The First Bassist You Heard That Made You Want to be a Bassist

[dbsfgyd1]

I saw this poser on Talk Bass and thought it might be fun.
 For me it was some guy at a party when I was about 13 playing through a tube amp (Plush?) and thinking, that sounds  really cool.

As for a professional player, Jack Bruce, specifically his work on Goodbye Cream.

[Bassmann1968]

Hard to say for me, because I started pretty late playing the bass and didn't play any other instrument before that.
I think I was 23. Always listening to music and loving bass the most.
The local brass band was looking for a bass player, because my grand father stopped playing in the band. So it was my turn
I know that I was listening a lot to Nathan East that time. And I do till today. Just so versatile his playing!!!

[Rip Van Dan]

I replied to this thread on TB.  I started playing bass in 1965 and definitely Paul McCartney was the one who made me want to play bass.  After that, Jack Cassady of the Jefferson Airplane absolutely amazed me with his bass playing on their song "Somebody to Love", which was so far beyond my abilities at the time.  I was really grateful that his bass line was far "tamer" on their biggest hit "White Rabbit" which our high-school band "The St. James Infirmary" performed back then.  Lots of folks after that, but those were the two standouts.

[Paulinderwick]

Probably John McVie with John Mayall's Bluesbreakers but it was many years after seeing them in 1964/65 that I realised that I remembered John's playing more than Eric Claptons...