This article is about the bassist. For other uses, see James Jamerson (disambiguation).
James Jamerson
Jamerson in 1964
Background information
Birth name
James Lee Jamerson
Born
(1936-01-29)January 29, 1936 Edisto Island, South Carolina, U.S.
Died
August 2, 1983(1983-08-02) (aged 47) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Genres
R&B
soul
pop
funk
jazz
Occupation(s)
Musician
Instrument(s)
Bass guitar
double bass
Years active
1956–1983
Formerly of
The Funk Brothers
Musical artist
James Lee Jamerson (January 29, 1936 – August 2, 1983)[1][a] 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 twenty-three Billboard Hot 100 number-one hits, as well as fifty-six R&B number-one hits.
In its special issue "The 100 Greatest Bass Players" in 2017, Bass Player magazine ranked Jamerson number one and called him the most important and influential bass guitarist.[2] In 2020, Rolling Stone magazine ranked Jamerson number one in its list of the 50 greatest bassists of all time.[3]
^Cite error: The named reference jj-rr-hall-bio2019 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Cite error: The named reference jj-100greatest-2017 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Cite error: The named reference jj-rs-july2020 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).
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...
Dave Jamerson, American former professional basketball player Doug Jamerson (1947–2001), former Education Commissioner of Florida JamesJamerson (1936–1983)...
and Earl Van Dyke (piano and organ); Clarence Isabell (double bass); JamesJamerson (bass guitar and double bass); Benny "Papa Zita" Benjamin and Richard...
"Reconstructing the History of Motown Session Musicians: The Carol Kaye/JamesJamerson Controversy". Journal of the Society for American Music. 13 (1): 78–109...
School, together with future bandmate Vini Lopez. He was influenced by JamesJamerson, Donald "Duck" Dunn, and Paul McCartney. He started playing with Springsteen...
"King Curtis". Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Retrieved January 1, 2008. "JamesJamerson". Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Retrieved January 1, 2008. "Scotty Moore"...
for inspiring and influencing his playing, including the Al Di Meola, JamesJamerson, Geezer Butler, Larry Graham, Stanley Clarke, Percy Jones, Aston Barrett...
of Legendary Bassist JamesJamerson, a bass guitar instruction book by Allan Slutsky, which features a biography of JamesJamerson along with his bass...
enamored by the bass on Motown records and was strongly influenced by JamesJamerson. As a teenager he played bass for Brooklyn-based hard rock band Dust...
Michael Shrieve. Sam's favorite bass player is Motown session bassist JamesJamerson. Josh Kiszka has imitated the movements and onstage antics of Joe Cocker...
Watts learned "Cold Sweat" by James Brown, and soon began to study the lines of other great bassists such as JamesJamerson, Chuck Rainey, and Bob Babbitt...
from Louis Satterfield, and some of his early bass influences were JamesJamerson, Paul McCartney, and Gary Karr. Moving toward a newly bought Fender...
player. At an early age, he performed the parts of legendary bass player JamesJamerson and others when the Five performed live. His main instrument was a Gibson...
by Toots and the Maytals, in November 1975 (featuring Motown bassist JamesJamerson). He toured with Little Feat to promote the reggae- and rock-infused...
fingerstyle. He was strongly influenced by Motown artists, in particular JamesJamerson, whom McCartney called a hero for his melodic style. He was also influenced...
as Paul Simonon, Bruce Foxton, Peter Hook, Jean-Jacques Burnel, and JamesJamerson as major influences on him. He credits Jacques Burnel for his choice...
approach to bass lines, makes Prestia's sound unmistakable. Along with JamesJamerson, Stanley Clarke, Anthony Jackson and Alphonso Johnson, Prestia belonged...