I know Larry Graham is like Prince's mentor and brother and of course Prince looks up to him and always gives him so much respect in interviews, but personally I prefer Prince's style of bass playing. I think the student has surpassed the teacher. What do u think?

One bass player who is always overlooked in discussions about the instrument is James Jamerson. That man was DAMN good.

What kind of question is that???

What do you think Prince would answer?

Don't forget Sonny T as mentor either...

christophertracy1986 said:

The kind for which the answer would be based solely on opinion...

Larry Graham is just so off-putting that I'd say Prince is better than him at just about anything.

I Rhonda.

What kind of question is that? I say the same thing.
When I heard that Prince turned JW because Larry is one
and it seems Larry has a lot of influence on Prince,
I wondered, How come the Genuis is following the idiot
instead of the idiot following the genuis?.

My vote goes to Larry on bass. As far as overall musician, Prince takes the prize.

Larry Graham on all Fronts IMHO.I mean Larry Graham played with Sly Stone in His Prime&that Alone puts Larry fairly High IMHO.that whole Creativity&Element speaks Volumes to Me.Larry can Play every Instrument that Prince can as well.but the Biggest Difference Between Prince&Larry is the same one between Larry&Sly:Larry never had the Songs nor that "IT" to Being a SuperStar Artist.The Man Can Play like nobody's Business but is missing that something extra as a Artist to Shine IMHO.Sinbad's Funk Show on HBO a few years back: Larry was Leading the Family Stone&was the Best Performance of the Night IMHO but still something in the back of my Mind kept saying if SLy was to just play a Little Organ from the Side Wing He would take the Whole Crowd almost from Larry.Being a Great All-Around Artist Consists of More of can you Play Better than Someone Else or your speed,etc.. Larry is Baddd but just never had that "IT" to truly matter as a Major Force.

Larry on bass...Prince on everything else.

'nuff said.

mistermaxxx said:

What the fuck!?

Dont look at me, I don't know!

joeycoco said:

IMHO Larry is a Badd-ASS that could easily take Prince on Any Instrument that Prince plays, However Larry isn't a Superstar type of Musician So He Could Never hang with SLy Stone Nor Prince in that Light.like I said Before He played with Sly Stone&that was a High onto itself.

Oh, look what I did. I was talking about who cooks a better fried breakfast. Never mind, shouldn't have been so vague. Please forgive me.

I don't know who is better, but Larry Graham certainly has a bigger moustache.

mistermaxxx said:

Is there a doctor on the org...this brother needs his medication!!!

Who is better?...at doing what?

How could anyone even dare 2 ask such a dumb question! LARRY SUX! I wish he would just go away,,,far far away,and take his wife with him!! I'm so sick of hearing his name! Would the real Prince please stand up?

Prince is definitely a better singer.

Whenever Larry chimes in I think of that Burger King Barry White commercial.

the ignorance about musicians on this site is appalling. Larry Graham could play bass with one hand better than prince could with 2.

thechronic said:

I have to agree the thechronic on this one.

thechronic said:

Listen to the bass part from Climax and tell me that. Just because the man played with a good band and people THINK he invented a certain technique means crap when it comes to the gettin' on down. My vote: PRINCE

remember Prince came After Him to Play? when it Comes to the Bass Larry Graham ain't no Paisley Bit Player or just filling a Slot.The Guy deserves more Props once you Know what He can do.

Larry is an artist whose whole career is centred on being a bass playing pioneer. Singing etc for him is little more than a sideshow in scheme of things.

The premise of this thread is therefore almost certainly rendered redundant...
[This message was edited Tue Aug 13 23:44:04 PDT 2002 by Essence]

i see where this discussion is headed... musicians are gonna say larry's a genius, obsessed non-musician fams are gonna say he sucks for a multitude of reasons...

pleez, we've done this about a billion times...

keep in mind this is prince's buddy you're talking about... perhaps his best friend, apart from mani. and prince might be cruisin' the site as we "speak"...

As far as bass playing goes, I'd put Prince somewhere between Larry Graham and Bootsy Collins. If you listen to Prince play bass, he thumps like Larry, but he also has a tendency to use a lot of sound effects and pedals when he plays, much like Bootsy does, albeit not as much.

As far as a complete artist, there's no comparison. You'd be hard pressed find a more complete musician than Prince. There are better bass players, better guitar players, better piano players, but to find one person who has as high a skill level on so many instraments as he does is highly unlikely.

ace316 said:

Larry Graham,Sly Stone,Jesse Johnson,Junie Morrsion,Johnny Guitar Watson,Among at least 96 others Might make a Strong Argument that they could?

Many people here seem to think technical ability is the only thing a player is judged by. I never said I thought Prince was technically better than Larry Graham. I just said I like his style better. When he plays I like how it sounds, shouldn't that be what it's about? Simply, does it sound good, does it make u feel good? Victor Wooten is incredible but he doesn't have a creative bone in his body. Groove is good and an extended jam is just the ticket sometimes but I remember Prince getting drowned a few years back in unsatifying medleys and "jams" which made me yearn to hear a god-damned "song".

But I digress. I think I've side-tracked, never mind.

bigdaddyshiraz said:

Larry was Technical before He got into Groove.I Respect everybody's Pick.but Larry can do both Period.He started as a Guitar Player&then got to Bass&Made His Mark.Great Point on Victor Wooten.the points you make is why I always say there is no real Right or Wrong Way to Play any Instrument because different Players&Vibes Move you.Peace

Larry is great on bass and I love his low singing voice. Prince and him work well together. I love the spiritual tone of thier music together.

Peace,
JD