Monday, April 02, 2007

What I Learned Today #2: Herbie Flowers

This comes from the fine radio show "Mint," which, regrettably, is being pulled from the BBC 6 schedule:


Herbie Flowers is someone you've heard, if you've heard classic rock at all. He's a session bass player who started out playing tuba on cruise ship bands in the early 60's, and began to pick up the jazz bass. During a stopover in New York he discovers the new trend of electric jazz, and starts out with the electric bass, which leads to a career as a session musician. Result: He created the two coolest bass lines of all 70's rock: David Essex' "Rock On" and Lou Reed's "Walk on the Wild Side." He's also on David Bowie's "Space Oddity," though I suspect most people don't associate that song as much with its bass line. And on Jeff Wayne's double prog LP "War of the Worlds."

Just as extra filler for this space, we was in the classical pops group Sky, with guitarist John Williams.

Your nugget of stuff you never knew was connected for today.

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