I just can’t believe how much this guy shaped everything we hear today. Father of the modern blues, sire to so much rock (there could never have been a Zeppelin without Willie…) Such a rock solid bottom end.
I love blues music and have always listened to the chess records, but I never really paid much attention to the bass on them. He wasn’t a super technical or complicated bassist, but just he always knew exactly what to play. A lot of blues bassists from back then I notice kinda play that standard repeating walking baseline, but Willie would play something unique every song.
He also wouldn’t really just play what the guitar was doing, or what the drums were doing, he was kinda just doin his own thing but it would fit so well into the song that I didn’t even realize it’s a large part of what gave those songs the energy they had. I feel like “Maybellene” by Chuck Berry is a good example.
The drums in a lot of those chess records were really spacy and behind the beat and I think Willie’s driving bass kept things from losing momentum. I think that may be why the chess rhythm section was so distinct, that push and pull between Dixon and the drums.
I just wanted to share cuz I’m excited that I’ve found the bassist that’s gonna keep me for another month during this pandemic
