5 Most Inventive Rock Bassists

5. John Deacon

In a band as eclectic as Queen, each member had a broad musical palette that crossed many different genres. While the personality of the band was always in Freddie Mercury's hands, the groove of each Queen song came from John Deacon.

The way his basslines could veer in styles so effortlessly made for great musical moments like jazzy material, ("Bicycle Race"), hard rock ("Stone Cold Crazy") and even showtunes ("Seaside Rendezvous.")

Even though Deacon could make his instrument fit into any genre, his songwriting showed that his strength remained in the more soulful genres of funk and R&B. His song contributions to each Queen release yielded killer singles from the lovely "You're My Best Friend" to the fist-pumping "I Want to Break Free."

The man also gave the world the greatest bass hooks of the modern age on songs like "Another One Bites the Dust" and "Under Pressure."

Given Queen's tendency for doing anything and everything with their music, John Deacon was the ideal bass player when it was time to serve the song rather than use the song as a showcase. Over bombastic musical arrangements, Deacon is always right where you need him, keeping a groove tight and swinging.