Jimmy Bain

[Ivan May]

Anybody here familiar with Jimmy Bain? He was the short-lived bassist for Rainbow in 1976 and 1977. Born in Scotland, Bain played bass on the band's most highly successful album, Rainbow Rising, but, like many of the musicians Ritchie Blackmore worked with, Bain was fired shortly after the group's live album, 1977's Rainbow On Stage.

Bain was also the bassist for Dio in the Eighties, where he played bass on the group's albums Holy Diver and The Last In Line, and also helped co-write many of Dio's hits, including Holy Diver, Rainbow In The Dark and The Last In Line.

Bain mostly played a Fender Telecaster Bass, which he modified into a Precision by adding a single coil pickup near the bass bridge. However, about 80% of the Rainbow Rising album was cut using Bain's trusty Gibson Thunderbird bass. By the time Dio was formed and Vivian Campbell joined on lead guitar, Bain switched to Yamaha BB Basses.
In fact, here is Dio playing a red 1961 Gibson EB0 bass in this picture, which I believe was taken sometime around 1977 or 1978.


One of the other guitars in the background looks to be a Gibson acoustic guitar, but I can't make out what specific Gibson acoustic.

Although Dio is more remembered as a singer for bands such as Elf, Dio, Black Sabbath and Rainbow, Dio was also a very skilled bassist, playing the instrument in his early hard rock band Elf.

Dio owned several Gibson basses, all of which were given to his widow, Wendy Dio, after he died from cancer in 2010, and subsequently auctioned off in September of 2018. He also played a Fender Precision.

 

 

Bob Daisley I believe played a Gibson EB3 on the Rainbow album Long Live Rock N Roll in 1978, and sometime Uriah Heep bassist Mark Clarke also played on a few tracks on Long Live Rock N Roll. I believe that Jimmy Bain played a Yamaha bass and a Gibson Thunderbird on most of the Rainbow and Dio albums. For an album made nearly 40 years ago, Holy Diver is still pretty mind blowing. Rainbow In The Dark and Holy Diver, I think, were the best songs on the album. Jimmy Bain got some KILLER tones out of that T-Bird and his Yamaha basses, but I think he mostly used Ampeg during those days.

Here is Jimmy Bain with his Thunderbird bass

 

And Jimmy Bain with Brian Robertson

 

Jimmy Bain also played bass on the song With Love by Thin Lizzy, which famously featured Phil Lynott on acoustic guitar.

 

I also know Roger Glover used a Thunderbird when he was in Rainbow. You can see it in the video for Since You've Been Gone.

It was a very sad day when Dio died in 2010. Without Dio's skilled singing, there would be no Creed, Godsmack or Metallica.
Among the many men who attended his funeral were his Sabbath bandmate Tony Iommi, Rudy Sarzo, Rob Halford and Glenn Hughes.
Bain sadly died in 2016 while on the Legends of Rock Cruise along with Def Leppard. Apparently he had suffered from lung cancer and was never diagnosed with it and eventually died while on the cruise. I do often wonder what happened to Bain's basses after he died. I do know, however, that Bain is buried not too far from Dio at Forest Lawn in Los Angeles.
I hope this thread about Dio interests too many heavy metal fans. I need to go find a cheap copy of Rainbow Rising and add it to my record collection...

And I will admit that Bain's bass playing on Tarot Woman and Do You Close Your Eyes just kick ass.