Pearl Jam Bassist Jeff Ament Pays Tribute to Donald ‘Duck’ Dunn

Many musicians were saddened to learn about the death of legendary Booker T. and the MGs bassist Donald ‘Duck’ Dunn‘s earlier this week. Pearl Jam‘s Jeff Ament is the latest to give his praise for the impact Dunn had on his career.

Ament took to Pearl Jam’s official website to post his feelings about the passing of Dunn, who died on Sunday morning. He had a huge influence on Ament, more than a lot of people realized.

“Five years ago, I made a list of my favorite and most influential bassists, and after much editing, decided to put their names on the back of my new favorite bass at the time and the first name on the neck is Duck Dunn,” wrote Ament.

He continued: “In 1993, the band was lucky enough to open a bunch of shows in the U.S. and Europe for Neil and his band of Booker T., Steve Cropper,  Jim Keltner and Duck. Our band watched every minute of this all-star band and lessons were delivered nightly.”

“I learned more about how to ‘play songs’ in a band than my previous 12 years of playing,” he wrote. “Duck played deeper and with more economy than most and profoundly effected how I play with PJ. Thanks for the education, I’ll miss you, DD.”

As a member of Booker T. and the MGs, Dunn was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992, and was given a Lifetime Achievement Grammy award in 2007.