James Jamerson
James Jamerson (January 29, 1938 - August 2, 1983) was an American musician. He is most noteworthy for being the bass player for many of Motown's hit records, and is widely regarded as one of the most influential electric bass players in modern music history.
Biography
Early and success years
A native of Charleston, South Carolina, Jamerson moved with his mother to Detroit in 1954.
Jamerson learned to play the double bass at Northwestern High School. After graduation he began to play and develop a reputation in Detroit area clubs. Opportunities to play in studio sessions began to open up to him due to Berry Gordy's aggressive scouring of Detroit clubs for musicians to play on the Motown record label. At the tiny Hitsville USA Studio A at 2648 West Grand (down the stairs in a room they called the Snakepit) he became a member of an elite core of studio musicians who called themselves the Funk Brothers.
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.
Jamerson's musical contribution was the instrumental signature of the Motown Sound, and he innovated the syncopated bassline while working for the label. His Bass grooves are to this day unmatched in effortlessness and tone, and yet everyone from John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin to Billy Sheehan the virtuoso bassist claim him as their primary influence. Several Motown producers, most notably the Holland-Dozier-Holland team, preferred to have Jamerson in on as many of their recording sessions as possible.
Post-Motown career
Post-Motown, Jamerson played on many hits in the 1970s, including "Rock the Boat" (Hues Corporation), "Boogie Fever" (the Sylvers) and "Theme from S.W.A.T." (Rhythm Heritage). He 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 and The Funk Brothers typically reported for work at 10 am and laid down the instrumental track for a song; the vocal tracks would be added later. It was a formula for making hit after hit, and in the music business, the studios, writers, and vocalists would get all the credit and the money. Jamerson and the other studio musicians would be paid $10 each per song.
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 the 1989 bass instruction book Standing in the Shadows of Motown, and his story is featured in the subsequent 2002 film of the same title.
In 2000, Jamerson was one of the first inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's "Sidemen" category.
Jamerson's instruments
Jamerson also played upright bass often using a German upright acoustic bass he bought as a teenager (used most notably on "Heat Wave") but it was Jamerson's work on the electric bass guitar that made him a legend.
The electric bass Jamerson played on most of the other Motown songs was a stock 1962 Fender Precision Bass dubbed "The Funk Machine." Jamerson bought it after his first Precision (a gift,) was stolen c. 1961. The second Precision's tone and volume controls were turned up full, and Jamerson used a set of LaBella heavy-gauge flatwound strings. It was more difficult to play, but the added tension improved the quality of the tone. Jamerson played even his busiest basslines using only his right-hand index finger, which earned its own moniker, "The Hook."
Jamerson's amplifier at club performances was an Ampeg B-15 and in concert halls was a blue Naugahyde Kustom with twin 15" speakers, with the bass turned full on and the treble turned halfway up. In studio recordings, the bass was nearly always plugged into the board.
The bass was stolen just before Jamerson's death. To date, it has not been recovered.
Alcoholism and death
Long troubled by alcoholism, Jamerson died in 1983 of pneumonia in Los Angeles, California. Since his death, however, he has become a true musical legend.
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