January 29th 1936 ~ August 2nd 1983
Jamerson was the uncredited bassist on most of Motown Records' hits in the 1960s and early 1970s (Motown did not list credits on their releases until 1971), and he has become regarded as one of the most influential bass guitar players in modern music history. He was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2000.
Jamerson was performing in Detroit clubs after graduating high school, and his 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. 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 mostly playing electric bass.
Like Jamerson, most of the other Funk Brothers were jazz musicians who had been recruited by Gordy. For many years, they maintained a typical schedule of recording during the day at Motown's small garage “Studio A” (which they nicknamed “the Snakepit”), then playing gigs in the jazz clubs at night. They also occasionally toured the U.S. with Motown artists. However for most of their career, the members of the Funk Brothers went uncredited on Motown singles and albums, and their pay was considerably less than the artists or the label received.
Jamerson is noted for expanding the role of the bass in popular music, which until that time largely consisted of root notes, fifths and simple repetitive patterns. By contrast, many of Jamerson's bass lines for Motown were more melodic, more syncopated, and more improvisational than had been heard before. His bass playing was considered an integral part of the “Motown Sound”. Prominent bassists who have claimed Jamerson as a primary influence include John Entwistle, Jaco Pastorius, John Paul Jones, Billy Sheehan, and Paul McCartney
James Jamerson (as is the case with the other Funk Brothers) received little formal recognition for his lifetime contributions. In fact, it wasn't until 1971, when he was acknowledged as “the incomparable James Jamerson” on the sleeve of Marvin Gaye's What's Going On, that his name even showed up on a major Motown release.
Jamerson was the subject of a 1989 book by Allan Slutsky (aka “Dr. Licks”) titled Standing in the Shadows of Motown. The book includes a biography of Jamerson, a few dozen transcriptions of his bass lines, and two CDs in which other professional bassists (such as John Entwistle, Will Lee, Chuck Rainey, and Geddy Lee) speak about Jamerson and play those transcriptions. Jamerson's story was also featured in the subsequent 2002 documentary film of the same title.
In 2000, Jamerson was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, part of the first-ever group of “Sidemen” to be so honored. To date, he is the only sideman bassist to have been inducted.
In 2004, the Funk Brothers were honored with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.
There is some controversey around some of the tracks played by Jamerson because Carol Kaye, a well known west coast session bass player, claimed to have played on some of Jamersons iconic records. This came to a head in a dispute over who played on Stevie Wonders “I Was Made To Love Her” but the records producer and Stevie Wonder have all confirmed it was Jamerson. Why Kaye claimed the credit for his work is a mystery.
