A Fender Precision Bass. Flatwound Labella's, heavy gauge. High action. 3 tracks. Pressure was unrelenting. 1 or 2 passes at each tune. Artist after artist. All day & into the night. 10,12,14 hours a day. Hit after hit. James is the "Father" of the Electric Bass. The 1st musician to give the Bass a Vocabulary of it's own. An unmistakable style that players can draw from for years. Sublime work.
Berry Gordie, the founder and guiding light of Motown - refused to give his world-class studio musicians - they were known as the "Funk Brothers" - their share of credit for the enormous success of the label and its artists. Their share? Gordie didn't even acknowledge them in liner notes on the back of LPs! Jamerson and the rest of the crew had become famous in places as far as England, and didn't even know it. While we respect Gordie's artistic and business vision and acumen, it is simply wrong of him to have neglected those people the way he did. Motown would not have become what it became without those "anonymous" musicians, producers, songwriters and arrangers....
What a great bass player I have been playing guitar since 11 im 54 I am going to buy a bass after really getting into Motown after a visit to Hitsville in Detroit on July 5 2013 What a GREAT DAY when I walked in I had Goosebumps 4 miles high on my arms GO IF YOU EVER HAVE THE CHANCE !!!
@AroundTheWaymon We was more improvising than writing. If you listen to the bassline of the Studio version of What's Going On and then the live version you'll see that Jamerson creates a different bassline that is also amazing.
I found Jamerson's style helps me so much in creating basslines for my band, Pluto's Orbit...as i use his style especially in our song "Eye to Eye" I cant say i love any other bassist besides James Jamerson.
Although I noted Jamerson's work on many songs, it's the bongo's, guitars and piano interplay that amazed me the most on this particular song. Great precision and timing.
it sounds like it was recorded at really low volume....i know he used a b15 in the studio,but was the actual recorded track direct to the board/di?....oaf on file is correct.....i can play it too,and have the sheet music.....but it's whole 'nother thing to create it in a busy studio,from a cursory chord chart.....which jamerson did hundreds of times....i'd like to see josh evans do that even once....
'anything that isn't crap', in YOUR opinion. Jump into a time machine, and head back to the '50's, when the bass guitar was a novelty, not a full-fledged and respected instrument, with a vocabulary all its own. Mr. Jamerson is one of the bassists who GAVE the bass a sound, and vocabulary of its own. You couldn't have learned what you know now without learning from other players; just like your heroes learned from Jamerson. Have some respect, man.
This is the way electric bass was meant to sound. None of that stupid pop-slap-twang crap with round wound strings that sound more like a damn piano.....
Uh, Earth to Groove Worshipper, you can revere the eternal values of James Jamerson without stooping to such a blatantly silly argument as to suggest that Victor Wooten is anything less that a superb musician, who incidentally, numb nutz, is more than conscious of the groove and its value, and more than capable of artituclating simple, expressive grooves with great feeling...as he is of virtuoso flights.
@Josh Evans you could do it but it would lack soul totally. You seem to forget that Jamerson usually had no practice as such and would play bass on 2 or 3 number one smash hits in a day without really learning them. He was a genius and you are arrogant and a bragger. This usually equates to no skill.
The Funk Brother made Mowtown Not Barry Gorgy! Gordy shut everybody out and went to L A. Jamerson went out there .but couldnt hang ! it wasnt the same vibe
You're making terrible assumptions that just because I don't like Jamerson means I don't like real music, as unskilled musicians often equate single musicians to success or skill. There are several Welsh Choir of SCal tunes on my favorites. Stop being blind and making personal retorts. Jamerson is just another bassist.
I COULD DO THIS SOOOOOOOO EASILY. And if it wasn't James Jamerson plastered, would you really have any interest in it? Just like a idiot to retort back to personal insults. If you're attempting to attack my username; I listen to Jazz, Fusion, Blues, New Orleans blues, Chicago blues (Miles Davis, because you don't know better), Progressive rock, classic rock, southern rock, metal, death metal, prog metal, post metal, post rock, ambient, world/reggae, and just about anything that isn't crap...
I'm not sure why you attack the fact I listen to metal? This isn't about my musical tastes, which reach a lot farther than metal. I simply stated the fact that Jamerson is a boring bassist. He is. He has no dynamics or taste. Listen to Paul Chambers or Dave Holland on the DB or Victor Wooten or Jeff Berlin on EB.
I'd love to know years later do you still have the same opinion about JJ ? To me he's a pioneer and as a fellow bass player ,I know that in the grand scheme of things ,we serve the song and he served all those songs with honour . He's not boring ,never has been...
I did learn bass without artist influence, you see. As did Chris Squire who had an LSD overdose and spent months alone in his barren apartment developing his bass technique. At the end of the day, James Jamerson is boring and you're all blind fanboys.
Ok "Josh"...Time to "put up or shut up." Jamerson's contributions are numerous and speaks for themselves. Where are your recordings? Put a video up to prove your superiority....
A Fender Precision Bass. Flatwound Labella's, heavy gauge. High action. 3 tracks. Pressure was unrelenting. 1 or 2 passes at each tune. Artist after artist. All day & into the night. 10,12,14 hours a day. Hit after hit. James is the "Father" of the Electric Bass. The 1st musician to give the Bass a Vocabulary of it's own. An unmistakable style that players can draw from for years. Sublime work.
You can actually hear the muffled old strings that he refused to change, awesome, thanks.
Listening to Jamerson is like riding in the car with your parents as a kid. You just smile, fasten the seat belt, sit back relax and enjoy the ride.
This is the soul of the jam, such an amazing bass player.
Man, did this guy write all those bass lines? Pure genius!
Motown owes him a LOT!! He helped form their "sound". A master bass player!!!!!!!!! The best.
Berry Gordie, the founder and guiding light of Motown - refused to give his world-class studio musicians - they were known as the "Funk Brothers" - their share of credit for the enormous success of the label and its artists. Their share? Gordie didn't even acknowledge them in liner notes on the back of LPs! Jamerson and the rest of the crew had become famous in places as far as England, and didn't even know it. While we respect Gordie's artistic and business vision and acumen, it is simply wrong of him to have neglected those people the way he did. Motown would not have become what it became without those "anonymous" musicians, producers, songwriters and arrangers....
This man was super human. Pure genius!
Thanks for taking the time to let us bass players hear this great work
What a great bass player I have been playing guitar since 11 im 54 I am going to buy a bass after really getting into Motown after a visit to Hitsville in Detroit on July 5 2013 What a GREAT DAY when I walked in I had Goosebumps 4 miles high on my arms GO IF YOU EVER HAVE THE CHANCE !!!
@AroundTheWaymon We was more improvising than writing. If you listen to the bassline of the Studio version of What's Going On and then the live version you'll see that Jamerson creates a different bassline that is also amazing.
I found Jamerson's style helps me so much in creating basslines for my band, Pluto's Orbit...as i use his style especially in our song "Eye to Eye" I cant say i love any other bassist besides James Jamerson.
Goddamn... always #1 in my book, heard a lot of the isolated's, but this one ?! Diego Diegerson at his STANKIEST
Diego approved
Mr. "LEGENDARY" Sir. James (MoToWn) Jamerson kept that Bottom BASS to the T, cheers! ;0)
This is Hot Man. This is why young bucks wanted to learn to play guitar.
The thump on those low notes is face melting
Genius James
his bass is poppin!!
Although I noted Jamerson's work on many songs, it's the bongo's, guitars and piano interplay that amazed me the most on this particular song. Great precision and timing.
Superb, thanks for sharing
Great work of you! Hugs!
All his bass lines are great and all played by one finger, the hook
Thank you very much for this!! I learned so much on just one play!!
HOLY SHIT, that kicked COMPLETE ass!!!
This is great!
Wow!!!! thanks for posting
@Kenteman Great! You perfectly described my feelings listening to him, my friend!
Thumbs up if this makes you proud of being a bass player.
Thank you very much!!!
all with one finger...yeah!
it sounds like it was recorded at really low volume....i know he used a b15 in the studio,but was the actual recorded track direct to the board/di?....oaf on file is correct.....i can play it too,and have the sheet music.....but it's whole 'nother thing to create it in a busy studio,from a cursory chord chart.....which jamerson did hundreds of times....i'd like to see josh evans do that even once....
buckandotis this also sounds a lot like Curtis Mayfield's sound. - Do you know if Mr Jamerson played anything from Curtis Mayfield?
Thanks.
Rick Jameson is a legend who never got his due. Awesone👍🏻
thanks for this!!!
James Jamerson must've made a deal down at the crossroads. Serious talent.
Hilarious to see the trolls insult this genius. Jamerson was 30 years ahead of his time.
@jhonezcronic The only thing I dislike is the brother is gone. I would have loved to see him play live.
Gods gold dust all over this man
do they have the master tapes for eddie kendricks's if you let me? and keep on truckin?
@GrooveWorshipper I'm with you buddy!
'anything that isn't crap', in YOUR opinion. Jump into a time machine, and head back to the '50's, when the bass guitar was a novelty, not a full-fledged and respected instrument, with a vocabulary all its own. Mr. Jamerson is one of the bassists who GAVE the bass a sound, and vocabulary of its own. You couldn't have learned what you know now without learning from other players; just like your heroes learned from Jamerson. Have some respect, man.
For true mastery of the bass, listen to him on the Isley Brothers' 'Behind The Painted Smile'..
Cant find anybody that can this well to make a song move this way.. id better get in the shed then :D
@ricksuchow How did you get the original master tape?
@Kenteman that is a beautiful comment man:)
how can you beat this?
Blessed be! Is it the way to get his talent? Must I offer a sacrifice of chicken? A goat, maybe? For which orisha should I pray?
@ChrisPepper559 Well said♪!
Bass ecstasy.....and I'm a drummer.
Of course, roughly 110 BPM.
gotta love that muted sound, no sustain what so ever. Wow
Thumbs up if you hear the beat in your head while this vid is playing
The dude on the couch with the cigarette is Jamerson's son.
5 people just don't get it.
0:22
Couldn't have said it better myself. Arrogance at its worst. My best guess is that he's actually 15yrs old or something.
he had jamerson close to him.
Nobody was "overweight" on early 80´s.
Jane Fonda´s VHS videos were only a company project.
"Can't Get Next to You"
This is the way electric bass was meant to sound. None of that stupid pop-slap-twang crap with round wound strings that sound more like a damn piano.....
Your comment says more about you than anything else.
shouldve been longer thou
James Jamerson could be uncle or at least ancestry.com said
Probably the nastiest bassline to play over what is basically a 1 chord vamp
Uh, Earth to Groove Worshipper, you can revere the eternal values of James Jamerson without stooping to such a blatantly silly argument as to suggest that Victor Wooten is anything less that a superb musician, who incidentally, numb nutz, is more than conscious of the groove and its value, and more than capable of artituclating simple, expressive grooves with great feeling...as he is of virtuoso flights.
@Josh Evans you could do it but it would lack soul totally. You seem to forget that Jamerson usually had no practice as such and would play bass on 2 or 3 number one smash hits in a day without really learning them. He was a genius and you are arrogant and a bragger. This usually equates to no skill.
I guess Josh thinks because he can play a bunch of notes he's good LOL! Who would want to work with someone that arrogant anyway...
It's not about "doing it" (copying it) after the fact, it's about coming up with a grooving bassline that becomes crucial to the song.
0:35 - immense beer belly
good for you if you know better.
Ever thought of therapy?
The Funk Brother made Mowtown Not Barry Gorgy! Gordy shut everybody out and went to L A. Jamerson went out there .but couldnt hang ! it wasnt the same vibe
Lol Jamerson Plastered? Boy u don't know the meaning of Soul.
Please be quite, NO TASTE NO DYNAMICS?!??
Are you even a musician?
You're closed minded and quite obviously envious.
I got only two words for you
FUCK YOU
You're making terrible assumptions that just because I don't like Jamerson means I don't like real music, as unskilled musicians often equate single musicians to success or skill. There are several Welsh Choir of SCal tunes on my favorites. Stop being blind and making personal retorts. Jamerson is just another bassist.
that bass player needs to put his bass down, put his cigarette out and get of the lounge.... he is kind of over weight
shane69999 Yet you haven't shown you pic?
I COULD DO THIS SOOOOOOOO EASILY. And if it wasn't James Jamerson plastered, would you really have any interest in it?
Just like a idiot to retort back to personal insults. If you're attempting to attack my username; I listen to Jazz, Fusion, Blues, New Orleans blues, Chicago blues (Miles Davis, because you don't know better), Progressive rock, classic rock, southern rock, metal, death metal, prog metal, post metal, post rock, ambient, world/reggae, and just about anything that isn't crap...
Josh Evans
Hey, finish your typing practice of computer game and do your homework of your grammar class
I'm not sure why you attack the fact I listen to metal? This isn't about my musical tastes, which reach a lot farther than metal. I simply stated the fact that Jamerson is a boring bassist. He is. He has no dynamics or taste. Listen to Paul Chambers or Dave Holland on the DB or Victor Wooten or Jeff Berlin on EB.
Josh Evans Wow! you're just an A-hole. Don't even mention the "bass".
And keep following & listening to your puking death music🖕🏾
I'd love to know years later do you still have the same opinion about JJ ? To me he's a pioneer and as a fellow bass player ,I know that in the grand scheme of things ,we serve the song and he served all those songs with honour . He's not boring ,never has been...
I did learn bass without artist influence, you see. As did Chris Squire who had an LSD overdose and spent months alone in his barren apartment developing his bass technique. At the end of the day, James Jamerson is boring and you're all blind fanboys.
Ok "Josh"...Time to "put up or shut up." Jamerson's contributions are numerous and speaks for themselves. Where are your recordings? Put a video up to prove your superiority....
Josh Get your head out of your ass - and then go surprise your mommy by cleaning up your room without having to be told to do so, dumbfuck.
Boring
Listen, moron brat
I hate annoying bitches with guitar-centered brain just like you so much.
you're a pathetic one.
Gods gold dust all over this man