2012 Readers’ Favorite Bassists – #7: James Jamerson

1. Isolated James Jamerson: I Heard It Through the Grapevine

Marvin Gaye’s “I Heard It Through The Grapevine” wouldn’t have amounted to much without the iconic bass line we’re able to recognize without hearing anything else. To prove that, here’s the isolated bass, featuring the incredible bass line by James Jamerson…

2. The Four Tops: “Standing In The Shadows Of Love” – James Jamerson’s Isolated Bass (Isolated Bass Week)

We wrapped up our “Isolated Bass Week” series with the master: James Jamerson. Here’s the isolated bass track for the 1966 Four Tops hit, “Standing In The Shadows Of Love”. ‘Nuff said.

3. James Jamerson: “Bernadette” Isolated Bass

This wouldn’t be much of an “isolated bass week” without including the legend, James Jamerson. So here’s a (mostly) isolated bass track from the 1967 Four Tops hit, “Bernadette”. There’s some disagreement about whether this is the bass on the actually released single, or if it is an out-take from the Motown vault…

4. PBS History Detectives to Trace History of Ampeg Amp Marked with James Jamerson’s Name

In 2009, Los Angeles bassist Steve Fishman discovered a vintage Ampeg amp that may just be the find of the century. Stenciled on the back of the amp was the name of the Motown bass legend, James Jamerson. Fishman, who has recorded with Paul McCartney, decided to try to get this story investigated…

5. PBS: Jamerson Amp is Legit; Jamerson Jr.: Nope

The legend continues. A week before this story, we reported that PBS’s History Detectives were investigating an amp believed to be owned by Motown legend James Jamerson, in an attempt to determine its authenticity. Well, the folks behind the PBS show deemed the amp as legit, but not everyone agreed…