Bass Player April 2013: 18+. Some arguments there against her (sorry Carol). Wanting to start his own label and studio to enable more of the profits to remain in his hands, Gordy borrowed some money from his family, bought a two-track tape recorder, and in mid-1959 he bought a former photographic studio at 2648 West Grand Boulevard, Detroit where he converted the first floor into a basic recording studio. With a desire to play music, James decided to sign up for the school jazz band, and he chose to play the double bass. 1.David, can you tell us your first introduction to a Motown recording session? He had the lot: groove, taste, soul, flair, tone, and more. The Starplayer TV Fullerton is a semi hollow, dual pickup, 22 fret electric guitar, featuring arched top and back, bent sides and a 647mm scale. The groove is played in C at 102 bpm (beat per minute). With our Showroom in Fullerton, Duesenberg has established that name and it continues to live on in the hands of great players. "Bob Babbitt: 1937-2012." General OneFile. He played the trombone while he was at elementary school, and also visited his cousin’s house in order to practice the piano, which he was soon able to play in church. He was reluctant to play the electric bass at first, but he soon found that the slimmer neck and narrower string spacing enabled him to play even more complex runs and sophisticated rhythms. Also in 1968, with Mike Campbell, Ray Monette and Andrew Smith he formed the band Scorpion, which lasted until 1970. John Paul Jones copped this technique from Motown bass legend James Jamerson and made great use of it on several classic Led Zeppelin tracks, such as Good Times Bad Times and Ramble On. He then became an independent producer, leasing the tracks to other labels. When Gordy set up Motown Records in April that year, he invited Jamerson to become one of the core group of studio musicians later known as ‘The Funk Brothers’. He played on the Jimi Hendrix album Crash Landing. Those riffs were the soundtrack of my high school and early college days. The Precision bass soon became the instrument of choice for both Jamerson and his producers, but he didn’t drop the double bass completely – he would often persuade producers to let him play it on sessions if he thought the song would sound better, or blend the sounds of the two instruments. Tim Fletcher investigates…. Later in the year, producer Hank Cosby invited Jamerson to attend a recording session at Gordy’s new studio, later to be the recording headquarters of Motown Records. What’s Going On – Marvin Gaye (1971 – Tamla) 2. Sabbath, Rush, Van Halen, Living Colour, Medeski Martin & Wood, Charles Mingus, Return to Forever, Miles Davis, Old School Death Metal & Thrash, 80's Hair & Glam, Newer Technical Death Metal, The Cars, The Doors, ZZ Top, Motown & Stax, 70s & 80s hard Rock, 80s Hair Metal & Glam. This band played regularly around Detroit, and James Jamerson’s playing developed rapidly. After listening through these songs, you will know why James Jamerson was a big influence on bass players such as Paul McCartney Pino Palladino, Anthony Jackson, and Jaco Pastorius to name a few. Someone has to keep the tempo steady, and if … Jamerson played double bass on his early Motown sessions, but in 1961 he was persuaded to try a Fender Precision bass by Horace ‘Chili’ Ruth. Gretsch G6136TLH-WHT Players Edition White Falcon Left Handed $5299.99 Gretsch Golden Era Edition 1962 Chet Atkins Country Gentleman 12-String $3749.99 ... MOTOWN BASS. The Bass Groove in the video below is loosely based on the bass style of Motown bass player James Jameson and Memphis’ Stax Record bass player Donald “Duck” Dunn Soulful bass playing. Innervisions – Stevie Wonder (1973 – Tamla) 3. It also allowed him the opportunity to use ideas spawned from his knowledge of jazz that would have been difficult to pull off on upright bass. Problem is that these songs were recorded when Motown was in Detroit, and she was in L.A.. And bass playing on most of these songs is credited to James Jamerson Jr. (another great bass player). If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. There are hints of Peter Hook's future influence as a bassist back in the Joy Division … This is a start up, beginning with a dedicated bassist. Jamerson was asked to try, and he managed to make it work immediately. The bass lines are transcribed by the author and the transcriptions are accompanied by short bios of the artists who play the lines. Jisi, Chris. [5], He was added to the Music City Walk of Fame on June 5, 2012. Publisher V.I.E., LLC. His grandmother played piano a little, and his aunt sang in the local church choir. When he graduated from High School, he started to play for ‘Washboard Willie and the Supersuds of Rhythm’. Bass Lines From the Greatest Studio Bass Players, Volumes 1 & 2, Bassist James Jamerson, Standing In The Shadows Of Motown, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0. Jamerson was the house session bass player for Motown Records in the 1960s and 1970s. Les Benedict is a versatile musician who performs on alto, tenor and bass trombones, euphonium and tuba, and sundry other brass instruments. The bass player on the session was Tweed Beard, but he wasn’t able to get the right feel on the song. There was nothing like cruisin' Woodward Ave. in a convertible on a hot summer day with Motown on the radio. The producer was impressed and began to call Jamerson for more sessions. In addition, the soundtrack to the movie 'Standing in the Shadow of Motown' (Disc 2) featuring the Funk Brothers is excellent, highlighting James work along with the other exceptional musicians at Motown. Dan's music cracked the iTunes Top 100 in North America as well as in Europe and he did a number of gigs including a fun show with Motown bass player and … Nearly 70 of his performances went to the top of the R&B charts. This is commonly done by playing a fill at the end of four and eight bar phrases. Soca and Motown Bass Player..... (Brentwood) QR Code Link to This Post. 16 April 2014. [2], Babbitt traded off sessions with original Motown bassist James Jamerson. I dragged this over from the old forum as it just started before the move.We all know something of Jamerson and Babbitt, but there were lots of other Motown bassists - Tweed Beard of legend, Nate East who was on the SITSOM picture and also played with certain well known west coast types. In the Motown style, the form and phrasing is very clearly heard in the This lesson breaks down a few simple ideas you can use to make up Motown bass lines. https://onlinebasscourses.com/lessons/motown-soul-songs-for-bass-players 16 April 2014. "Phil Chen & Bob Glaub pay tribute to Bob Babbitt & Duck Dunn." Copyright © 2021 Bass Musician Magazine, All rights reserved. Web. WHAT MAKES MOTOWN BASS MOTOWN?… WHAT MAKES MOTOWN BASS MOTOWN? James Jamerson’s playing is legendary, but how did he become the iconic bass player for Motown records? Robert Andrew Kreinar (November 26, 1937 – July 16, 2012), known as Bob Babbitt, was a Hungarian-American bassist, most famous for his work as a member of Motown Records' studio band, the Funk Brothers, from 1966 to 1972, as well as his tenure as part of MFSB for Philadelphia International Records afterwards. Moments in Bass History… the Six-String Electric Bass Today, six-string electric basses are commonplace, with virtuosos like... Who Was the First Person to Make a Fretless Bass? In 1961 fellow bass player Horace 'Chili' Ruth persuaded Jamerson to try a Fender bass and although apparently reluctant at first, he soon found it good to work with. He was one of the bass players who gave the electric bass its own ‘voice’, one that was separate from the double bass that it was to gradually replace in popular music. His love of music grew as he got older, and he became an avid listener of pop, jazz, gospel and R & B songs being played on the local radio stations. https://www.guitarworld.com/features/the-100-best-bass-players-of-all-time The CDs feature Motown tunes with the bass lines played by over two dozen "all-star" bassists (e.g Marcus Miller, Jack Bruce, John Entwistle). Learn to Play Motown Bass Guitar Like James Jamerson. Jisi, Chris. Many have tried, all have died.....We have dedicated studio space and flexible schedules. Bass Player October 2012: 16. He mastered it quickly, and by the following year, he was able to play jazz bass-lines in the style of Ray Brown and Paul Chambers. After Allan Slutsky’s book ‘Standing in the Shadows of Motown’ book and a later documentary about the Funk Brothers, Jamerson’s work became better known, and he has become one of the world’s most revered bass players. James Jamerson is one of the most influential bass guitar players in modern history and also the originator of the Motown sound. What Makes Motown Bass? Around this time, Jamerson also played in Jackie Wilson’s backing band, whose big hit ‘Reet Petite’ had been written by Berry Gordy…. With this list, we tried to compile the 5 best Motown songs which heavily feature James Jamerson at his prime. Key part of the “Motown” sound was James’s melodic bass playing. Motown controversy Carol Kaye claims she played on countless Motown hit songs. 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