When I was taking electric bass lessons, I was introduced to the work of James Jamerson. What fascinates me is that there is little that has developed that you could look to and say, "this guy was the one". In this case, Jamerson was indeed the one; he revolutionized music and the role the electric bass plays in modern music.
If Motown is roots, then Jamerson is the roots of Motown.
In my humble opinion, I believe Motown would have been huge without him, but it would not have the permanence or the wider range of acceptance it has enjoyed through the years. Yes, Jamerson is also responsible for mainstreaming Motown.
The book, "Standing In The Shadows of Motown" chronicles this artist's life and work through anecdotes and pictures but what makes this special is that many artists whose careers came after his pay tribute by dissecting a song he had worked on. A cd set accompanies the book and the bass line is prominent for analysis. I offer as exhibit A, the Stevie Wonder song, "I Was Made To Love Her". Jamerson throughout the song goes off on flights of fancy, only to return and emphasize the riff, over and over again.
One anecdote has a bassist invited to fill in on a session for the regular artist. When he was told the one he was covering for was Jamerson, he turned on his heel and left. There just was no filling his shoes. My favorite involves the description of his equipment. While most players favor new strings, his were old, dead and showing the build-up of years of playing, which he called "the funk". His strings were set higher, more like a stand-up bass, which he had mastered before, and most of us don't posess the hand strength to play an instrument like that.
Sadly, he died before the attention his work has received of late had come, but he is becoming more and more memorialized as entertainers continue to be inspired by his musicianship and his innovative technique- one that mainstreamed a relatively new instrument.
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