Use in popular music

In 1952, the upright bass was a standard instrument in rock and roll music, here played by Marshall Lytle (left) in Bill Haley & His Comets. In the 1940s, a new style of dance music called rhythm and blues developed, incorporating elements of the earlier styles of blues and swing. Louis Jordan, the first innovator of this style, featured a double bass in his group, the Tympany Five.^[13] The double bass remained an integral part of pop lineups throughout the 1950s, as the new genre of rock and roll was built largely upon the model of rhythm and blues, with strong elements also derived from jazz, country, and bluegrass. However, double bass players using their instruments in these contexts faced inherent problems. They were forced to compete with louder horn instruments (and later amplified electric guitars), making bass parts difficult to hear. The double bass is difficult to amplify in loud concert venue settings, because it can be prone to feedback "howls". The double bass is large and awkward to transport, which also created transportation problems for touring bands.

In 1951, Leo Fender independently released his Precision Bass, the first commercially successful electric bass guitar.^[14] The electric bass was easily amplified with its built-in pickups, easily portable (less than a foot longer than an electric guitar), and easier to play in tune, thanks to the metal frets. In the 1960s and 1970s bands were playing at louder volumes and performing in larger venues. The electric bass was able to provide the huge, highly-amplified stadium-filling bass tone that the pop and rock music of this era demanded, and the double bass receded from the limelight of the popular music scene.

The upright bass began making a modest comeback in popular music in the mid-1980s, in part due to a renewed interest in earlier forms of rock and country music. In the 1990s, improvements in pickups and amplifier designs for electro-acoustic horizontal and upright basses made it easier for bassists to get a good, clear amplified tone from an acoustic instrument. Some popular bands decided to anchor their sound with an upright bass instead of an electric bass. A trend for "unplugged" performances further helped to enhance the public's interest in the upright bass and acoustic bass guitars.

The double bass is also favored over the electric bass guitar in many rockabilly and psychobilly bands. In such bands the bassist often plays with great showmanship, using slapping technique, sometimes spinning the bass around or even physically climbing onto the instrument while performing; this style was pioneered c. 1953 by Marshall Lytle, the bassist for Bill Haley & His Comets,^[15] and modern performers of such stunts include Lee Rocker of the Stray Cats, Scott Owen from The Living End and Jimbo from Reverend Horton Heat. Primus's Les Claypool used an upright bass for the song Mr. Krinkle, from Pork Soda, and for the song, Over the Falls, from the Brown Album. Jeff Ament of Pearl Jam uses a double bass in the song Nothing As It Seems, off the album Binaural.