Sirius 51 Heart and Soul is celebrating Black History Month with famous firsts.

One of my favourite “firsts” relates to Sly and the Family Stone bassist Larry Graham. I know I mentioned Larry here before but it is worth re-telling this great story.

Larry was performing in a situation with his mother where they had no drummer. Larry started to use a combination of thumb plucking and pulling a string out to have it snap against the neck. The Thump and Pluck or “slapping” would become one of the most musically important innovations ever.

Slap bass changed the musical landscape completely. Suddenly the sonic range in a composition where this technique could be used increased dramatically. Most bassists who now employ this method of playing do it for the purpose of serving the music. When performed cleanly, this is something that can be entertaining to a listening and especially a viewing audience.

I am grateful to have been raised to appreciate so many different kinds of music, regardless of any so called ”race labels” that are often attached to genres.