Rolling Stone Readers Pick the Top Ten Bassists of All Time

Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea was originally inspired by bassists in the early 1980s Los Angeles punk scene, but when he got into Bootsy Collins in the mid-Eighties and tried out his "slap" style he found a signature sound. Over the years he's adopted more of a melodic touch, but he frequently funks it up like the Flea of old. In 2009 he joined forces with Thom Yorke in the supergroup Atoms for Peace, but he's currently finishing up the next Red Hot Chili Peppers album and planning a world tour.