RE: A brief history of bass guitar virtuosity...
A music fanatic. I grew up around it. Parents were hippies, my dad was in a band when I was really young. I became a metal head, but gravitated continually upwards in terms of skill at performance. I happened to be in it when the best guitarists in the world were predominantly (but not completely) in that genre. I was inspired by Cliff Burton and wanted to play bass. I ended up being a guitarist instead. Last year of high school I started composing my own electronic music with no formal training, but it inspired me enough to sneak in one music class my last year of high school. In college I was lied to and they didn't have the computer science major when I got there. So initially I was a dual major in Physics and Music. They would not let me play classical guitar as my chosen instrument so for awhile I played the Cello to satisfy their whims so I could take Music Theory I and II. I also played in the Jazz band on campus for awhile, but the director was heavy brass so I didn't really get to spread my wings much there.
I continued my music composition and realized that if I didn't like a style of music I should try to compose something in that style. Usually I'd learn to appreciate that style of music.
So my mind opened to a lot of styles.
I was a guitarist and one of my friends/roommates for 4 years was a bass player that pushed himself hard. I was exposed to a lot of the people in that list from him. Others I've encountered on my own over the years.
Some I only learned of today as I made that post. ;) I do try to research when writing a post like this so it hopefully represents more than just my taste and personal knowledge.
Thanks for the comment.
@dwinblood.
Thanks for your kind answer.
I admire your willingness to learn.
Great fan of Stanley Clark and Larry Graham.
Pretty sure I covered Stanley Clark on one of my Guitar Virtuoso posts :) That was a couple of weeks ago. I think I ended up doing 5 or so posts as there were so many... I did pre-1980s, then the 80s, the 90s, the 2000s, and 2010s (so far).