“I’m like the power forward on a basketball team”: Bob Glaub might be the most famous bass player you’ve never heard of

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Bob Glaub might be the most famous bass player you've never heard of. His tasteful, unobtrusive work has graced so many major albums, it's safe to say you have grooved to his impeccably executed basslines more times than you can possibly imagine.

A pillar of the L.A. session scene, Glaub has propelled hits as diverse as Bruce Springsteen’s Viva Las Vegas, John Lennon's You Can't Catch Me, Stevie Nicks’s Edge of Seventeen, Donna Summer's Last Dance, Ringo Starr's Golden Blunders, Rod Stewart's Tonight's the Night, Jackson Browne's The Pretender, Don Henley's Last Worthless Evening, Steve Perry's Oh Sherrie, and many more.

With 50 years as a professional musician behind him, Glaub could be forgiven for having settled into a particular bass style. However, he reveals that his studio approach has changed over the years.

“I've developed a sixth sense for how to fit into a track,” he told Bass Player. “I'm like the power forward on a basketball team: I keep the motor going, keep things moving ahead, and bring out the best in all my teammates.”

“These days I'm also more confident in who I am. I know that when someone calls me, they want what I do, which is to bring a lot of heart and a keen sense of the groove to a session.”

What do you pay attention to when you're hitting the groove?

“The time, the feel, where the drummer places the hi-hat and snare and kick. I listen to the singer, the melody, the lyrics, the other instruments – the whole palette. It's an instinctual thing that's hard to describe. There was a time when I thought about it so much that it got in the way, but I realized that not thinking made the music flow better.”

Do you adjust for different drummers?

“Well, some drummers play on top of the groove, some play behind, and some right in the middle. A little edge is nice – it creates forward motion – but if a drummer is too much on top, it makes me work harder. I'll dig in and try to broaden out the beat by sitting more in the middle.”

How do you capture the right feel in the studio?

“You have to put every ounce of your energy into the track to create the moment, as if you were playing in front of an audience. Sometimes I try to picture an audience and imagine what it would be like for them watching. But ultimately I react to the people I'm playing with; the outcome of that interplay is what goes down on tape.”

Many of your bass fills have a wide range – you jump around a lot within the chord. How do these ideas come to you?

“Partly from listening to a lot of old jazz upright players, and also Latin players like Israel ‘Cachao’ Lopez. Some of those old mambo lines jump all over the place.”

You aren't known primarily as a slapper, but you've created some classic P-Bass slap lines, like on Donna Summer's Dim All the Lights. Do you feel drawn to that technique?

“I had seen Larry Graham live and was knocked out. I tried to make the style my own and use it sparingly, but there was a period in the early to mid-‘80s when it became a bit overused, and I made a conscious choice not to do it any longer.”

When did you get started as a professional?

“Around 1972 I was in junior college, and I quit school during finals week to go on the road with a Vegas-type show band. I joined the band and learned the entire gig on a day's notice. I did that for six months and decided I'd have to reach a little higher if I was going to do this professionally.”

“Then I met guitarist Jesse Ed Davis, who played with Taj Mahal's first band and was pretty much the top-call rock guitarist for L.A. sessions at the time. I got a call from Jesse to work on his third solo record. That was where I first met Jim Keltner. Shortly after that I was asked to finish up a tour with the Marc Almond Band. That was my first rock concert tour.”

You recorded with John Lennon around that time.

“Jesse Ed Davis also referred me for that gig. Phil Spector was producing. It was during Lennon's infamous ‘lost weekend’ period in L.A. He was pretty messed up at that time. It was a rock & roll album – just a bunch of oldies with no charts; just jump in with 24 other musicians. I played through a Pignose amp. Phil thought it was the coolest thing he'd ever seen.”

What bass did you play on most of your early sessions.

“It's a '64 P-Bass with a rosewood fingerboard. I have an EMG Jazz Bass pickup near the bridge, and the original passive pickup in front. It has EMG stacked bass and treble controls and a Demeter hum-reduction circuit built in. I keep the treble knob way down and the bass way up! It's like the Incredible Sound button on my cheap boombox.”

Are bass players expected to bring lots of basses to sessions?

“It definitely became a thing in L.A. and Nashville to have an assortment, but it's less of an expectation now. If you plug in and it sounds good, I don't think people care what you play. You might still need to bring two or three, like a 5 and a fretless.”

What's the most important thing you would say to up-and-coming bassists?

“Listen. Listen to the music, listen to the people you're playing with, and above all, listen to the drums. Try to blend in but still make it your own. Be in the moment and don't over-think situations.”

What does being in the moment mean to you?

“As many years as I've been playing, all my prior experiences become a part of every time I play. A half-dozen people can play the same thing, and it will feel different with each one. Everyone has different experiences, and that's what they bring to music – not just a bunch of notes. That's the beauty of music.”