared the same kind of artistic sensibility that David and I were going for,” Talking Heads drummer Chris Frantz told MusicRadar in 2013. “She got it. And so, had there been no Tina Weymouth in Talking Heads, we would have been just another band.”
The same thing could be said for a number of female bass players in other bands. We’ve compiled a gallery of 25 such ladies below.
25 Female Rock Bassists
Every rock ‘n’ roll band needs a strong foundation — these ladies have got it down.
Gallery Credit: Allison Rapp
