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Matt Bissonette | |
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![]() Bissonette in 2018 | |
Background information | |
Born | July 25, 1961 |
Genres | |
Occupations | Musician |
Instruments |
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Years active | 1980s–present |
Member of | Elton John Band |
Formerly of |
Matt Bissonette (born July 25, 1961) is an American bass player and vocalist. According to Guitar 9, an online musicianship magazine, he has played bass and other stringed instruments on at least 22 albums, with music styles ranging from jazz, jazz fusion, progressive metal and instrumental rock. Bissonette has played bass with performers such as David Lee Roth (1987–1992), Jeff Lynne and ELO (2001), Ringo Starr (2003–2005), Elton John (2012–2023), and currently REO Speedwagon (2023 - )). [1] [2] He is the brother of drummer Gregg Bissonette.
Bissonette attended the University of North Texas's jazz music program. In the early- to mid-1980s, he toured and recorded with jazz trumpeter Maynard Ferguson. For part of his time in the Ferguson band, he played alongside his brother Gregg, which the brothers have done several times in their careers.
Bissonette toured and played with Caspar McCloud for Caspar's Self Portrait album produced by Ahmet Ertegun for Atlantic Records 1982–83.
In late 1987, he replaced Billy Sheehan in the David Lee Roth band. Along with guitar innovator Steve Vai, Matt's brother Gregg (on drums) and keyboardist Brett Tuggle, Matt toured the world behind the former Van Halen vocalist's Billboard #6 album Skyscraper . While on tour with Roth, Bissonette sang the difficult high harmonies made famous in VH classics, such as "Runnin' with the Devil".
In 1989, Bissonette relocated to Vancouver with Roth, his brother Gregg, guitar prodigy Jason Becker and guitarist Steve Hunter, to record the Billboard top 20 album A Little Ain't Enough . Following another world tour in 1991, the Bissonette brothers left the David Lee Roth band. That year, Matt joined Joe Satriani's band.
Following Bissonette's five-year stint with Roth, he played with several other major songwriters, including Brian Wilson (of The Beach Boys), Don Henley (of The Eagles); Bissonette also played with Julian Lennon, Steve Perry (of Journey), Ty Tabor (of King's X), Peter Frampton, and on Gregg Bissonette's solo album. [3]
Bissonette played with Beatles tribute supergroup Yellow Matter Custard, which performed a handful of shows in 2003 and 2011.
In 2003, Bissonette reunited with his brother to back Ringo Starr on a US tour. In 2004, Matt played with vocalist Boz Scaggs on Scaggs' Greatest Hits Live CD and DVD.
In June 2005, the Bissonette brothers once again backed Starr at live shows at Irving Plaza in New York City in June 2005; the Genesee Theatre in Waukegan, IL for the PBS show SoundStage ; and the El Rey Theatre in Los Angeles, CA, as well as on several US TV appearances ( CBS This Morning , etc.)
Following his stint with Starr, in 2006, Bissonette became the bass player for Rick Springfield, while singing in his own band the Squirts. Springfield and Bissonette collaborated on Springfield's Venus in Overdrive , which Bissonette co-produced. [4] [5] That same year, he is notable for playing bass with trailer rock musical band Globus on their album Epicon .
Bissonette is currently the bass player for Elton John, replacing Bob Birch. [6]
Bissonette also played on the theme songs to the television shows Friends , Just Shoot Me! and The Tracey Ullman Show . [4] [5]
On November 7, 2023, Kevin Cronin announced that Bissonette would be REO Speedwagon's touring replacement for Bruce Hall, who took a leave of absence to have back surgery. Bissonette traveled with the band to complete the 2023 tour and will again for selected dates in early 2024. Hall expects to return to touring at some point in 2024.
REO Speedwagon, or simply REO, is an American rock band from Champaign, Illinois. Formed in 1967, the band cultivated a following during the 1970s and achieved significant commercial success throughout the 1980s. Their best-selling album, Hi Infidelity (1980), contained four US Top 40 hits and sold more than 10 million copies.
Randolph Charles Bachman is a Canadian guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He was a founding member of the bands The Guess Who and Bachman–Turner Overdrive. Bachman recorded as a solo artist and was part of a number of short-lived bands such as Brave Belt, Union and Ironhorse. He was a national radio personality on CBC Radio, hosting the weekly music show, Vinyl Tap. Bachman was inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum in 2016.
David Lee Roth is an American rock singer. Known for his wild and energetic stage persona, he was the lead vocalist of the hard rock band Van Halen for three stints: from 1974 to 1985, during 1996, and from 2006 to when they disbanded in 2020. He has also had a successful solo career, releasing numerous RIAA-certified Gold and Platinum albums. After more than two decades apart, Roth re-joined Van Halen in 2006 for a North American tour that became the highest-grossing in the band's history, and one of the highest-grossing of that year. In 2007, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Van Halen.
Toto is an American pop rock band formed in 1977 in Los Angeles, California. Toto combines elements of pop, rock, soul, funk, hard rock, R&B, blues, and jazz. Having released 14 studio albums and sold over 40 million records worldwide, the group has received several Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum in 2009.
Gregg Alan Rolie is an American keyboardist, singer and songwriter. Rolie served as lead singer of the bands Santana and Journey – both of which he co-founded. He also helmed rock group The Storm, performed in Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band until 2021, and since 2001 with his Gregg Rolie Band. Rolie is a two-time inductee of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, having been inducted both as a member of Santana in 1998 and as a member of Journey in 2017.
The Storm was an American supergroup rock band, formed in the Bay Area of San Francisco during the early 1990s. The band's first single, power ballad "I've Got a Lot to Learn About Love", peaked at #6 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart and #26 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Ty Tabor is an American musician. He is the lead guitarist, songwriter, and co-lead vocalist for the hard rock band King's X. Tabor has a wide-ranging guitar style, from big guitar riffs to middling melodic passages. His use of volume swells and ambient passages add an elemental texture to his compositions. He names his main influences as the Beatles, Allan Holdsworth, Johnny Winter, Ace Frehley, Mel Galley, Brian May, Alex Lifeson, Phil Keaggy, and the original Alice Cooper band. In 2008, Tabor was added to the guitar show "Chop Shop's" list of "Top 100 Most Complete Guitar Players of All Time" at number 84.
Eat 'Em and Smile is the debut studio album by former Van Halen singer David Lee Roth, released on July 7, 1986, after his unpredicted successful debut EP Crazy from the Heat (1985).
Warren Ham is an American musician. He is best known for playing with Kansas (1982), Toto and Ringo Starr.
Gregg Bissonette is an American jazz and rock drummer and vocalist. He is the brother of bassist Matt Bissonette, with whom he frequently collaborates. He has played on albums by dozens of recording artists, including David Lee Roth's first three solo albums.
R.E.O./T.W.O. is the second studio album released by the Illinois-based rock band REO Speedwagon, released in 1972. Under the leadership of guitarist Gary Richrath, this album continued the musical direction set on 1971's REO Speedwagon with Richrath's own compositions carrying the record.
Robert Wayne Birch was an American session musician, playing bass guitar as a sideman to a variety of notable artists.
Jesse Harms is an American musician and songwriter. He has worked with Sammy Hagar, David Lee Roth, Eddie Money, REO Speedwagon, Bad English, Guitar Shorty, Patty Smyth, and McAuley Schenker Group.
Ringo Starr: Live at Soundstage is a 2007 live album by English rock drummer and singer Ringo Starr. It was recorded at the Genesee Theatre in Waukegan, Illinois on 24 June 2005 as part of the PBS concert series Soundstage. The Roundheads for this performance were: Steve Dudas, Gary Burr (guitar), Mark Hudson (guitar), Matt Bissonette, Mark Hart (keyboards) and Gregg Bissonette (drums). Colin Hay and his wife Cecilia Noël joined in on the "With a Little Help From My Friends" finale.
"157 Riverside Avenue" is a song by REO Speedwagon from their first album, REO Speedwagon, released in 1971. It was written by all five band members at the time, Terry Luttrell, Gary Richrath, Gregg Philbin, Neal Doughty, and Alan Gratzer. The title refers to the Westport, Connecticut address where the band stayed while recording that album. On March 29, 2012 the house the band stayed in was torn down to make way for a new house.
David Paul Amato is an American musician, the lead guitarist of the rock band REO Speedwagon since May 1989 and a rhythm guitarist/singer for Ted Nugent in the mid-80s.
Venus in Overdrive is the 16th studio album by rock musician Rick Springfield. According to an interview that Springfield gave to the website Songfacts, the title track was written about his wife, Barbara Porter, whom he married in 1984. The album spent two weeks on Billboard's album chart.
The David Lee Roth Band was Van Halen frontman David Lee Roth's backing band, formed in Pasadena, California. Originally featuring a supergroup lineup of guitarist Steve Vai, bassist Billy Sheehan, and drummer Gregg Bissonette, the band released numerous popular songs and albums from the mid-1980s until the late 1990s. Other well-known musicians in the David Lee Roth Band have included guitarist Jason Becker, guitarist Steve Hunter, guitarist John Lowery, bassist Matt Bissonette, drummer Ray Luzier, and keyboardist Danny Wagner. The backing band's well-known songs include "Yankee Rose", "Goin' Crazy!", "Shy Boy", "Just Like Paradise", "Stand Up", "Damn Good", "A Little Ain't Enough", "She's My Machine", and "Slam Dunk!".
Give More Love is the nineteenth studio album by English musician Ringo Starr. It was recorded primarily in Starr's home studio in Los Angeles and was released on 15 September 2017 by UMe. The album features Starr's frequent collaborators such as Joe Walsh, Dave Stewart, Gary Nicholson and Bob Malone, members of his All-Starr Band, and guest appearances by Starr's former Beatles bandmate Paul McCartney.