James Jamerson Archives - Page 2

Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On” is a must-have album for bassists. Its songs are textbook examples of grooving by the late great Bob Babbitt and James Jamerson. Now you can hear Jamerson craft those bass lines in a newly reissued live album from 1972.

Without a doubt, James Jamerson is a huge figure in the history of the electric bass. His work on countless Motown hits inspired scores of bassists while creating the groove that made a generation dance. Now his family wants his burial site to have a headstone to match his legacy. Jamerson’s cousin Anthony McKnight has started a GoFundMe crowd-funding campaign...

If you’ve been online recently, you’ll know the most talked about story in the bass community in the last month has been the auction for a bass previously owned by James Jamerson. Owned by the Motown genius from 1962 until approximately 1968, the 1961 Fender Precision was reportedly given to fellow Detroit bassist Billy Hayes around that time. Hayes used...

A bass guitar owned and played by Motown legend James Jamerson will be up for auction later this month. It’s not his infamously stolen Funk Machine, but it is a 1961 Fender Precision that he owned from 1962 until 1967 or 1968. It was then that the instrument was bestowed by the bass legend to fellow Detroit bassist Billy Hayes....

A classic bass book is back in a revised edition. The Bass Book: A Complete Illustrated History of Bass Guitars, covers everything from the introduction of the electric bass guitar in the early 1950s up through today. Written by by music journalist Tony Bacon and UK bass retailer and distributor Barry Moorhouse, the book includes interviews with bass makers and...

Earlier today, we reshared Jack Stratton’s visualization video showcasing the genius of James Jamerson on Stevie Wonder’s “I Was Made to Love Her”. No Treble reader Brian Wroten shared this video with us in response – with his playalong on David Ruffin’s “We’ll Have A Good Thing Going On”. The video includes the notation for Jamerson’s bass line, but he’s...

No list would seem complete without the great James Jamerson – who is an annual favorite here on No Treble, for obvious reasons. This year, we enjoyed another one of Jack Stratton’s “visualization” videos, showcasing once again Mr. Jamerson’s genius. We also featured some footage of the master bassist laying it down for Martha Reeves on a 1974 episode of...

There’s not a whole lot of live footage of the late, great James Jamerson, but the bits that we have are fantastic. Here’s a clip of the master bassist laying it down for Martha Reeves on a 1974 episode of “Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert.”

As with past Isolated Bass Weeks here, we’re closing this one out with the legendary James Jamerson. Here’s his isolated bass track on The Four Tops’ “Reach Out (I’ll Be There)”, from the original Motown master tapes. Enjoy.

Vulfpeck’s Jack Stratton just sent me his latest visualization video. This time around, the tune is Stevie Wonder’s “I Was Made to Love Her” – once again showcasing the genius of James Jamerson.

What can we say about James Jamerson that hasn’t already been said? The master bassist is still leading the charts around here, thanks to another great visualized bass line by Jack Stratton, an isolated bass track, and a new documentary about the Funk Machine in 2014. Ain’t No Mountain High Enough: James Jamerson’s Bass Line Visualized Vulfpeck’s Jack Stratton sent...

Vulfpeck’s Jack Stratton sent me another one of his cool visualization videos highlighting another impressive bass line by the one and only James Jamerson. This time around, the tune is the performance of “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell. The song, written by Nickolas Ashford and Valerie Simpson and recorded on the Tamla Motown label...