Wrecking Crew bassist Joe Osborn 1937-2018 RIP.

RIP, and thank you for the music.
Condolences to the family.

 

A sea of hits....amazing. He added so much to these songs, retaining a solid bass role while expanding things
melodically....you could pretty hum along to what he was playing.

 

Its been some tough years lately and it ain't going to slow down.RIP to a 60s music giant.

 

RIP to a giant. I bought the documentary and all these guys were/are GIANTS!

 

RIP, another (bass) guitar slinger goes home.

 

Sad to read this. Rest In Peace, Joe.

 

RIP. So much talent lost.

 

Didn't see this thread until a few minutes ago, sorry.

 

One of the best bassists ever. Touch and tone.

RIP Joe Osborn.

 

What can be said about the greatness of Joe Osborn? I often listen to songs that he played on and I'll spin a song back and say to my wife, listen to this guy play the bass, it's amazing. The fade out of the album version of Johnny River's "Poor Side Of Town", The 5th Dimension's "Last Night I Didn't Get To Sleep" and the following ... "Aquarius/Let The Sunshine In" (Here is the quick story of how that song came to be, which is very interesting, but be sure to stick with this until the end and catch Joe do his thing!).

RIP Joe

 

R.i.P.

 

Wow such sad news. If you can ever say someone is the "best" at their instrument, Joe Osborne is the best bass player I ever heard. And his style is so original and unique, you can identify it without even knowing he's on the track. We talk about a guitar player's "tone", he's got the greatest tone among bass players. What a loss.

 

A beautiful player. He is one of the reasons I play bass - listening and learning to play along to his many hits is a great idea, as is listening to James Jamerson with the Motown acts etc.
These players spice things up, adding little melodic bits of their personalities to the songs. They made catchy songs impossible to get out of your head - if we find ourselves humming a bass line to a song, you can be sure it's a classic. Joe did that. RIP.

 

Ironically, my two favorite electric bass players from the mid 1960s to early 1970s were faceless and nameless at the time of their most celebrated work. They are James Jamerson and Joe Osborn. I had heard the songs and enjoyed the basslines for many years before knowing the players' names and history.

Joe Osborn sure was good. And self taught! I remember being a teen and hearing "Let Me Be the One" on my parents' Carpenters LP and wondering who the heck could lay down such an intense bass guitar part on a mellow ballad like that. Check out the virtuosic bass from 1:49 to the end:


And of course, who could not be moved by the groove of "Let the Sunshine In"? And even a song like America - "Ventura Highway" would make me think, "what a great bassline!"

 

I'm shocked. My favorite bass player after Paul McCartney. So many wonderful riffs and basslines and he encouraged me to pick up bass. RIP.

 

This is Joe on Del Shannon’s Sister Isabelle.
You also get Larry Knetchel on piano and Bob Evans on drums.

 

RIP

 

That is a really cool clip and it shows how much a session guy can add beyond just playing the song.

 

Thanks and if you haven't bought a copy of that great "The Wrecking Crew" DVD, please do so, as it speaks volumes of otherwise great musicians, who are rarely ever spoken of outside of a forum like this one

 

Sad that 3 of the four people in the following video are now sadly gone ...

 

He will be missed, not least for all those great bass parts he created for his "avatar" Danny Bonaduce

 

RIP.

 

His mark is everywhere for us to enjoy. RIP Joe.

 

RIP...what a fantastic bassist, from MacArthur to Aquarius to Bridge. Such a beautiful punchy tone and just the right amount of notes. If they made a boxset of his work I would pick it up.

 

Me, too. What a fantastic box set it would be.