James Jamerson

Maybe you’ve never heard of James Jamerson, but you’ve heard his bass playing: in the Motown classics of Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson, the Supremes, and all the other tunes whose thumping bass could be clearly heard coming over a million car radios, carrying the groove, holding down the backbone of the beat and defining a way of playing the bass.

He took up bass in high school in Detroit and got jazz gigs that would lead to his hiring by Berry Gordy of Motown Records to go on the package tours of Motown Artists. In 1964 Motown tapped his talent by making him their studio bassist of choice; he and the other Motown session aces would also do their own after-work gigs under various names like Igor and the Funk Brothers.

Unfortunately, Jamerson developed a serious drinking problem that hindered his work and his life in general, and at one point he was in danger of being dropped from the label. Motown moved its production to Los Angeles in 1972 and Jamerson followed, though no longer under contract to Motown. He played on countless dates for both Motown and as a freelancer, but his condition continued to deteriorate through the remainder of the ’70s. He was hospitalized for both physical and mental problems stemming from his alcoholism and also from being stabbed during a mugging. The long decline finally ended when he passed away in the hospital in 1983, at the age of 45.

Click below to read James Jamerson's full biography:

STANDING IN THE SHADOWS OF MOTOWN: The Life and Music of the Legendary Bassist James Jamerson
By Dr. Licks

James Jamerson's tumultuous life and musical brilliance are explored in hundreds of interviews, 49 transcribed musical scores, two hours of recorded performances by the most famous bassists of all time, and more than fifty rarely seen photographs. Features 120-minute CD!

Inventory #HL698960
Book/CD pack $35.00 (US)

Basses: He often played a German upright bass which he bought just out of high school, but his main instrument was a 1962 Fender Precision Bass known as "The Funk Machine." He kept the action very high, never cleaned it, rarely changed the strings (only if one broke), and didn’t maintain the truss rod, so the neck was warped. On the heel of the neck he had carved the word "Funk." This guitar was stolen just before his death and has never been found - it remains a Holy Grail of collectors.

Amps: Live, he used an Ampeg B-15 and a blue Naugahyde Kustom. In the studio, he almost always went directly into the board.

Strings: LaBella, heavy gauge flatwound.

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