Look, let’s face it. There is a hierarchy to rock band members. The frontman or woman is always gonna get the most praise, as they are the most front-facing member. Next on the pyramid is the guitarist who can do flashy tricks and memorable riffs. By the time it all trickles down, there is often very little love for the musicians who give the song structure: the rhythm section. Drummers and bass players usually get the short end of the stick. However, the three pairings below defied those odds. These iconic band members made the rhythm section look as cool as any frontman ever has.
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Flea & Chad Smith
The Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Flea and Chad Smith are just as deified as their melodic counterparts, Anthony Kiedis and John Frusciante. With their incomparable skills and singular performance personalities, both Flea and Smith made burgeoning musicians everywhere want to put their electric down in favor of drumsticks or slap bassing.
Starting with Flea: this bassist essentially redefined what the instrument could be. His off-kilter performance style is magnetic to watch on stage. Moreover, his skill on the instrument has produced some of the memorable rock riffs of all time. In the same vein, Smith’s drumming is the core of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. While the same could be said of any drummer, it’s even truer for Smith, who perfectly balances RHCP’s groove with tight, polished playing.
Paul McCartney & Ringo Starr
Though Paul McCartney didn’t set out to be the Beatles’ bassist, he filled the role perfectly. He didn’t just succeed as a bassist; he innovated. Younger musicians looked up to his distinctive style and coveted his famous violin bass. McCartney evolved into much more than a bassist, but still, he gave the instrument a much-needed PR campaign, upping its cool factor.
Ringo Starr is revered as a drummer. Though understated, his sense of rhythm was unmatched among his peers. He established new trends in rock music, becoming as innovative as his rhythm-section partner, McCartney. His essentiality in the Beatles had fans taking notice of what was happening beneath the melody, perhaps for the first time.
Tina Weymouth & Chris Frantz (Talking Heads)
In the late ’70s/early ’80s, if you didn’t have a danceable rhythm, you didn’t have much. Though not every band leaned into the floor-filling musicality that seemed to be sweeping the world, those that did earned massive hits and helped characterize this era’s exuberance. Naturally, given listeners’ tastes for dance-ready songs, the rhythm section became quite important.
One band that did danceable music well, while also maintaining a certain complexity, was Talking Heads. That’s in large part due to the genius of David Byrne, but one can’t count out the talents of Tina Weymouth & Chris Frantz. The bassist and drummer, respectively, made the Talking Heads’ unique, new wave sound digestible. You could sit and listen to Byrne’s lyrics, or you could turn your brain off and groove. Both approaches produced a rich listening experience, a testament to the band’s strength as a whole, especially Weymouth and Frantz.
(Photo by Noam Galai/Getty Images for Global Citizen)
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