# 12 Years Ago Today, We Lost the Sought-After Rock Bassist Who Made History With Neil Young and Played With Joe Walsh and Jerry Lee Lewis

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/12-years-ago-today-we-lost-the-sought-after-rock-bassist-who-made-history-with-neil-young-and-played-with-joe-walsh-and-jerry-lee-lewis/
- Published: 2026-11-06T20:15:00+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-06T21:42:09+00:00
- Original publisher: American Songwriter
- Original article: https://americansongwriter.com/12-years-ago-today-we-lost-the-sought-after-rock-bassist-who-made-history-with-neil-young-and-played-with-joe-walsh-and-jerry-lee-lewis/
- Topics: Entertainment, Music

## Key points

- Rick Rosas died aged 65 in 2014.
- Neil Young praised him as one of his greatest collaborators.
- Rosas played on classics including “Rockin’ in the Free World”.

## Summary

Rick Rosas, the sought-after session bassist known as “Rick the Bass Player”, died at 65 on 6 November 2014. His work with Neil Young helped shape several well-known recordings, and Young called him one of the greatest musicians to have played with him.

Rosas met Young at Farm Aid in 1987 and joined his backing band, the Bluenotes, before continuing to record and perform with him. He played on “Rockin’ in the Free World”, “Eldorado” and albums including *Living with War* and *Chrome Dreams II*, and also worked with Joe Walsh, Jerry Lee Lewis, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, and Buffalo Springfield.

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