I searched around but haven't found a list - there's a thread from 2011 here in this sub but the link is dead to the list, does anyone have know which tunes he recorded on upright? Thx!
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James Jamerson Upright Bass songs
- Thread starter AllieM
- Start date
I know Heatwave, by Martha Reeves and the Vandellas was done on upright.
My Guy, Mary Wells vocalist.
Had to learn it for a previous band and it was so difficult to discern the upright bass lines
Because they were mic'd rather than his P bass direct to board.
Had to learn it for a previous band and it was so difficult to discern the upright bass lines
Because they were mic'd rather than his P bass direct to board.
This isn't really to topic, but I love to help bump this thread since I am curious to...
I was at the MET a couple years ago, was so excited to hit the third floor which is the music floor and it was close, a rude worker told me I should have common sense and this junk... lol
Anyway at the MET apparently they have Jamerson's upright but it is a loan item... love to see this one day.
[This invalid link has been removed]
I was at the MET a couple years ago, was so excited to hit the third floor which is the music floor and it was close, a rude worker told me I should have common sense and this junk... lol
Anyway at the MET apparently they have Jamerson's upright but it is a loan item... love to see this one day.
[This invalid link has been removed]
According to the book Standing In The Shadows Of Motown James Jamerson recoded the following songs on upright bass:
"Way Over There" - The Miracles (from 1959, the earliest track he is confirmed to have played on)
"Heat Wave" - Martha & The Vandellas
"A Place In The Sun" - Stevie Wonder
"Baby Love" - The Supremes
"My Guy" - Mary Wells
"Heat Wave" - Martha & The Vandellas
"Mickey's Monkey" - The Miracles
The book also states that tracks he recorded in 1959 and 1960 would have featured him on upright bass since he start playing electric bass until 1961.
- Steve
"Way Over There" - The Miracles (from 1959, the earliest track he is confirmed to have played on)
"Heat Wave" - Martha & The Vandellas
"A Place In The Sun" - Stevie Wonder
"Baby Love" - The Supremes
"My Guy" - Mary Wells
"Heat Wave" - Martha & The Vandellas
"Mickey's Monkey" - The Miracles
The book also states that tracks he recorded in 1959 and 1960 would have featured him on upright bass since he start playing electric bass until 1961.
- Steve
Jamerson's upright is owned by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland. Just before the pandemic , it was at the Met in conjunction with an exhibit of instruments of pop music. Other instruments were Dylan's Strat, various Beatles guitars... I went twice to see it. Pretty overwhelming experience, not just the whole exhibit but Jamerson's bass very specifically.
Pictures of the back of James Jamerson's upright bass show that it has an Ernst Heinrich Roth monogram shield like mine. As far as I know, Ernst Heinrich Roth didn't make any fully laminated basses, so it's probably a hybrid with a carved top and laminated back and sides.
- Steve
- Steve
Man, lots! My recall isn’t what it used to be. My Guy, Jimmy Mack, If You Really Love Me, Love Is Here And Now You’re Gone, Alfie, nearly all the early hits from ‘59-63
Hi Allie,
James started recording electric bass with Motown on or around May 22, 1962.
Motown was very much a "workshop" meaning record everything that the producers and writers could come up with and then choose to release what was thought as the best tracks as singles.
All of the Complete Motown Singles Sets Year by Year are available on streaming.
Just by listening about 30 seconds thru each track, the producers/quality control were favoring the "upright sound" for the single releases on recordings made through mid 1964.
Somewhere in 1964 you started to get (record) big electric bass hits "My Girl", "How Sweet It Is To Be Loved By You", "Dancing In The Street", etc then the shift to the P-Bass (on released singles) became more prominent.
All that written...there are A LOT of James on upright Motown songs.
