James Jamerson (January 29, 1936 - August 2, 1983) was an American musician. He was the uncredited bassist on most of Motown Records' hits in the 1960s and early 1970s, and he has become regarded as one of the most influential electric bass players in modern music history. He was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2000.
Born - January 29, 1936, Charleston, South Carolina, USA
Origin - Detroit, Michigan, USA
Died - August 2, 1983; Los Angeles, California, USA
Genre(s) - R&B, soul
Occupation(s)- Bass guitarist
Instrument(s) - Bass guitar
Years active - 1958–1983
Label(s) - Motown
Associated acts - The Funk Brothers
Notable instrument(s) - 1962 Fender Precision Bass
Biography
A native of Edisto Island (near Charleston), South Carolina, Jamerson moved with his mother to Detroit, Michigan in 1954. He learned to play the double bass at Northwestern High School, and he soon began playing in Detroit area blues and jazz clubs.
Motown years
Jamerson continued performing in Detroit clubs after graduating high school, and his increasingly solid reputation started providing him opportunities for sessions at various local recording studios. Starting in 1959 he found steady work at Berry Gordy's Hitsville U.S.A. studio, home of the Motown record label. There he became a member of a core of studio musicians who informally called themselves The Funk Brothers. This small, close-knit group of musicians performed on the vast majority of Motown recordings during most of the 1960s. Jamerson's earliest Motown sessions were performed on double bass, but in the early 1960s he switched to mostly playing electric bass.
Like Jamerson, most of the other Funk Brothers were jazz musicians who had been recruited by Gordy. For many years, they maintained a typical schedule of recording during the day at Motown's small basement "Studio A" (which they nicknamed "the Snakepit"), then playing gigs in the jazz clubs at night. They also occasionally toured the U.S. with Motown artists. However for most of their career, the members of the Funk Brothers went uncredited on Motown singles and albums, and their pay was considerably less than the artists or the label received. Eventually Jamerson was put on retainer with Motown for one thousand dollars a week, which afforded him and his ever-expanding family a comfortable lifestyle.
Jamerson's discography at Motown reads as a catalog of soul hits of the 1960s and 1970s. His work includes Motown hits such as, among hundreds of others, "Shotgun" by Jr. Walker & the All Stars, "For Once in My Life" by Stevie Wonder, "Going to a Go-Go" by The Miracles, "My Girl" by The Temptations, "Dancing in the Street" by Martha and the Vandellas, "I Heard It Through The Grapevine" and most of the album What's Going On by Marvin Gaye, "Reach Out I'll Be There" by The Four Tops, and "You Can't Hurry Love" by The Supremes. He is reported to have played on some 95% of Motown recordings between 1962 and 1968. He eventually performed on nearly 30 No. 1 pop hits -- surpassing the record commonly attributed to The Beatles. On the R&B charts, nearly 70 of his performances went to the top.
Jamerson is noted for expanding the role of the bass in popular music, which until that time largely consisted of root notes, fifths and simple repetitive patterns. By contrast, many of Jamerson's bass lines for Motown were more melodic, more syncopated, and more improvisational than had been heard before. His bass playing was considered an integral part of "the Motown Sound". Bassists from John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin to Billy Sheehan haved claimed Jamerson as a primary influence.
Post-Motown career
Shortly after Motown moved their headquarters to Los Angeles, California in 1972, Jamerson moved there himself and found occasional studio work, but his relationship with Motown officially ended in 1973. He went on to perform on such 1970s hits as "Rock the Boat" (Hues Corporation), "Boogie Fever" (the Sylvers), and "You Don't Have To Be A Star (To Be In My Show)" (Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis Jr.).
Long troubled by alcoholism, Jamerson died of complications stemming from cirrhosis of the liver, heart failure and pneumonia on August 2, 1983 in Los Angeles. He was 45 years old. He left behind a wife, Annie, three sons, James Jr., Ivey, and Derek, and a daughter Doreen.
Recognition
James Jamerson (as is the case with the other Funk Brothers) received little formal recognition for his lifetime contributions. In fact, it wasn't until 1971, when he was acknowledged as "the incomparable James Jamerson" on the sleeve of Marvin Gaye's What's Going On, that his name even showed up on a major Motown release.
Jamerson is the subject of a 1989 book by Allan Slutsky (aka "Dr. Licks") titled Standing in the Shadows of Motown. The book includes a biography of Jamerson, a few dozen transcriptions of his bass lines, and two CDs in which other professional bassists (such as John Entwistle, Will Lee, Chuck Rainey, and Geddy Lee) speak about Jamerson and play those transcriptions. Jamerson's story is also featured in the subsequent 2002 film of the same title.
In 2000, Jamerson was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, part of the first-ever group of "Sidemen" to be so honored. To date, he is the only sideman bassist to have been inducted.
In 2004, the Funk Brothers were honored with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.
Jamerson's equipment
Jamerson's double bass was a German upright acoustic bass that he bought as a teenager and later used on such Motown hits as "My Guy" by Mary Wells and "(Love is Like a) Heat Wave" by Martha and the Vandellas.
The electric bass Jamerson played for most of his career was a stock 1962 Fender Precision Bass which was dubbed "The Funk Machine." Jamerson bought it after his first Precision (a gift from fellow bassist Horace "Chili" Ruth) was stolen. It had a three-tone sunburst finish, a tortoise-shell style pickguard, and chrome pickup and bridge covers. He typically set its volume and tone knobs on full. This bass was also stolen, just days before Jamerson's death in 1983. To date, it has not been found.
Jamerson used La Bella heavy-gauge (.052-.110) flatwound strings that he rarely changed. The strings were set relatively high above the fingerboard. The heavy gauge and high action undoubtedly made it more difficult to play, but Jamerson believed it improved the quality of the tone. He also tucked a piece of foam underneath the bridge cover to help prevent the strings from sustaining too long.
Jamerson played even his busiest basslines using only his right-hand index finger and using all upstrokes, a carryover from his style on the double bass. His index finger earned its own moniker, "The Hook."[1]
Jamerson's amplifier at club performances was an Ampeg B-15 and in concert halls was a blue Naugahyde Kustom with twin 15" speakers, typically with the bass turned full on and the treble turned halfway up. On most of his studio recordings, his bass was plugged directly into the mixing console.
References
* Talor, Harold Keith, The Motown Music Machine. Jadmeg Music Publishing, 2004
* Slutsky, Allan, Standing in the Shadows of Motown. Hal Leonard Corporation, 1989
* Andr, Motown Bass Classics. Hal Leonard Corporation, 1998
* Posner, Gerald, Motown : Music, Money, Sex, and Power. Random House, 2005
* Rubin, Dave, Motown Bass (Bass Signature Licks). Hal Leonard Corporation, 2000
External links
* Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee page
* Partial discography
* More about James Jamerson
* James Jamerson at Find-A-Grave
