Before I fell asleep last night John Entwistle's work on "The Real Me" from The Who's Quadrophenia came to mind. He was just KILLING it all over that album, really.
Another one: Marcus Miller on Miles Davis' "Tutu". Understated but deep, and perfect.

Ah yeah, Tutu was great! I loved Millers full production work too by the time it was relaesed (-88?). Another classic melodic bass line is to be heard on Hey Joe with the Jimi Hendrix Experience. The way it walks chromatically around the chord vamp just hypnotised me the first time I heard it.

Some stuff that quickly comes to mind is Steve Bailey's tracks with Victor Wooten. Bailey is just insane. His use of harmonics to get an extra octave out of the high C on his 6 string is amazing. He also occaisionally does a chord/melody arrangement of Eleanor Rigby on his fretless.

I want to be like him when I grow up lol

But seriously, wasn't J.S. Bach the first guy with melodic bass lines? Sometimes when I hear his music it is just a lot of arpeggios all over the place but the melodic bass line, often walking up or down a scale, keeps it together in a beautiful way. Those bass lines are so logical that you think you would hear them even if no instrument plays them Maybe he sometimes started out from a bass theme when composing?

Yes, Per, that's right...
...and even more, J.S.Bach wrote melodic lines for all voices, bass, alto, soprano...
...and all voices of a work performed together results in perfect harmony...
...this is real mastership from where we are well invited to learn, no doubt at all....

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmIo2nttex8[/youtube]

Eberhard Weber. The one and only. Here with fantastic norwegian sax player Jan Garbarek. Listen from 3:30. AMAZING bass playing!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fuiRBLa7pdA[/youtube]

Mick Karn. The master when it comes to wicked but very melodic bass lines.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8GqkRhp-fI[/youtube]

John Giblin.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxYt1SyC9OA[/youtube]

Guy Pratt.

I like fretless players....

XTC - Mayor of Simpleton (Colin Moulding)
Yes - Does It Really Happen (Chris Squire)
U.K. - Danger Money (John Wetton)
Beach Boys - Good Vibrations, God Only Knows(Carol Kaye)
The Monkees - "What Am I Doing Hanging Round", "You Just May Be The One" (Chip Douglas?)
Elvis Costello - "Accidents Will Happen" (Bruce Thomas)
"Daytime Nighttime Suffering" - Paul McCartney

... so many fantastic suggestions...
...just can't decide for a favorite...

A lot of the guys in the Baroque period did melodic basslines, and since Bach (and Handel) were at the tail end (a lot of people date the end of the Baroque period in year 1750, when both Bach and Handel died), Bach wasn't the first.

But the Baroque period was the first to really do bass lines.

...this is right...




...this not...
...look in the Renaissance period and you will really wonder about...