Anthony Jackson, the legendary session bassist credited with creating the contrabass guitar, has died at the age of 73 following a battle with Parkinson’s disease.
Ranked No. 43 on Consequence’s list of the 100 Greatest Bassists of All Time, Jackson’s prolific career included recording sessions with Buddy Rich, Chaka Khan, Roberta Flack, Carly Simon, Diana Ross, and Paul Simon. He also performed with Simon & Garfunkel as part of their backing band during the duo’s legendary 1981 free concert in Central Park, which drew an estimated audience of 500,000 people.
Jackson will also be remembered for his opening bass line on “For the Love of Money,” The O’Jays’ classic song that was later immortalized as the theme to Donald Trump’s reality series The Apprentice.
On many songs, Jackson played a contrabass — a six-string instrument of his own design tuned in fourths (BEADGC), rather than the standard tuning of one octave below a guitar (EADGBE). His invention expanded the sonic possibilities of the bass and helped redefine the instrument’s role in modern music.
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