Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Flea Names “The Greatest Rock Bass Player”

Flea is considered by some to be the greatest bassist in rock history.

As far as who he thinks is rock’s greatest bassist, he has a pretty great pick: Sir Paul McCartney.

Flea said on the ‘Where Everybody Knows Your Name’ podcast, “I think Paul’s the greatest rock bass player. He’s just great. I mean, there are so many guys that are great in different ways, but Paul’s bass playing is so lyrical and melodic, and it’s just so beautiful.”

He added, “One of the things I’ve heard is that he put the bass on after. A band like mine, the bass sometimes the song starts with bass lines, so coming first, or the music comes first.”

After the podcast episode, Flea tweeted out that he thinks Chrissy Hynde is rock’s best female vocalist. Hynde continues to lead The Pretenders on tour at the moment, with many dates opening for the Foo Fighters.

Chrissie Hynde is the greatest female rock singer of all time

— Flea (@flea333) August 12, 2024

Flea and his band were featured during the Olympic Games’ closing ceremonies as they played on the Los Angeles area beach. They figure to be a prominent fixture during 2028’s games in LA.

In a completely unrelated note…Flea tells a brief story about how he and Woody Harrelson snowboarded naked down a snowy mountain and how he almost posted the footage to Instagram. I like to think they sound like a bunch of fun guys to party with, but if I’m being honest…I don’t know if I’m mentally and emotionally ready for that.