Billy Sheehan: "I never considered I had any natural talent at all. I just had a burning desire to play"

Billy Sheehan: "I love playing. I can sit down for three hours and have a one-man party on the bass"
(Image credit: Future / Olly Curtis)

As the world of bass guitar has evolved, we’ve watched Billy Sheehan ascend to its very zenith - playing without overplaying, touring relentlessly while staying healthier than a bassist half his age, maintaining an unwavering creative output and still being a man that you’d love to sit down and have a beer with. 

That’s a rare combination in our experience; after a 50-year career of playing bass, something usually gets lost, be it health, playing skill, or just personality. But not Sheehan, whose debut appearance on the cover in 1990 we’re celebrating by appointing him as Guest Editor...

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Joel McIver

Joel McIver was the Editor of Bass Player magazine from 2018 to 2022, having spent six years before that editing Bass Guitar magazine. A journalist with 25 years' experience in the music field, he's also the author of 35 books, a couple of bestsellers among them. He regularly appears on podcasts, radio and TV.