Duck Dunn

Maybe it's just me, but it sure feels like we're losing the greats at an alarming rate recently. I awoke to news of the passing of Donald "Duck" Dunn, who died is his sleep after a gig in Tokyo - still spreading what a friend rightly calls "God's music" right to the end. Simplicity and elegance is a rare form of genius, and Duck Dunn was in full possession. For my money, if you could only cite one example, it would be "I've Never Found a Girl," which sent a shockwave down my spine the first time I heard it, and still does every time I listen to it. There's a lot to love in the song, but listen closely and it's really the very sparse bass accents on the one and three which actually propel the song. Whereas the tendency among most bass players would probably be to play along in the same groove with the rest of the band, Duck introduces some space and tension into the mix, which both anchors the song and allows it to fly at the same time. It doesn't come any better.