Top Ten Singing Bassists

Ranking bass players who also sing, based on a combination of their singing ability, bass talent, and contribution to the band they're in. Therefore, bassists who rarely sing should be ranked lower than bass players who are the lead singer
The Top Ten
1 Dickie Peterson
2 Geddy Lee Gary Lee Weinrib, known professionally as Geddy Lee, is a Canadian musician, singer and songwriter best known as the lead vocalist, bassist, and keyboardist for the Canadian rock group Rush.

Two words. BASS TONE. He plays super fast yet beautifully, never does the same fill twice, his tone is second to none, and that is a very hard thing to accomplish. Then he starts to sing. It's pure beauty, especially in his prime. Hitting low keys like in The Trees, yet screeching high like at the end of Cygnus X-1 Book 1. Then, he plays keyboards with his hands and feet. On top of all of this, he plays guitar on some pieces, Most notably Xanadu. He deserves Number 1.

Who TF is Dickie Peterson and why is he above Geddy? Geddy is the best of all time, period. Even if he wasn't the singer and keyboardist for Rush, he'd still be the best.

Geddy is the original. No one -- but no one --can sing and play bass like Geddy.

I made almost a same list as this about long time ago.I also put geddy on top and paul on second.I think they deserve it.

3 Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and composer. With John Lennon, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr, he gained worldwide fame with the rock band the Beatles, one of the most popular and influential groups in the history of pop and rock music.One of the most successful composers and performers of all time, he is known for his melodic approach to bass-playing, his versatile and wide tenor vocal range and his musical eclecticism, exploring styles ranging from pre-rock 'n' roll pop to classical and electronica. His songwriting partnership with John Lennon remains the most successful in history

Not just is his bass skills impressive and his voice impeccable, his influence to. The Beatles didn't get called the greatest rock band of all time for nothing.

He has some complicated bass lines while also harmonizing with John and George. Talent!

For Singing Bassist obviously Paul McCartney should be at the top.

4 Lemmy Kilmister Ian Fraser Kilmister, known as Lemmy, was an English musician, singer and songwriter who founded and fronted the rock band Motörhead. He was a bassist and a singer known for his raspy voice. He died in 2015 from cancer and other health problems.

Lemmy is the greatest of all time, hands down!

Way too low on the list, he's underrated

5 Jack Bruce John Symon Asher "Jack" Bruce was a Scottish musician, singer and songwriter known primarily for his contributions to the British supergroup Cream, which also included guitarist-singer Eric Clapton and drummer Ginger Baker.

Jack Bruce is awesome, innovative and legendary!

6 Tom Araya Tomás Enrique "Tom" Araya Díaz is a Chilean American musician, best known as the bassist and vocalist of the American thrash metal band Slayer.
7 Phil Lynott Philip Parris "Phil" Lynott was an Irish musician, singer and songwriter. His most commercially successful group was Thin Lizzy, of which he was a founding member, the principal songwriter, lead vocalist and bassist.
8 Sting Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner CBE, known professionally by his stage name Sting, is an English musician, singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, activist, actor, and philanthropist. He is best known as the lead singer for the English band The Police

Try and play bass on Spirits in the Material World while also singing. It's impossible, but Sting does it with ease. It shows why he is the true master.

Not many people can jump around and play bass while singing.

9 Benjamin Orr Benjamin Orzechowski, known as Benjamin Orr, was an American musician best known as a singer, bassist and co-founder of the rock band the Cars.
10 John Entwistle John Alec Entwistle, was an English singer, songwriter, composer, musician, film and music producer. He is mostly known as the lead bassist for the rock band The Who.
The Contenders
11 Les Claypool Leslie Edward "Les" Claypool is an American musician, singer, songwriter, composer, author and actor best known as the bassist and lead vocalist of the band Primus.

Les Claypool should be lot higher on this list. He has both great vocals and bass skills. He is more technical than most other bassists here.

Are you kidding me. Les is the greatest bassist ever. The fact he sings also makes him even better.

Best ever natural slap happy total original plays a mean bass and ithink he is the best by far

Best bass player of all time. And he sings. In a unique way. The best!

12 Hansi Kürsch Hansi Kürsch, born Hans Jürgen Kürsch, is the lead singer, lyricist, co-composer and bassist for German power metal band Blind Guardian . Heavily influenced by Freddie Mercury, he creates a huge choir effect by overdubbing his own voice multiple times in complex, overlapping vocal harmonies. He records each vocal track individually because harmonizers and "perfect pitch" programs don't work with his voice due to distortion and the natural double layer effects his vocal cords have .
His early technique made use of a more aggressive and harsher, "screaming" technique . ...read more.

Lead vocals and bass for Blind Guardian for 10+ years, from 1987 to 1998. Then he focused on vocals, lyrics and songwriting. He is a phenomenal singer, great leader and main contributor to the band. His singing talent is way bigger than his bass playing talent (the opposite case is Geddy Lee).

13 Peter Steele Petrus Thomas Ratajczyk, better known by his stage name Peter Steele, was the lead singer, bassist and composer for the gothic metal band Type O Negative.

One of the most underrated singers in metal. He was such a badass frontman. RIP Peter Steele

14 Roger Waters George Roger Waters is an English singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and composer. He is mostly known for being the secondary lead vocalist and bassist of Pink Floyd.

In my opinion Roger Waters is the necessary member of Pink Floyd. I liked his singing better than Gilmour and Waters is a competent bassist as well.

Living legend

15 Suzi Quatro Susan Kay "Suzi" Quatro is an American hard rock singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and actress. She was the first female bass player to become a major rock star, breaking a barrier to women's participation in rock music.

Songs: 48 Crash, Devil Gate Drive, Your Mama Won't Like Me, Stumblin' In

16 Troy Sanders Troy Jayson Sanders is an American musician, singer, and songwriter best known as a member of the Atlanta, Georgia metal band Mastodon, in which he plays bass and shares lead vocal duties with guitarist Brent Hinds and drummer Brann Dailor.
17 Kim Gordon Kim Althea Gordon is an American musician, songwriter, and visual artist. Born in Rochester, New York, Gordon was raised in Los Angeles, California, and studied art at the Otis Art Institute.
18 Peter Cetera Peter Paul Cetera is an American singer, songwriter, and bassist best known for being an original member of the rock band Chicago, before launching a successful solo career.
19 Mark Hoppus Mark Allan Hoppus is an American musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and television personality best known as the bassist and co-lead vocalist for the pop punk band Blink-182. Born in Ridgecrest, California, Hoppus spent his childhood moving back and forth between his mother and father's houses, as they divorced when he was in third grade.

Personally I love his smooth vocals and bass work for blink-182. He is very talented and he's an inspiration for me as a "Punk".

20 Marco Hietala Marko Tapani "Marco" Hietala is a Finnish heavy metal vocalist, bass guitarist and songwriter (Nightwish, Tarot).

My second favourite bassist (Steve Harris is the number one) and has also great vocals. Best example of his singing is in my opinion Ghost River, which is also my favourite song from Nightwish.

21 Gene Simmons Chaim Witz, known professionally by his stage name Gene Simmons, is an Israeli-American musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, entrepreneur, actor and television personality.
22 Greg Lake Gregory Stuart Lake was an English bassist, guitarist, singer, songwriter, and producer who gained prominence as a founding member of the progressive rock bands King Crimson and Emerson, Lake & Palmer.

Tremendously underrated. He had a lot of skill, both as a bassist and a singer. I think he deserves more votes.

Should be in the top 5!

23 John Cooper John Landrum Cooper, professionally credited as John L. Cooper, is an American musician, singer and songwriter. He has been the lead vocalist, bassist and co-founder of the Grammy-nominated American Christian rock band Skillet since 1996.

My favorite band

24 Mark King

I think Mark King definitely deserves a spot among the top 10, he is an insanely skilled bass player and and a good singer. Few have what it takes to consistently play songs like Lessons in Love and even fewer can do it while singing as well as he does. the man really deserves more recognition.

25 Glenn Hughes Glenn Hughes is an English rock bassist and vocalist, best known as a member of Deep Purple and the rock pioneers Trapeze, and his solo career. Hughes was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Deep Purple. He is acclaimed for his wide vocal range.
8Load More
PSearch List