Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea has opened up about who he believes is “the greatest rock bass player.”
The musician appeared as a guest on Ted Danson and Woody Harrelson’s podcast Where Everybody Knows Your Name, and discussed The Beatles‘ very own Paul McCartney. Flea – real name Michael Peter Balzary – shared that Macca is an incredible musician and opened up about what made him special.
“I think Paul’s the greatest rock bass player. He’s just great. I mean, there are so many guys that are great in different ways, but Paul’s bass playing is so lyrical and melodic, and it’s just so beautiful. One of the things I’ve heard is that he put the bass on after. A band like mine, the bass sometimes the song starts with bass lines, so coming first, or the music comes first,” the musician told Danson and Harrelson.
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He continued: “Whereas I think Paul and John and George, when they wrote songs and Paul would do the bass. And after multi-tracking came in, at the beginning of them, they just went and played live and would do it after, like ‘Sgt. Pepper’s’, the melody is already there. So then he’s doing, like a counter melody, so the bass is like a melody as opposed to just rhythm, and that’s amazing. He’s amazing.”
Back in May, Macca became the first billionaire musician in the UK, with his net worth skyrocketing over the past year. The Sunday Times reported that the 81-year-old music icon boosted his wealth by £50million. This will have been aided by his time touring across 2023 and the lucrative value of his lengthy discography.
In other news, the Red Hot Chili Peppers were one of the acts to close out the 2024 Olympics alongside Billie Eilish and Snoop Dogg.