50 years later, Jamerson still huge Part II

In this the 51st year of Motown records and that legendary Sound of Young America, let us not forget who, by all accounts, is one of the architects of that paragon of popular music, Charleston master bassist James Jamerson.

Last year during the golden anniversary, James was inducted into the Fender Hall of Fame.

I've been in touch with Bob Lee, who I was introduced to by James' Cousin, Anthony McKnight, about 10 years ago.

Bob, a Los Angeles resident who has Lowcountry roots himself, went to the ceremony and has agreed to share information and insights on James' illustrious career as a founding member of the Funk Brothers, the Motown house band that drove the Miracles, the Temptations, the Supremes, Martha and the Vandellas, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye and all the rest.

Bob, whose mother was born in Sumter in 1912 and whose grandfather, John L. James, owned a farm in Rembert, is a bassist himself and is the world's foremost expert on James' approach to the instrument, his music and his technique.

Bob, a bassist, composer and arranger, video editor, photographer and recording engineer, operates (or co-moderates) Jamerson Web sites on www.BassLand.net, which contains a complete Jamerson discography, and www.MySpace.com/jamesjamerson578 with Anthony.

This is the Part 2 of some things we talked about following the induction in Tempe, Ariz.:

Q: What was Jamerson's role in the Funk Brothers?

A: More than once I have heard the story that Jamerson would come up with an idea for the bass lines in a song and the other Funk Brothers would then add their own contributions to the song. I would think that this was not the only way they arranged what they were going to play, but it is clear that Jamerson had a big part in how some of the song arrangements were put together.

Q: What other accolades have come to Jamerson since he passed?

A: The first ones I remember were the two L.A. book parties for the debut of 'Standing in the Shadows Of Motown' in 1998. One was held at the Bass Centre, which is a bass-specific retail store in Los Angeles and was open to the public. The Bass Center was responsible for the Jamerson 1962 replica of the Funk Machine.

As part of that event, some well-known bassists from the book played their renditions of Jamersons bass lines behind tracks that came with (the documentary). I don't know how but I got the honor of playing 'What's Going On' before Anne Jamerson, James Jamerson Jr., and many other members of the family at that event.

The other book party was given at Ray Parker's studio in the valley. This was the private affair with many Motown people there. It was on that occasion that Phil Chen gave me a color picture of Jamerson that I promptly scanned and placed as the main picture on my Jamerson Web page. That picture became the most widely circulated photo of James. I was fortunate to be at that event too.

In 1999, Jamerson was inducted into the Hollywood Guitar Center Rock Walk. The rest of the Funk Brothers were inducted in 2002.

In 2000, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland picked Jamerson as the first bassist inducted into the newly created 'sideman' category.

In 2002, Jamersons' life was the centerpiece in the 'Standing in the Shadows of Motown' documentary.

In 2003, (the documentary) won two Grammys.

In 2003, the Charleston Jazz Initiative tribute, 'Return to the Source: Remembering the Legendary Bassist, James Lee Jamerson' was held.

In 2004, Funk Brothers won the Grammy Award for Lifetime Achievement.

In 2007, Gullah Geechie Nation's Anointed Spirit Award was awarded to Jamerson. (Both Jamerson and I have roots in the Gullah tradition).

In 2007, he was inducted into the Nashville Musicians Hall of Fame.

In Michigan, he was voted No. 73 of the Top 100 Michigan celebrities. In that group, he was in the company of the likes of Ernest Hemingway.

Q: What did his jazz roots bring to his playing at Motown?

A: Jamerson improvised his bass lines the way any other jazz musician would improvise their solo. He had a consummate sense of harmony, melody and the power of the bass to mold the song. His inventions were mini-vignettes unto themselves.

Q: How would you describe his playing style and his approach to the instrument?

A: He was an upright bass player who came to the electric bass some 4-5 years later in his career. He always played upright on the electric bass. By that I mean he held the instrument more vertically than most electric players would prefer, especially when he would stand and play.

He plucked with the index finger of his right hand (nicknamed 'the hook'), resting the second, third and pinky fingers on the pick-up cover.

Q: What was his personality like?

A: While I never met Jamerson personally, I must admit that I think I get a sense of his personality from looking into his life and music for the past 40+ years.

A lot of thanks goes to Allan Slutsky. Jamerson was a proud man who rightfully thought he should be recognized for his achievements and was devastated when those acknowledgements did not come. Jamerson liked to party, he liked to cook and was also a martial arts fan/student.

Q: How did he get to Motown Records and how long did his career run?

A: (The documentary) tells us that he left Charleston in 1954 to move with his mother, who had gone to Detroit earlier. I saw an interview that stated he was recruited by Mickey Stevenson, who was giving the interview.

His first Motown sessions were some time in 1959 at Hitsville in Detroit. Motown closed the Detroit office/studio in 1973, a year after they moved the operation to Los Angeles.

Jamerson moved to L.A. in 1973, but did little work for Motown and while he did work in L.A. on other recordings by the end of the 1970's work for him was drying up. In 1959 to 1973, I would say those 14 years were Jamerson's heydays.

There has been much written about his reluctance to adapt to new ideas, holding on to the 'old' ways.

If you were Jamerson, why should you? If he had an inkling of what his contribution to popular music was (as we now know it to be), why would he want to change to what everybody else was doing?

First, they don't acknowledge what he had already done, then they ask you to change and become just like everybody else? One can only begin to understand what he may have been going through.

Editor's Note: This is the last of a two-part series on the influence of Charleston bassist James Jamerson.

Jack McCray, author of 'Charleston Jazz,' can be reached at jackjmccray@aol.com.