Yes, Robert Trujillo is known as one of the sickest bassist in metal, but part of what makes the Metallica musician so is a well-rounded appreciation for music that started with a full-fledged love of funk. And during a recent appearance on The Metallica Podcast, Trujillo offered some insight into his musical beginnings by sharing his five favorite funk grooves, each coming from his formative years in the late ’60s and ’70s.
Introducing the segment, Trujillo notes, “I’m a bass player that loves the instrument and I love the bottom end, but I also love how the bass has an energy to it that can kind of control your body movements, you know what I mean. It’s sexy.” And with that, Trujillo dove right in with a disco era classic to get the list rolling.
Kool & the Gang, “Jungle Boogie”
“Everybody knows that I’m a huge fan of the [Kool and the Gang] song ‘Jungle Boogie.’ Kirk [Hammett] and I play that in the Wedding Band, and that riff, that bass line is probably one of the best ever. It’s up there with ‘Sandman’ actually. [Mimics bassline], and then of course the horns kick in and holy shit, it’s bad ass.”
The bassist also reveals, “I’ve even heard Jerry Cantrell, about 20 years ago say, ‘Man I wanna cover that someday,’ and the Jerry things, with his voice and his range, I could hear that being a strong possibility. ‘Jungle Boogie’ is at the top of my list.”
Kool and the Gang, “Jungle Boogie”
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Slave, “Slide”
“There’s a song called ‘Slide’ by a band called Slave. This is an incredible bass line that is very simple, but it is very prominent and strong. And again, it moves, it grooves and it’s just like an infection to whoever is listening to it,” says Trujillo.
He adds, “The bass player is Mark Adams, and Mark Adams unfortunately passed away 10 years ago, but the band Slave came out of Dayton, Ohio, which was the home of a lot of funk players, like The Ohio Players and a band called Sun and a band called Heatwave, all these groups and they all had incredible bass players. This song was probably recorded when they were about 16 years old, they were just teenagers and probably didn’t sign the best record deals back then, but this song is a big hit. This song ‘Slide’ really resonated with me in my youth, and it still does to this day.”
Slave, “Slide”
Tower of Power, “What Is Hip?”
Trujillo stayed closer to home with his next choice. “‘What Is Hip?’ is a very cool song from a band from actually the East Bay of the NorCal. The band is Tower of Power and the bassist is Rocco Prestia,” reveals Trujillo.
“He had sort of a Jaco [Pastorius] vibe. He might have been doing it even a little bit before Jaco, but he was doing the 16th note funk grooves on the bass, super tight, great movement.,” adds Trujillo. “That song is also one that I grew up with. Great song. East Bay was great in that it produced some of the coolest bands in sort of the funk rock realm, like Sly and the Family Stone, even bands like Creedence Clearwater Revival came out of the East Bay. Mass Construction I believe was another one of the bands that came out of there. So East Bay had this thing that was very powerful in the world of soul and groove, so I love listening to that song and it takes me back to my childhood.”
Tower of Power, “What Is Hip?”
The Isley Brothers, “Climbin’ Up the Ladder”
“Another cool song is ‘Climbin’ Up the Ladder’ by the band The Isley Brothers. ‘Climbin’ Up the Ladder’ came out on the Go For Your Guns album that would have been around 1977,” says the bassist, who adds that the song has a sentimental value to him.
“What’s really cool about that song and what that means to me is that it was the first concert I ever went to – The Isley Brothers and Wild Cherry – Wild Cherry, who did ‘Play That Funky Music White Boy,’ another cool song. And that concert really resonated with me cause it was the concert that made me realize I … want … this,” recalls Trujillo. “I was at the L.A. Forum with my mom, she took me for my birthday, saw this show, walked out of there going I wanna be a musician, I want to perform.”
The Isley Brothers, “Climbin’ Up the Ladder”
Sly & the Family Stone, “Sing a Simple Song”
“Last but not least is a song called ‘Sing a Simple Song’ by Sly and the Family Stone. Again, East Bay Band, but they had riffs just like The Isley Brothers. They had riffs! Bass lines and riffs are what you hear in Metallica’s music and that’s what you hear in a lot of heavy metal. Black Sabbath are the kings of riff, so when you hear this song, you’ll hear what I’m talking about,” says the bassist.
Sly & the Family Stone, “Sing a Simple Song”
These days Trujillo is bringing some of his funk swagger to Metallica’s music both onstage and in the studio. Having wrapped up their North American touring for the year, the band has started to schedule some shows in other parts of the world for 2024. Stay up to date with their touring here.
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