The World's 12 Richest Bass Players

Bass players generally get the least attention in a band, but that doesn't mean they don't profit from it just as much as singers and guitar players. The Richest took a look at the top bottom enders and it found there's quite a bit of wealth in those low notes. Here's what it found:

1. Paul McCartney – $1.2 billion (no surprise there)

2. (tie) Sting – $300 million
2. (tie) Gene Simmons (Kiss) – $300 million

4. Roger Waters (Pink Floyd) – $270 million

5. Adam Clayton (U2) – $150 million

6. Flea (Red Hot Chili Peppers) – $115 million
6. John Deacon (Queen) - $115 million

8. John Paul Jones (Led Zeppelin) – $80 million
8. Bill Wyman (Rolling Stones) - $80 million

10. Geezer Butler (Black Sabbath) – $65 million

11. Tony Kanal (No Doubt) – $45 million

12. Krist Novoselic (Nirvana) – $40 million

Here's the trick. All of the above except for Wyman are songwriters as well as bass players, which proves the old music adage, "If you want to get rich, write a hit song!"

The Police "Message In A Bottle" Isolated Bass

The Police was one of the biggest bands in the world in the 80s thanks to great hooks, vocals and musicianship. Some of this is on display on this isolated bass track from the band's big hit "Message In A Bottle," from the band's second album Regatta de Blanc. It's easy to think of Sting as a singer and songwriter, but he's an excellent bass player as well, as you'll hear.  Here are some things to listen for.

1. The song was cut live with the entire band playing, as you can clearly hear both the guitar and drum leakage.

2. The bass part is very solid, but there are a few very minor timing mistakes (especially in the chorus) that we'd probably fix today.

3. There's an overdub at the end of interlude after the first chorus before the second verse begins at 1:06. You can hear the leakage go away and the sound of the bass change.

4. It sounds like the outro is from another take as the audio drops out, then changes slightly at 3:23.

5. Sting changes the bass part slightly on the outro, turning the bass riff around.

If you like looking at the x-rays of songs like this, check out my Deconstructed Hits book series.

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The Police "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" Isolated Bass And Vocals

It's easy to forget that at one time The Police were the biggest band in the world, and rightfully so. They had artistic integrity, a good amount of playing skill, and some really good commercial songs. One of their bigger hits was "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" from their huge Ghost In The Machine album from 1981. Here's the isolated guitar, bass, kick and snare from the song.

1. Notice that Sting's vocal is doubled, but not closely in the verses (it is somewhat in the bridge). This leads me to believe that the double wasn't intentional, and you're just hearing two vocal passes that were put together in the mix.

2. Since you can hear the bass, vocal, kick and snare (and a ride cymbal in the bridge), it would seem that this is either the center channel from a 5.1 mix or a phase invert extraction from the stereo mix that cancels everything but what's in the center.

3. There's an abrupt edit in the second bridge which isn't found in the original version.

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