Remembering Louis Johnson on the day of his birth, bass guitarist Extraordinaire

From The Page of The National R&B Music Society. Our website www.RnBmusicsociety.com
Remembering Louis Johnson on the day of his birth, bass guitarist, on his date of birth. Johnson was best known for his group The Brothers Johnson and his session playing on several hit albums of the 1970s and 1980s including the “best selling album of all time” Thriller. His signature sound came from the Music Man StingRay bass guitar, which Leo Fender made for him, and from his slapping technique. He is ranked number 38 on Bass Player magazine’s list of “The 100 Greatest Bass Players of All Time”.
His work appears on many well-known records by prominent artists. Johnson played on Michael Jackson’s albums Off the Wall, Thriller and Dangerous, and hit songs “Billie Jean” and “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough”. He also played on George Benson’s Give Me the Night. He was one of three bassists on Herb Alpert’s 1979 album Rise, which included its top-10, Grammy-winning disco/jazz title-track. Due to his distinctive style, Johnson was nicknamed “Thunder-Thumbs”. His slap bass playing arrived soon after Larry Graham brought it into the mainstream, and both are considered the “grandfathers” of slap-bass playing.
His slap bass lines figure prominently in his work with Stanley Clarke on the Time Exposure album, his work with Grover Washington, Jr. (Hydra), George Duke (Guardian of the Light, Thief in the Night), Jeffrey Osborne (Jeffrey Osborne, and Stay with Me Tonight). The bass line for Michael McDonald’s “I Keep Forgettin’ (Every Time You’re Near)” has been sampled as a backing track for dozens of rap songs. R.I.P.