James Jamerson

E653558

James Jamerson was a pioneering Motown bassist whose innovative, melodic bass lines helped define the sound of 1960s soul and popular music.

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All labels observed (1)

Label Occurrences
James Jamerson canonical 2

Statements (49)

Predicate Object
instanceOf bassist
human
musician
songwriter
associatedAct Motown Records NERFINISHED
The Funk Brothers NERFINISHED
awardReceived Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (sidemen category) NERFINISHED
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction year 2000
basedIn Detroit, Michigan, United States NERFINISHED
birthDate 1936-01-29
birthPlace Edisto Island, South Carolina, United States NERFINISHED
citizenship United States of America
contributedTo development of the Motown Sound
evolution of electric bass in popular music
deathDate 1983-08-02
deathPlace Los Angeles, California, United States NERFINISHED
employer Motown Records NERFINISHED
era 1960s
1970s
familyName Jamerson NERFINISHED
genre R&B
funk
pop
soul
givenName James
influenced Geddy Lee NERFINISHED
Jaco Pastorius NERFINISHED
John Entwistle NERFINISHED
Paul McCartney NERFINISHED
countless soul and pop bassists
instrument bass guitar
double bass
memberOf The Funk Brothers NERFINISHED
name James Jamerson NERFINISHED
nickname The Hook NERFINISHED
notableInstrument Fender Precision Bass NERFINISHED
notableRecording “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” by Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell (bass part) NERFINISHED
“Bernadette” by Four Tops (bass part) NERFINISHED
“I Was Made to Love Her” by Stevie Wonder (bass part) NERFINISHED
“My Girl” by The Temptations (bass part)
“What’s Going On” by Marvin Gaye (bass part) NERFINISHED
notableWork bass lines for Motown recordings in the 1960s
occupation bassist
session musician
posthumousRecognition widely regarded as one of the greatest bass players in popular music history
recordLabel Motown
styleCharacteristic melodic bass lines
syncopated rhythms
use of chromatic passing tones

Referenced by (2)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

The Funk Brothers notableMember James Jamerson
My Girl hasBasslinePerformer James Jamerson