Morley: You were a legend early on in the industry because of your extraordinary bass lines. At what point in your development did you decide to not take a back seat to guitarists and make the bass more of a lead instrument than a rhythmic one? And was there an influence (player) that drove you in this direction? ** Billy: At no point did I consciously try to take the spotlight or "lead" role. In a way it just happened. I was and still am always into the band as a unit---a lot of interplay, improv, and listening to what the others are doing. I interpreted things differently for sure, but I love working WITH other players the most. That's my favorite thing. Lots of bass players in the early days played a LOT of notes & were often the most melodically active instrument in the band. Most Motown stuff had Jamie Jamerson's wild bass all over it. McCartney's bass on "A little Help From My Friends" is all over the place. The concept of bass player as root note holder for the entire song is relatively new, I think.