Ranked number 38 on our list of The 100 Greatest Bass Players of All Time, Louis Johnson, or ‘thunder thumbs,’ as he was also known, was one of the most enigmatic thumpers to ever pick up a bass guitar. His pioneering use of slap bass landed him on Michael Jackson’s Off the Wall and Thriller albums – including the disco romp of Get On The Floor and the hit single Billie Jean – as well as George Benson’s Give Me The Night and Michael McDonald’s I Keep Forgettin' (Every Time You're Near).
Johnson also scored a number of hits with his brother George as part of The Brothers Johnson, whose funk anthems included Stomp!, Get the Funk Out Ma Face, and Strawberry Letter #23. He played with such power that he regularly blew his bass amplifier’s speakers.
Using his custom MusicMan Stingray – designed by Leo Fender himself – Johnson was able to produce a distinctively funky, slap sound, as seen in his two instructional videos, Louis Johnson Master Session 1, and somewhat inevitably, Master Session 2.
