How to play like Bill Wyman of The Rolling Stones - Bass Habits - Ep 58 

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Bill Wyman is underrated. He wasn't a flashy player, but he was an essential bassist for the Rolling Stones.

Bill Wyman's bass lines are so vital to so many songs. Always a solid bottom and supporting the song, not his ego.

Thanks for talking about Bill Wyman, the most underrated Bass player ever.

I love Bill Wyman's bass playing in Mother's Little Helper

Some say Bill is not the most technically gifted bass player (whatever they mean) but he is definitely one of the most musical. Really compliments the ensemble.

Bill is a humble man but a great artist on his bass and I always missed him with the Stones~!

I admit I never really appreciated Bill until recently. I'm so in awe of Keith and Mick T that I never really concentrated on Bill's playing. He's friggin' great.

I would love to see an episode on Burke Shelley from Budgie. He was not just the bassist, but also the singer, lead writer, and general driving force behind one of the most underrepresented pre-metal bands in history.

I really appreciate Bill's minimalist approach to playing the bass. Understated elegance.

Bill's bass parts are so perfect it's hard to wrap your mind around it , it's so integral to the tune that it fades into the background because of its perfection as a bass part, I'll be listening to it, the next thing I know I'm listening to the band as a whole! To me, that is the mark of a great bass line

I read that the Miss You bass line was Billy Preston's idea. Always liked his bass line for I Wanna Be Your Man.

Undercover of the night is the perfect example of Wyman's groove! Great video!

I’d like to add some notes, at first when I listened to the stones I thought that there wasn’t much going on with Wyman’s playing but the more and more I study his bass playing the more and more I realize how musical he is: -I think the most important part about wyman’s playing is the focus on rhythm rather than melody. When Taylor, Richards or woods plays bass on a stones song they play lines that are interesting melodically but often I can’t dance to them. Every song wyman plays on I can easily dance to. I think that one thing lost on bassists often is that one of our jobs is to put the dance in the pants for people. If you can get people to dance people will love your music, it becomes fun. It’s very abstract though, you can play a rhythmically interesting line that doesn’t make people dance, it helps to be a dancer yourself like wyman is. -wyman doesn’t get married to a key. In major keys he might use major notes, then throw in a minor third in the same line -wyman did not seem to be a busy player in the studio but that’s largely due to his lines being burried, if you scour RU-vid for isolated tracks you’ll find he is hardly a root fith player, listen to live albums (some girls 78) and you’ll hear his bass loud and he plays some pretty involved interesting lines -a common pattern that wyman uses live is root, fifth above, back to the fifth, octave. He’ll mess around with the order of that pattern rhythmically and sometimes throws a 6th or a walk down. It’s an easy way to add rhythmic movement to any chord -Wyman often relies on traditional blues bass patterns in rock contexts. A lot of rock bassists will use simplified guitar lines but Wyman is pretty traditional

Bill Wyman (as John Entwistle) is my model for stage attitude : absolutely no jump!

Wyman is the world's best bass player! The bass line on 2000 light years from home!

I love Bill’s bass in general, but especially Gimme Shelter, Slave and Under My Thumb. I love Keith’s bass on Sympathy for the Devil. I love Mick Taylor’s bass on Fingerprint File.

I'm so glad to have found this video. The Stones have been my favorite band since the mid-70s. I have read a lot of books and articles and watched a lot of videos about them, and this is the first time I've seen anyone focus on Bill Wyman like this. Thanks for doing so.

Very interesting analysis of Bill Wyman's bass playing. The Stones begged Bill to stay but he said 30 years was enough. They never sounded the same after Bill left, more's the pity.

Thanks for highlighting a truly gifted bassist. Your comments on keeping time is right on. I’ve heard Keith created bass on satisfaction, but as you mention personnel changes infected the 70’s.

Emotional rescue is an amazing bass line👏🏿👏🏿

Another fantastic profile, Paul! Man, I enjoy this series. For some of the bassists you profile, I am not really a fan, but I love learning about them. Wonderfully done profile from this iconic band. Thanks!

awesome exposé. Thank you from bass player to another. Always loved Wyman's work.

the stones have very often sounded rough as guts live many times, but theyve also sounded incredible and its all part of their charm.

So Bill played ahead of the beat and Charlie played behind the beat. I guess that's what made them a killer rhythm section.

Wyman was understated but integral. I listened to their It's All Over Now which they were excited about as it was recorded at Chess Records a famous blues label. You can hear him anticipating the beat during the verse and then in the chorus playing solidly on the beat which is exactly right as the lead guitar plays choppy chords and the bass fill is therefore very necessary.

Great episode, is love to see an episode on Eric Avery or Tommy Stinson

Looking forward for these other bassists: Justin Meldal Johnsen - Nine Inch Nails John McVie - Fleetwood Mac Curt Smith - Tears for Fears Larry Junstrom - 38 Special Andy Fraser - Free Chris Squire - Yes Rex Brown - Pantera Mike Rutherford - Genesis Steven Severin - Siouxie and the Banshees

As a teenager in 60's I can remember a day at school after Top Of The Pops and the 'Stones new single had us all buzzing as Bill Wyman had come up with a then unheard of bass sound. It was 19th Nervous Breakdown and he stole the show on that one.

Thank you for posting this.

At least Bill didn't get screwed over like Ian Stewart did. And Bill did everything with those small hands.

The Fretless bass thing came from him having a bass that had crap frets and he removed and planned to stick new ones in but he liked how it sounded without frets. And that was before fender and everyone else released commercially available fretless basses.

What really made me appreciate Bill: Little Queenie on ya's ya's. When I heard that for the first time on the FM radio station about 1981. I had to get that song. Then there were other songs with powerful bass. Money, You better move on, Poison Ivy, too many to name. Of course, the first time I heard the Stones on my mom's record player (Satisfaction) the bass wasn't really noticeable, because we didn't have hi-fi. Still loved the song, but getting a decent stereo when I was 15, really opened up my enjoyment of the bass. Bill is one of my top 2 bassists. The Ox is the other.

It's absurd that Darryl Jones, great bassist that he is, has never been anything but a "employee" of the Stones.

In the chorus of Satisfaction, he's not fully doubling the rhythm of the guitar part. Guitar's first 2 notes are quarters; 2d note of the bass is an eighth note later. That subtle difference adds a huge swing to the line.

excellent

He came up with the riff to Jumpin' Jack Flash but not only didn't get credited, he didn't even play the bass on it!

Good job man.

“Mess it Up” from 2023 is the latest and likely last Stones track that Bill played on. He recorded it separately from the band. Charlie is on it too.

Yeah ... 6:22 Bill and John Deacon!

great bass man Bill, along with paul jones, jack bruce , mc artney and entwiste from the who all great great bassmen

Hey brother would dig an episode on Joe Bouchard from BLUE OYSTER CULT. Keep up the killer work! Cheers and STAY METAL!

“Undercover of the Night” is said to have two bass players: Bill AND Robbie Shakespeare.

Bill was a fantastic player in his own modest and "simple" way and musically as a Stones' bass player I like him more than Darryl although Darryl is technically a much more advanced player. Bill's net worth is appoximately $80-100 million, so I don't know what he means by "big money". Of course, for example Ronnie's net worth is much more ($200 million) so it depends how you compare these figures. Mick and Keith are on the league of their own because of all the writing credits. Bill has come up with several books about the Stones and he has ran a Sticky Fingers restaurant so maybe part of his money has come from those sources. The last tour Bill was still along was one the biggest tours in gross earnings ever so maybe even Bill got some money from that... Bill's stage presence was very cool I think and the contrast to Jagger's stage prescence was just fascinating. Jagger is of course one the greatest frontmans ever so don't get me wrong here...

Спасибо, братишка!

Bill Wyman was NOT the original bass player for the Rolling Stones. Their original bass player was Dick Taylor who left the band after about a year to go start his own band the Pretty Things where he played his first love, six string guitar. Wyman did not join the band until mid - December of 1962.

Keith Richards played bass on "Jumping Jack Flash," "Street Fighting Man," "Sympathy For The Devil," "Happy," and "Live Together." Still, Wyman's bass parts on "Satisfaction," "Beast of Burden," "Under Cover of The Night," and "Miss You," are fresh.

very nice analisys... just subscribed! I'm a rolling stones fan and it's a penny that Bill had no chances to show how good musician that he is. Some times, they don't wanna change nothing in winning teams (jagger &richards)

Rip Charlie

Bill's fantastic and him and Charlie were one of the greatest rhythm sections in Rock n roll.,but they both had Keith to always make things interesting . Keith did take over on bass many times and Bill had no problem with that . Keith was also picked by Lennon as one of the greatest bass players ,and had him in "Dirty Mac" Keith was Dirty of course. A couple of my favorites of Bill are "Fingerprint fie " and "Undercover of the night " . There are many for Keith but " If you can't rock me" is out of the park crazy bass. I'm not sure what Wyman thought but he had to be impressed. 😎

solid, tasteful player

Awesome video, Ronnie Lane someday please

These guys literally joined bands in their teens so alot of times didn't really have years to hone their skills. They did what works, and though mostly in terms of musicality and recording and not technique. They didn't really have the luxury of technology that future generations would have.

Steve Hanley of The Fall would make a great episode; there's a reason he was second only to Mark E. Smith himself in terms of longevity.

I think you mean Mick Taylor, not Mick Jagger. Mick Taylor played the bass on Tumbling Dice.

Anybody know what kind of bass Paul is using in this video?

Bill was very probably the first to defret a bass , as you say. He talks about that odd little bass in a long lost interview. He has small hands, and needed a toothpick neck. Interesting analysis

ALEX. WEBSTER. 'NUFF SAID.

I love having Tommy Wiseau talk about bass ;)

Interesting info re the bass in the Stones’ songs. Not a very strict song production routine, but the proof was in the pudding, I’d say.

Do you think to bring Burke Shelley to the channel?

I always wondered why a lot of the bass was played by Keith,Ron and Mick on the recording

Good bass player

He was very good in playing A minor.

Stones are fun when you want to get your practice time in, but you also want to drink a 6-pack.

Does anyone know what song is 5:28

Maybe Bill Wyman wasn't a extraordinary bass player, however he still have powerful bass notes that are pioneers of bass in rock music. Is a underrated bass player that deserves a great position in rock history. Make some videos about "How to sound like Shavo (System of a Down), Paul Gray (Slipknot), Robert Trujillo (Metallica), Dave Farrell (Linkin Park), and Sam Rivers (Limp Bizkit). And I would like you to analyze some bass players of Latin America that have decent and nice bass lines like Sabo Romo (Caifanes), Zeta Bossio (Soda Stereo) Pedro Andreu (Héroes del Silencio), Juan Calleros (Mana), Alex Lora (El Tri), playing bass in La Ley, La Unión and Patricio Rey. I hope you like my proposals about latin bass players. Gratings from Mexico.

Just goes to show how appreciated he was 😂

Not mentioned, but on "Live With Me", Wyman's bass almost takes over the lead.

Great Video and very informative and I would hope Bill knows how much we appreciate him as a founding member of The Greatest Rock and Roll Band in The World~!! New Sub today and look forward to seeing all The Goodies in the future~!

I read a Guitar Player interview with Bill Wyman shortly before he resigned. He was talking about how he was accident prone during tours falling off of elevated stages and other things. My opinion is if that isn't why he quit it sure weighed in.

“The big money wasn’t there yet” says the guy with a house in Provence and a large estate north of London. 😂

I did not know that other band members filled in on Bass. No wonder he left!

The bass line in the chorus of Satisfaction is different than as played in the video. @ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-kbdSG3rNWow.html. The second note is on the two-and, not on the two. It's different from the guitar riff and that's what makes it swing.

Pretty sure Keith played the prominent bass part on Under My thumb.

Could never hear the bass on early stones

Billy Preston created the bass line on Miss You.

Does anyone know of a video showing Bill playing bass alone apart from anyone else, even a snipit? Thank you.

Bill & Charlie, the backbone.

Bill seems to play around the riff, while most bassists would play the riff. He'd weave about. I thought the bass on Dancing with Mr. D. was a great example of this, and then I found out it was actually Mick Taylor on bass on that song, not Wyman! Mick Taylor on bass on Fingerprint File too, and that bass solo!

To me bill was the stones

For Rock music you just need a simple Bass player with some feelings and metronome habit

The early songs especially were so obviously a group effort, it would have been nice if “The Rolling Stones” got the writing credit for every 4th song or so, just to acknowledge that they all wrote a lot of the early songs. Brian Jones’s mastery of all those instruments gave their music so much variety and uniqueness, it’s absurd to think that the words are the only thing that matters in a song. They did pretty well anyway, but I think they could have done more if the credit had been shared a little more.

I pity anyone who has to learn a Bill Wyman bass part though. His parts seem somehow hidden in the mixes - though, they are undoubtedly there! In the end, you almost have to just imagine what's actually there.....trust your gut, rather than your ears and hope you know enough about Rock 'n' Roll that your interpretation will do the song justice! I'm still not sure if this was Bill being sneaky & brilliant or if i's simply the way the songs were recorded! Bit o' both, maybe?

Most underrated musician in rock history, by far. I disagree about him being buried in the mix: the bass comes across pretty clear in studio and live. When i was a little kid I wanted to understand what was going on in the Stones, since it was a complete mess, everything was all over the place and my first album was Still Life, which to me sounded NOTHING like The Rolling Stones. I got to understand Keith and Ronnie, then Mick's style made sense, later on, Charlie's drums could fit in my brain, but it took me much longer to understand Wyman. He was crucial to the band. Impossible to replace. All these 30 years were great, but it's a shame they hired this guy who plays just average bass lines. By the way: No Charlie, no Stones.

Just came across an interesting Bill Wyman comment in an interview w/ the brilliant scholar and cultural critic Camille Paglia that I think you might find interesting. Now, I disagree with her Beatles' comment, but her point about Wyman... wow: PAGLIA: I haven’t been following them for many, many years. To me, the Rolling Stones were a revolution when they happened, in that period when the Beatles were all upbeat. Then, here come these surly guys sneering, and spitting, and so on. COWEN: But the Beatles were dark and subtle, too, right? PAGLIA: Not like the Stones. Here’s the difference. The Rolling Stones are inspired by, animated by, to this day, by the blues tradition. The Beatles really were more almost Broadway and musical comedy. COWEN: British music hall. PAGLIA: Yes, British music hall and Tin Pan Alley, and so on. They were tremendous songsmiths, but there’s nothing dark about them. In other words, Paul McCartney is a wonderful bass player, but you’re not getting the big, roaring sounds of Bill Wyman’s bass at the beginning of the Stones’ career. I really have not been following the Stones. Ever since Bill Wyman left the Stones, I have not felt that this was the Stones I knew. I’m delighted that they go on, and that they perform, and so on, but I have absolutely no interest in exposing myself to those horrible arena conditions for music. Oh my goodness, just the light shows and the this and the that. They’re not musical experiences. They’re social experiences now.

Mick and Keith didn't even attend Brian Jones funeral, that tells you everything you need to know about the " Glimmer Twins" .

Bill is underrated but remarkably influential. Any chance of an Eric Avery of Jane's Addiction episode?

Play like Wyman?Ha!If anyone wants to play like him they got to figure out how he came up with so many awesome bass lines!Only then can they start to understand how...

Did he say Bill Wyman was not melodic ? He was the first bass player to be melodic . He then claimed they were not synchronized . Really ?

Ringo complained he was in a band with three drummers. Bill was in a band with three bass players.

Usually one can get a handle on what the bass player is doing...not with Wyman (at least for me)!

I disagree and don't understand all the praise from most of the comments. Bill Wyman was fortunate enough to be a part of the Rolling Stones from the beginning as an official member, hence his notoriety. If he hadn't been part of the group, he probably would have remained an illustrious unknown. He's not a great bass player, he's good at it. His replacement, Darryl Jones, is much better, I think he enhances the Stones' game even more

Wyman is my favorite and definitely a top 3 rock n roll Nass player. This video has started out shity I know 100,000,000 time more

you dont use a shortneck

Why man, why did they let that bass wizard go? Stones were wrong!

Not the original bass player. The only Stones bass player. What's uuuuuuppp Bill

Tommy Stinson of The Replacements would be worth an episode

Rule one show no emotion

He used short scale basses alot