However he was so drunk he couldn't stand and it is said that he played his part whilst lying on his back in the studio. Apparently Marvin Gaye was desperate to have James' bass work on his track, What's Going On, but he wasn't there for the session.Ī quick scouring of the local bars found him somewhat worse for wear but they brought him back to the studio. One of the most famous stories about him was featured in the 2002 film, Standing In The Shadows Of Motown which tells the story of The Funk Brothers. Downtime continued to be spent in the blues and jazz clubs of Detroit playing, drinking or both as James certainly liked a drink or three. Jamerson was always well respected as a musician although the wages the session players received back then were certainly not representative of the essential part they played. This was actually quite an ugly looking thing as both head and cabinet were covered by blue Naugahyde, an artificial leather used mainly in automobiles. This was the bass he always used for recording, however he did own a Fender Bass V as well - this is a curious beast with an added high C as the fifth string - but whether he ever recorded with it or not is unclear.įor sessions he would always plug straight into the desk but for club work he favoured an Ampeg B-15 Portaflex or when out on a Motown tour he'd use a Kustom 200 with a 2 x 15-inch cabinet to cope with the larger venues. He was a tight yet expansive player and his P-bass soon earned the name of the funk machine. James always used heavy gauge La Bella strings (the older the better) so it's not surprising that the bass developed a pretty awful action to a point where many deemed it unplayable yet Jamerson was unconcerned (probably thanks to his years playing upright bass) and reckoned it improved the tone. As for general tone he relied on the natural sound of the instrument as both the tone and volume pots on the Precision were always wound flat out. This combination of flatwounds and a damper meant that any natural sustain from the strings was totally removed so along with the short fat notes he plucked using his right index finger (nicknamed the hook) he began producing the sound we all love. Sadly it seems this first Fender was stolen so he bought a stock sunburst '62 Precision and like all standard Fenders at that time it came fitted with a pair of cover plates, a string mute (strip of rubber stuck beneath the top surface of the bridge cover) and flatwound strings.
It's believed that the first Motown track he laid down using the Fender Precision was Strange I Know by The Marvelettes. 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. 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.
Some of his earliest recordings whilst still playing double bass included Where Did Our Love Go by The Supremes, My Guy by Mary Wells and Heatwave by Martha And The Vandellas.
Not content to just stay around the bottom end James would syncopate his notes and 'walk' his lines all over the neck in a Ray Brown fashion and for popular music this was a very different approach. Although he was still playing upright bass his style and attitude towards his work set him apart.
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