“I’d been playing it at the 7th fret, but then I saw a video of Bernard Edwards, and I was determined to play it right – Nile picked up on that instantly”: Jerry Barnes gives an insider’s view of Chic’s seven-minute bass anthem

Gotham bass vet Jerry Barnes has bestowed his deep-pocketed dexterity upon Chic since the untimely death of groove god Bernard Edwards in 1996 – more than twice as long as the original band existed. But that didn’t stop founder Nile Rodgers from breaking out in a smile onstage recently, when Barnes launched into Everybody Dance.

“I had been playing the bass part my own way, at the 7th fret,” Barnes told Bass Player. “But then I saw a video of Bernard Edwards playing it at the 3rd fret, using his ‘chucking’ technique, and I was determined to play it right – Nile picked up on that instantly.”

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Chris Jisi was Contributing Editor, Senior Contributing Editor, and Editor In Chief on Bass Player 1989-2018. He is the author of Brave New Bass, a compilation of interviews with bass players like Marcus Miller, Flea, Will Lee, Tony Levin, Jeff Berlin, Les Claypool and more, and The Fretless Bass, with insight from over 25 masters including Tony Levin, Marcus Miller, Gary Willis, Richard Bona, Jimmy Haslip, and Percy Jones.