2012 Readers’ Favorite Bassists – #7: James Jamerson

James Jamerson

If there’s one constant on our annual reader favorites’ list, that would be the great James Jamerson. If there’s one constant in our most liked videos we feature, it would be the ones featuring the isolated bass lines from legendary tunes.

Combine those two things, and you have a person who makes the list with very entries over the course of a year. Add to it a little bit of mystery, with an amp discovery, and there you have it.

Here are top five most viewed James Jamerson stories and videos for 2012. Be sure to check out our complete James Jamerson archives too.

Isolated James Jamerson: I Heard It Through the Grapevine

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…

The Four Tops: “Standing In The Shadows Of Love” – James Jamersonâ??s Isolated Bass (Isolated Bass Week)

2. The Four Tops: “Standing In The Shadows Of Love” – James Jamersonâ??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.

James Jamerson: “Bernadette” Isolated Bass

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…

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

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…

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

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…

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Leave a Reply to Mike Chafino Cancel reply

  1. #7? Travesty! He should be in the top 5 at the very least.

    • Fuck that. He should be number 1, especially because every single person that precedes him on the list has or would most likely admit to being influenced by him !

  2. he’s #1 in my book.

  3. Wow! the songs this man added to can’t be touched…

  4. #7 right. and who is #1? lando calrissian?

  5. Worth repeating here, and especially on this one: “There’s one guarantee with lists: someone will always be able to say there’s someone missing or out of order. And they’d be right.” So we just tally up the bassists who got the most attention by readers over the course of the year and celebrate those players on new years day.