James Jamerson
| James Jamerson | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Background information | |
| Born |
January 29, 1936 Edisto, South Carolina, United States |
| Died | August 2, 1983 (aged 47) Los Angeles, California, United States |
| Genres | R&B, soul, funk |
| Occupation(s) | Session musician |
| Instruments | Bass guitar, double bass |
| Years active | 1958–1983 |
| Labels | Motown |
| Associated acts | The Funk Brothers |
| Notable instruments | |
| 1962 Fender Precision Bass | |
James Lee Jamerson (January 29, 1936 – August 2, 1983) was an American bass player. He was the uncredited bassist on most of the Motown Records hits in the 1960s and early 1970s (Motown did not list session musician credits on their releases until 1971), and is now regarded as one of the most influential bass players in modern music history. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. As a session musician he played on 30 Billboard #1 hits, as well as over 70 R&B #1 hits, more than any other bass player in both categories.
In its special "100 Greatest Bass Players" issue in 2017, Bass Player Magazine named Jamerson the number one "Greatest Bass Player". In 2011, Jamerson ranked third in The "20 Most Underrated Bass Guitarists" in Paste magazine.
A native of Edisto Island (near Charleston), South Carolina, Jamerson moved with his mother to Detroit, Michigan in 1954 and began playing in Detroit area blues and jazz clubs. His son, James Jamerson, Jr. (1958–2016), was also a professional bassist.
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. He played bass on Marv Johnson single "Come to Me"(1959), John Lee Hooker album " Burnin' "(1962) and The Reflections "(Just Like) Romeo and Juliet"(1964). 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 playing an electric Fender Precision Bass for the most part.
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