Aretha Franklin asked him to go on the road, but Reggie’s parents wouldn’t allow their young son to miss school. The prestigious Berklee College of Music offered him a scholarship, but by that time, the streetwise McBride already had the tools he needed to succeed. Reggie is renowned for his mastery of the Motown sound and his naturally laid-back funk feel; you’ve heard it on classics such as Funkadelic’s booty-shakin’ “Good to Your Earhole,” the Elton John gem “Little Jeannie,” and Wonder’s throwdown “You Haven’t Done Nothin’.”

McBride’s main gig since 1997 has been holding down the low end for country blues phenom Keb’ Mo’ (born Kevin Moore), both onstage and in the studio. “Kevin saw me playing a club gig at the Mint,” says McBride. “Later on he told me that he knew right away I would fit well in his band.” Their relationship got off to a great start with the Grammy-winning CD Slow Down, and McBride has been Keb’s bassman ever since.

Conversation with McBride reveals clues about his longevity in the bass business. It took some schedule-wrangling to line up an interview, because when he’s not on the road with Keb’, McBride is busy doing sessions for the likes of Herbie Hancock and Rod Stewart, for which he’s very conscious to be on time and well prepared. He’s also a very affable and levelheaded guy who is happy to answer any and all questions about his history, which he remembers down to the finest details dating all way back to his childhood.

What inspired you to play bass in the first place?

I grew up in Detroit during the ’60s, and James Jamerson was the main man. My family went to the Motown Revue religiously every year, and Jamerson would be onstage with the Funk Brothers backing up all the singers, so I was aware of him by age five. I started playing Motown songs in a band when I was about eight. The drummer said that we needed a bass, but I didn’t know what one was until he said, “It’s the low notes that James Jamerson plays.” I understood what he meant then, so I detuned my guitar until we could find a bass to borrow. My family moved out of the city for about five years, but when we moved back to town, the Jamersons lived four houses down.

Did you wait on their doorstep every day looking for pointers from James?

I would never see James at home, but his son would come by our house, and we used to wrestle. I would see James out at clubs sometimes. I met him and had a long talk with him one night when he was playing with the Teddy Harris Big Band. We talked about what he was up to, and I took a look at his charts. It was just a general conversation about how we both loved to play bass. That’s the only time we ever spoke, but I saw him again when I was playing with Stevie Wonder. Jamerson came in and played on “They Won’t Go When I Go,” for Fulfillingness’ First Finale.

How did you wind up playing with Stevie Wonder?

I played a lot of talent shows and clubs around Detroit. I was 14 when Aretha Franklin asked me to go on the road. My parents wouldn’t allow me to miss school, but when I got an opportunity to tour with the Dramatics the following year, they let me go. We toured with James Brown, and both bands were on the same bus, so I got to know Fred Thomas and all those guys. In 1973 the phone rang again, and there was a voice claiming to be Stevie Wonder. I replied, “You’re bullshitting me.” He said, “No. I want you to come to New York and audition for my band.” Ray Parker Jr. had recommended me, and I was excited because I knew all of Stevie’s stuff like the back of my hand. He sent me a ticket, and I was led to a room at the 5th Avenue Hotel where his keyboards were set up. We played “Superstition,” and then we got into about four bars of “Higher Ground” before Stevie jumped off the keyboards and wrestled me to the ground! At first I was confused, but I soon figured out that it meant I had the gig [laughs].

What instructions did he offer?

Not much. Stevie favored flat keys; he’d stay on the black keys with his left hand. “Superstition” and “Higher Ground” were in Eb, so I tuned down to Eb, which worked perfect with everything he did. I developed a sense for where he was going next. The whole gig was about listening to him, watching his left hand, and just nailing it.

What were the Fulfillingness’ First Finale sessions like?

Stevie and I tracked together most of the time, but we overdubbed some things. For a new song, he would show me the root part, and he was usually specific about the bass line. If he wasn’t specific, I’d add my ideas, but he taught me that locking down a simple bass line was key to a hit record.

“You Haven’t Done Nothin’” was a big hit. How did that go down?

Stevie had a Rhythm Ace—a primitive drum machine—playing the clave beat at the beginning, and he was playing a Clavinet. I started playing the bass line he suggested, but he said, “I want you to literally strike down on the string with your first finger like a hammer, but leave your wrist loose.” I tried, but he wasn’t satisfied, so he grabbed my bass and showed me exactly what he meant. I eventually got it, and I played the whole song by hitting the flatwound strings on my 1970 Precision Bass right on the pickup, so it sounded something like a drumstick. The engineer yelled, “You can’t do that—the speakers are popping out!” And Stevie said, “Shut up—I know what the hell I’m doing.” [Laughs.] Eventually the engineer tamed the signal with a Pultec compressor/limiter, which stopped the speakers from popping and also magnified the effect so that you could really hear the hit. I overdubbed another bass part that walks down and does a quick slap-and-pop in the pre-chorus.

How did you approach “Smile Please”?

I played pretty much my own part in my normal fingerstyle while trying to clone the way Stevie would play synth bass. He would slide up to notes and use a Jamerson-style approach, playing 16th-notes. I used to place a wet sponge under the strings right next to the bridge, to muffle the sound and get more bottom end. You have to keep the sponge damp to keep it from becoming too hard.

How much more work did you do with Stevie Wonder?

I did one European tour and a few television shows, and we recorded constantly. Some songs were in the can for future albums, and lots of things were for other people. I worked with Stevie on Minnie Riperton’s Perfect Angel and Stevie Wonder Presents Syreeta Wright. I had more freedom to create parts on those sessions. I don’t know about anything else of his I played on that hit the market, and I left after the tour to join Rare Earth.

What was the Rare Earth experience like, and how long did that go on?

It was a really fun project. I joined when they reformed for the Back to Earth record, and I stayed for about three years of touring and recording before I decided to leave the group to concentrate on more session work.

How did you hook up with George Clinton?

George Clinton hired the Rare Earth rhythm section, which was Barry “Frosty” Frost on drums and myself on bass. We were credited as “Guest Funkadelic” on Let’s Take It to the Stage, which is actually a studio record. We played on “Good to Your Earhole” and “Stuffs and Things.” “Stuffs and Things” was really funky, so I played staccato, doubling Bernie Worrell’s keyboard line. Even without the vocals, I automatically knew what the whole thing would sound like when it was finished.

Can you provide some insight on the work you did with Elton John?

We did 17 tracks that were spread over a few albums in the early ’80s. The hit was “Little Jeannie” from the album 21 at 33. They wanted a classic Fender sound similar to Jamerson’s, except with more ballad-style sustain. They had chord charts written out and gave me the freedom to play whatever I wanted. I just adapted my style similar to the way Dee Murray played on Elton’s early albums.

What’s the key to playing alongside a Hammond B-3 master like Jimmy Smith, who plays a lot of footpedal bass?

I meld my bass sound to the B-3 footpedals. Instead of playing near the pickup, I go up a bit farther toward the neck with my right hand to get more boom and sustain, and I cut off certain notes short to make it sound like the pedal bass. Say, if we’re playing a shuffle, I’ll add in some skipping, muffled notes. It’s sometimes called a “Bucket of Beans,” because it plays like that sounds: “a bucket of beans, beans, beans, beans.” You play one note, and then you add a 16th or a 32nd-note that you muffle with your left hand and pluck really short.

What great drummers have you worked with?

I played with John Robinson [James Brown, B.B. King] on a session for Herbie Hancock’s Possibilities that was magic. We were the rhythm section for “When Love Comes to Town” with Jonny Lang and Joss Stone. I liked how dynamic John’s playing was, plus the fact that he listens to the full band, just like I do. He brought a Staple Singers type of groove, where he broke it all the way down to just the kick drum before filling it out and making it really funky. I muffled the strings with my palm and plucked with my thumb on some parts. When Herbie came in and heard the groove, he started dancing. Then he started playing along, and when we finished he said, “I just wanted to get a piece of that.”

It seems we keep coming back to great keyboard players, from Stevie to Elton to Herbie. What’s the key to working with keys?

To me, it’s really no different from working with any other instrument, because I listen to all the instruments within the context of the full concept of the song. It’s very important to respect the intent of the composer, regardless of whether the song was written on keyboards, guitar, or whatever.

Your recent work includes Rod Stewart’s Great American Songbook CDs, his renditions of the great jazz pop songs. How did you decide what bass to play, and what sound to go for?

When they called me for the project, they used Billie Holiday as an example of what Rod’s voice should sound like, so we went for the Billie Holiday sound in the rhythm section as well. In jazz, the bass often has a lot of sustain, or a lot of top end, or both. But the Billie Holiday bass sound was more muffled and booming, without sustain—which is actually similar to Jamerson’s Motown sound, except on upright. I used my Romanian upright, and I also rented a 150-year-old bass. I went into the shop and asked for a bass that had the Billie Holiday sound, and the guy handed me this old instrument. I hit the strings and said, “That’s it!” In the studio I was in a little carpeted room; we used a Neumann U 87 mic on the bass most of the time. It made this really big, booming sound that matched up perfectly with Rod’s voice, just like they figured.

His voice is a world away from Keb’ Mo’s. How do you match your tone and playing to fit his songs?

Keb has a deep, baritone voice, so I have to be careful about frequency-clashing with the bass notes. If he is singing longer phrases, I’ll play staccato notes on my Precision Bass to say out of the way. If he’s singing short phrases, I’ll provide balance by playing longer notes on my Tobias 5-string, which has more sustain and a smoother sound. Kevin usually writes a specific bass line and then allows me the freedom to play within that range. I keep it simple, respect the arrangement, and listen to the vocal. There’s not a lot of jamming in the studio or onstage, although I’ll surprise him once in a while with, say, a fill during the outro.

What are some of the core stylistic elements that you bring to every project?

I play mostly down in the 1st position when I’m doing sessions. That’s where my groove is, and I like the notes down there because they have more bottom end and sustain. Sometimes I play double-stops, but I don’t play up the fretboard unless I really feel it. I usually record direct from my Avalon 737 preamp to the mixing board.

Can you describe your right-hand technique?

Usually my thumb is right at the top of the pickups. I’ve been playing my Precision for so long that there’s a little divot in the wood. I generally only play with my first and second fingers. If I want that Motown sound, I’ll muffle the strings with the back of my right hand and play with my thumb. That way I avoid being in the same frequency range as the snare drum.

Can you describe your first solo album, Elements, which you released last year?

It’s a collection of seven original instrumental tracks that combine a variety of styles and grooves. I play melodies on top, and I had Eric Marienthal play sax on some songs. I usually start with a groove and find a chord structure on piano. I’ll hear a chorus first, put that down, and then write a verse from there. I recorded digitally in my home studio using Apple Logic Pro and Pro Tools over the course of about two and a half years.

What advice would you give to a player who wants to be able to work with such a spectrum of artists as you have?

Listen to as much music as possible, learn how to read so you can understand what the composer has written, and take every opportunity to play bass. Conceptually, listen to every instrument being played, and don’t play so busy as to clash with something else. Keep yourself healthy, come in with a good attitude, and play precisely. Make sure the overall feel is good for the music, which is the most important thing.

What’s the most surprising thing about your career as a bass player?

That I’ve been around this long! [Laughs.]