Did 70s prog invent the bass drop?

1970s prog rock is notorious: never ending songs, mellotrons, weird time signatures, nonsensical lyrics, and gratuitous displays of instrumental virtuosity. But my favorite thing about 70s prog is the bass drop.

The other day, I woke up with a prog song in my head. This shouldn’t surprise anyone who knows me. However, when I recalled a certain part, I was like, “That is such a great bass drop.” Then I thought, “Wait… did prog bands invent the bass drop?”

Now, for those of you who don’t know, a “bass drop” is a technique used in electronic dance music where there’s a lot of mid- and treble-range frequencies building up to a sonic climax. When the tension is released, there’s a subwoofer-blowing bass blessing from the lower register. 

The phenomenon has been used and ridiculed by the Gregory Brothers in their awesome song “IT WAS BASS” and by Saturday Night Live’s comedy sketch “When Will the Bass Drop?” Both those videos are great, so I encourage you to check them out for a good laugh.

Anyway, the prog rock song I had in my head was “Firth of Fifth” from the 1973 Genesis album “Selling England by the Pound.” I was fortunate enough to hear this album performed live by the Genesis tribute band The Musical Box and then by Steve Hackett, the guitarist who played on the original release. Both times I was overwhelmed with, well, BASS.

To me, this is the greatest 70s prog bass drop of all time. Climactic, used perfectly, and super powerful when heard live. It’s that kind of thing that gives you chills all over your body when you experience it.

The bass drop technique from 70s prog is similar to how EDM artists do it nowadays. Basically: build up a lot of musical tension in the mids and higher frequencies, then come in with a synthesized bass to really add some “oomph” to the song.

The 70s prog dudes used bass pedal synthesizers they played with their feet. These are similar to the pedals used on large church organs and Wurlitzers.

Anyway, if you want to hear what I’m talking about, listen to Firth of Fifth around 6 minutes and 45 seconds.

Honorable bass drop mentions include several songs by Yes thanks to both Chris Squire on the bass and Rick Wakeman on the keys. Listen to “I’ve Seen All Good People” at the 2 minute 40 second mark or “Starship Trooper” at 8 minutes and 20 seconds.

Lastly, I’ll mention Kerry Minnear’s work on Gentle Giant’s song “Way of Life” at the 3 minute 25 second mark, though you’ll probably want to turn up your EQ as the album is really treble-biased.

And if you want to see someone absolutely shred on the bass pedal, check out my favorite jazz organist Joey DeFrancesco. Dude is unbelievable. 

Do you have any 70s prog bass drop recommendations I’m forgetting? Let me know in the comments.