In 1959, James Jamerson found steady work at Berry Gordy's Hitsville U.S.A. studio, home of the Motown record label, as a member of a core of session musicians who informally called themselves The Funk Brothers––a small, close-knit group of musicians who performed on the vast majority of Motown recordings during most of the ‘60s.
Although Jamerson's earliest Motown sessions were performed on double bass, at the urging of a friend he switched to playing an electric Fender Precision Bass, which he eventually dubbed “The Funk Machine”. One aspect of 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. Jamerson's index finger even earned its own nickname: "The Hook".
According to fellow Funk Brothers, Marvin Gaye was desperate to have Jamerson play on "What's Going On," and went to several bars to find him. When he did, he brought Jamerson back to the studio but, because he was too intoxicated to stay upright, James played the classic line while lying flat on his back.
Despite their contributions, session musicians back then went largely uncredited for their work. It wasn’t until 1971 when he was acknowledged as "the incomparable James Jamerson" on the sleeve of "What's Going On," that his name even showed up on a major Motown release.
Although there was no real system for keeping track of who did what in a session, Jamerson is estimated to have played on some 95% of Motown recordings between 1962 and 1968. He eventually performed on nearly 30 No. 1 pop hits—surpassing the record commonly attributed to The Beatles.
His work includes Motown hits such as, among hundreds of others, "You Can't Hurry Love" by The Supremes, "My Girl" by The Temptations, "For Once in My Life" by Stevie Wonder, "Dancing in the Street" by Martha and the Vandellas, "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" by Gladys Knight and the Pips, and "Bernadette" by the Four Tops.
Although Jamerson's earliest Motown sessions were performed on double bass, at the urging of a friend he switched to playing an electric Fender Precision Bass, which he eventually dubbed “The Funk Machine”. One aspect of 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. Jamerson's index finger even earned its own nickname: "The Hook".
According to fellow Funk Brothers, Marvin Gaye was desperate to have Jamerson play on "What's Going On," and went to several bars to find him. When he did, he brought Jamerson back to the studio but, because he was too intoxicated to stay upright, James played the classic line while lying flat on his back.
Despite their contributions, session musicians back then went largely uncredited for their work. It wasn’t until 1971 when he was acknowledged as "the incomparable James Jamerson" on the sleeve of "What's Going On," that his name even showed up on a major Motown release.
Although there was no real system for keeping track of who did what in a session, Jamerson is estimated to have played on some 95% of Motown recordings between 1962 and 1968. He eventually performed on nearly 30 No. 1 pop hits—surpassing the record commonly attributed to The Beatles.
His work includes Motown hits such as, among hundreds of others, "You Can't Hurry Love" by The Supremes, "My Girl" by The Temptations, "For Once in My Life" by Stevie Wonder, "Dancing in the Street" by Martha and the Vandellas, "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" by Gladys Knight and the Pips, and "Bernadette" by the Four Tops.
