Bryan Bassett (born August 11, 1954) is an American guitarist who has played with several notable bands but is best known as a member of Wild Cherry in the 1970s who had a hit with "
Play That Funky Music
"Play That Funky Music" is a song written by Rob Parissi and recorded by the band Wild Cherry. The single was the first released by the Cleveland-based Sweet City record label in April 1976 and distributed by Epic Records. The performers on th ...
".
Early career
Bryan was born on August 11, 1954 in
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...
. He began playing with some local Pittsburgh bands in the late 1960s and early 1970s before joining Wild Cherry in 1975 which was actually a reformation of a popular local Ohio band led by vocalist/guitarist Rob Parissi. They recorded the hit "
Play That Funky Music
"Play That Funky Music" is a song written by Rob Parissi and recorded by the band Wild Cherry. The single was the first released by the Cleveland-based Sweet City record label in April 1976 and distributed by Epic Records. The performers on th ...
" that same year. Bassett plays the recognizable guitar figure that introduces the song. Bassett continued on with Wild Cherry until their breakup in 1979, and they charted a few more hits. He went on to a successful career as a music producer in the 1980s.
Bassett began teaching the Contemporary Ensemble class at
Daytona State College
Daytona State College (DSC) is a public college with its main campus in Daytona Beach, Florida. DSC also has 6 smaller regional campuses throughout Volusia and Flagler counties. It is part of the Florida College System.
The college offers more ...
in 2010.
Molly Hatchet and Foghat
In 1989 Bassett formed a friendship with
Foghat
Foghat are an English rock band formed in London in 1971. The band is known for the use of electric slide guitar in its music. The band has achieved eight gold records, one platinum and one double platinum record, and despite several line-up c ...
's "Lonesome" Dave Peverett. He joined his band, which was billed as Lonesome Dave's Foghat, and served as an alternate version of Foghat, touring separately from Foghat, which was led by drummer
Roger Earl
Roger Earl (born 16 May 1946) is an English drummer best known as a member of the rock band Foghat. A founding member, along with guitarist and vocalist "Lonesome" Dave Peverett, guitarist Rod Price, and bassist Tony Stevens, Earl is the only ...
. He played with Lonesome Dave's Foghat until 1993 when Foghat's original lineup reformed. It was at this time that Bryan joined
Molly Hatchet
Molly Hatchet is an American rock band formed in 1971 by guitarist Dave Hlubek in Jacksonville, Florida. They were a popular band during the late 1970s and early-to-mid 1980s among the southern rock and hard rock communities. The band released ...
and toured with them until 1999. This version of Molly Hatchet had original vocalist
Danny Joe Brown
Danny Joe Brown (August 24, 1951 – March 10, 2005) – accessed May 2010 was the lead singer of the
Rod Price
Roderick Michael Price (22 November 1947 – 22 March 2005) was an English guitarist best known for his work with the rock band Foghat. He was known as 'The Magician of Slide', 'The Bottle', and 'Slide King of Rock and Roll', due to his slide g ...
left the group in 1999. Bryan joined the band to take his place. Dave Peverett died the following year of cancer and was replaced by
Charlie Huhn
Charles Huhn (born January 11, 1951) is an American rock singer and guitarist. He got his start playing with Vic Amato, Andy Dennen and Al Lesert in the band Cirrus, in and around Grand Rapids, Michigan, playing many gigs in West Michigan befor ...