This was fun to think about
I think there is a certain attitude, that sets it apart from other genres. I know I shouldn’t wear my bass so low but do it anyway, I know some theory but I’d rather just play really really loud 
Duff, Tom Hamilton, Derek Smalls
Common rock drum patterns and how to lock in with them. How to get a good overdriven tone. How to build a song up and finish strong.
Thank goodness someone finally pointed out the GOAT.
There’s also Scott Pilgrim.
Ah, but to understand what is rock bass, we first have to understand what is Rock. To me, there is rock, and there is Rock with a capital R. There are many rock bands and artists who play rock out there, but not all of them are Rock.
Rock is about rebellion, about casting off the shackles society binds us with for a few minutes. You can’t teach Rock - you have to live it and experience it . A proper Rock bassist has drunk a deep draft from the cup of life, and they bring it to their playing.
Sid Vicious was a great Rock bassist – he barely knew one end of the bass from the other but he had the personality and the look. So did Lemmy, but he could also play. John Entwhistle may have been the ox, but he laid down some of the finest Rock grooves and smashed up some of the finest hotel rooms.
What would I want to know? How to Rock and stay alive for long enough to enjoy it. Musically, how to hold an eight while on drugs, what the pentatonic scale is, how to get a big loud aggressive tone.
This is a great point. If you substitute the word “rock” with a hybrids it seems to make sense the most. Country rock, blues rock, funk rock, r&b rock. There’s not really a clear definitive line and sandbox for “Rock”
Derek Smalls still #1
He was also called Thunderfingers. I like The Ox better. Big fan and think the world of him, and he benefited from being in a band without a lead guitar - Pete played rhythm. So many of the iconic rock bassists - Geddy, Ox, Dee Dee, Lemmy - were in bands with unusual configurations.
How has this thread gone this far without Steve Harris being mentioned?! He is THE rock bassist in my definition. Him or Lemmy.
I’ll cast a vote for Phil Lesh.
Yup.
This is the ironic heart of the operation.
How to play Rock Bass:
Stop reading this, quit your job, buy a van, go find a band, tour tour tour tour, and you did it.
Someone asked Joe Walsh once how he learned to play so well, and he said doing two shows a day with your meals depending on it.
I think that first we’d need to define what the term Rock Bass means. I suspect it will have a different meaning for me having grown up playing classic rock from the 60s and 70s than it will mean for someone who grew up on 80s rock and heavy metal.