Cardiff born bassist Pino Palladino is definitely something of a legend (he is on MusicRadar’s 60 greatest bassists of all Time). His fretless bass line on Paul Young‘s  “Wherever I lay my hat”  is almost undoubtedly responsible for the song’s success, and for shaping an era of bass playing. In this short video, Carrie Grant talks to Pino  about that bass line. Pino gives a hat tip to Stravinsky’s “Rite Of Spring” (there is a transcription and comparison on Tom Kenrick’s blog and the connection to Jaco). As well as demonstrating what a humble player he is, it also shows the critical ear that drove him to success. He might not read music, but he has played with a list of legendary musicians and influenced a generation of bassists.

You can listen to the track here, those opening bass notes, on Pino’s 1970s fretless Music Man StingRay,  define it: