Doug Wimbish | |
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Wimbish performing in New York City in 2016
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Background information | |
Birth name | Douglas Arthur Wimbish |
Born |
Hartford, Connecticut United States |
September 22, 1956
Genres | Hard rock, funk rock, alternative metal, hip hop |
Occupation(s) | Musician, songwriter |
Instruments | Vocals, bass, guitar |
Labels | Sugarhill, Enja, On-U Sound |
Associated acts | Jungle Funk, Living Colour, Little Axe, Tackhead, Billy Idol |
Website | dougwimbish |
Douglas Arthur "Doug" Wimbish (born September 22, 1956) is an American bass player, primarily known for being a member of rock band Living Colour and funk/dub/hip hop collective Tackhead (as well as his studio work for the rap/hip hop label Sugarhill Records and the experimental dub label On-U Sound).
Born in Hartford, Connecticut, Wimbish started playing guitar at the age of 12 and switched to bass guitar at the age of 14. In 1979 he was hired together with guitarist Skip McDonald and drummer Keith LeBlanc to form the house rhythm section for Sugarhill Records. Although they did not play on the Sugarhill Gang's famous song "Rapper's Delight" (the rhythm tracks for this song were played by the group Positive Force), they did play on many other popular song tracks, including "The Message" by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, "White Lines" by Grandmaster Flash and Melle Mel, "New York City" by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, and "Apache" by the Sugarhill Gang.
Together with McDonald and LeBlanc, Wimbish headed to London in 1984 and started working with producer Adrian Sherwood and formed the group Tackhead. Together with Tackhead and as a session bassist, Wimbish found himself in demand as a bass player for many artists and was considered as a permanent sideman for the Rolling Stones after the departure of bassist Bill Wyman in 1993, but lost the position to Darryl Jones. In the late 1980s Wimbish began crossing paths with vocalist Bernard Fowler, who collaborated with Tackhead and Little Axe. Both sang on records by the Rolling Stones, and Wimbish later played on the Stones' 1997 album Bridges to Babylon. Wimbish joined Living Colour in 1992 (he replaced Muzz Skillings, who left the band) to tour and record the album, Stain.