Bryan Bassett (born August 11, 1954) is an American guitarist who has played with several notable bands, but is best known as a member of Wild Cherry in the 1970s who had a hit with " Play That Funky Music".

Early career

Bryan was born on August 11, 1954, in

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

. He began playing with some local Pittsburgh bands in the late 1960s and early 1970s before joining Wild Cherry in 1975 which was actually a reformation of a popular local Ohio band led by vocalist/guitarist Rob Parissi. They recorded the hit " Play That Funky Music" that same year. Bassett plays the recognizable guitar figure that introduces the song. Bassett continued on with Wild Cherry until their breakup in 1979, and they charted a few more hits. He went on to a successful career as a music producer in the 1980s. Bassett began teaching the Contemporary Ensemble class at

Daytona State College Daytona State College (DSC) is a public college in Daytona Beach, Florida, United States. It is part of the Florida College System. History Established by the Florida Legislature in 1957 as Daytona Beach Junior College, the college initially o ...

in 2010.

Molly Hatchet and Foghat

In 1989 Bassett formed a friendship with

Foghat Foghat are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1971. The band is known for the use of electric slide guitar in its music. Their best known song is the 1975 hit "Slow Ride". The band has released 17 studio albums, including ei ...

's "Lonesome" Dave Peverett. He joined his band, which was billed as Lonesome Dave's Foghat, and served as an alternate version of Foghat, touring separately from Foghat, which was led by drummer

Roger Earl Roger Earl (born 16 May 1946) is an English drummer best known as a member of the rock band Foghat. A founding member, along with guitarist and vocalist "Lonesome" Dave Peverett, guitarist Rod Price, and bassist Tony Stevens, Earl is the only ...

. He played with Lonesome Dave's Foghat until 1993 when Foghat's original lineup reformed. It was at this time that Bryan joined

Molly Hatchet Molly Hatchet is an American rock band formed by guitarist Dave Hlubek in Jacksonville, Florida in 1971. They experienced popularity and commercial success during the late 1970s and early to mid-1980s amongst southern rock and hard rock commun ...

and toured with them until 1999. This version of Molly Hatchet had original vocalist

Danny Joe Brown Danny Joe Brown (August 24, 1951 – March 10, 2005)
– accessed May 2010 was an American singer. He was the lead singer ...

with the band until 1995, but he left, and they toured with no original members. While Bryan was in Molly Hatchet, Foghat's original lineup began to fall apart once again as guitarist

Rod Price Roderick Michael Price (22 November 1947 – 22 March 2005) was an English guitarist best known for his work with the rock band Foghat. He was known as 'The Magician of Slide', 'The Bottle', and 'Slide King of Rock and Roll', due to his profici ...

left the group in 1999. Bryan joined the band to take his place. Dave Peverett died the following year of cancer and was replaced by Charlie Huhn. Bassett still performs with Foghat to this day.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bassett, Bryan 1954 births Living people American funk guitarists American male guitarists American rock guitarists American lead guitarists Musicians from Pittsburgh Molly Hatchet members Wild Cherry (band) members Guitarists from Pennsylvania 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American male musicians