43 Facts About James Jamerson

James Jamerson was the uncredited bassist on most of the Motown Records hits in the 1960s and early 1970s, and is regarded as one of the most influential bass players in modern music history.

James Jamerson was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000.

James Jamerson was raised in part by his grandmother who played piano, and his aunt who sang in church choir.

James Jamerson listened to gospel, blues and jazz music on the radio.

James Jamerson attended Northwestern High School; there he started on the upright bass.

James Jamerson began playing in Detroit area blues and jazz clubs and was influenced by jazz bassists Ray Brown, Paul Chambers and Percy Heath.

James Jamerson was offered a scholarship to study music at Wayne State University, and he declined.

James Jamerson joined blues singer Washboard Willie's band and later toured with Jackie Wilson.

James Jamerson played bass on the Smokey Robinson single "Way Over There", John Lee Hooker album Burnin' and The Reflections' " Romeo and Juliet".

James Jamerson occasionally recorded for other labels, such as "Boom Boom" by John Lee Hooker in 1962 and "Higher and Higher" by Jackie Wilson in 1967.

When he did, he brought Jamerson to the studio, but Jamerson was too intoxicated to stay upright, so James played the classic line while lying flat on his back.

James Jamerson had stopped touring in 1964 and did studio work on a full-time basis.

James Jamerson is reported to have played on nearly every Motown recording between 1963 and 1968, which includes over 60 top-fifteen pop singles.

James Jamerson created melodic lines that were nonetheless locked to the drum groove.

James Jamerson's transition from upright to electric bass was at a time when electric bass was a relatively new instrument, and its use and style of play was not well established.

Shortly after Motown moved their headquarters to Los Angeles, California, in 1972, James Jamerson moved there himself and found occasional studio work, but his relationship with Motown officially ended in 1973.

However, in Los Angeles James Jamerson was not working with a steady group of musicians, and he was not as free to improvise.

James Jamerson felt out of place and over time his increased dependence on alcohol affected his work.

James Jamerson married Annie Wells shortly before graduating from high school.

James Jamerson had two other sons, Joey and Derek, and a daughter Dorene.

Long troubled by alcoholism, James Jamerson died of complications from cirrhosis of the liver, heart failure and pneumonia on August 2,1983, in Los Angeles.

James Jamerson received little formal recognition for his lifetime contributions.

James Jamerson's work was uncredited until later in his career, and he remained largely anonymous, even to bassists who emulated his style.

James Jamerson was noted as "the incomparable James Jamerson" on the record's sleeve.

James Jamerson was the subject of a book by Allan Slutsky in 1989 titled Standing in the Shadows of Motown.

James Jamerson's story was featured in the subsequent 2002 documentary film of the same title.

James Jamerson's work has continued to be the subject of various publications.

James Jamerson was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000, among the first-ever group of "sidemen" to be inducted.

James Jamerson received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2004, and he was inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame in 2007 both as a member of the Funk Brothers.

James Jamerson received the Bass Player magazine's Lifetime Achievement Award in 2011.

James Jamerson received the Samson, Hartke and Zoom International Bassist Award in 2012.

James Jamerson was awarded a bust at the Hollywood Guitar Center's Rock Walk, and in 2013 the Funk Brothers received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

James Jamerson has received several accolades in his home state of South Carolina.

James Jamerson played mainly the Fender Precision Bass, but is known to have briefly used a Fender Bass V and a Hagstrom eight-string later in his career.

James Jamerson continued to use the upright bass occasionally, as in 1964's "My Guy".

James Jamerson's first electric bass was a 1957 Precision Bass, refinished in black, with a gold-anodized pickguard and maple fretboard, nicknamed "Black Beauty".

James Jamerson then acquired a stock 1962 Fender Precision Bass which was dubbed "The Funk Machine" by his fellow musicians.

James Jamerson typically set its volume and tone knobs on full.

James Jamerson did not particularly take care of the instrument, as he stated: "The dirt keeps the funk".

One aspect of James Jamerson's upright playing that carried over to the electric bass guitar was the fact that he generally used only his right index finger to pluck the strings while resting his third and fourth fingers on the chrome pickup cover.

James Jamerson's amplifier of choice at club performances was an Ampeg B-15; in larger venues, he used a blue Kustom with twin 15-inch speakers.

James Jamerson adjusted the console so that his sound was slightly overdriven and had a mild tube compression.

In 2017, it was reported that James Jamerson gave a 1961 Fender Precision bass to bassist Billy Hayes in 1967 or 1968; the instrument was auctioned in 2017.