Category: Motown

AIN’T NO MOUNTAIN HIGH ENOUGH * Bassist James Jamerson Version * TAMLA ‘67

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James Jamerson 1936 – 1983

In commemoration on what would have been his 80th birthday, Friday, January 29, 2016. Motor City Radio Flashbacks Remembers

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THE “FUNK” THAT WAS THE JAMERSON BASSLINE

Excerpt below was adapted from the Nelson George book, ‘Where Did Our Love Go? The Rise & Fall of the Motown Sound’

“He (Jamerson) played some marvelous bass. On some Motown recordings it’s hard to hear the piano, the organ, and vibes blend together, the sax solo is bland, and even Benny’s (Benny Benjamin) drums, buried beneath tambourines and guitars, are sometimes lost in the H-D-H mix. But never does anyone forget the bass lines. Part of the reason for the vitality of the bass lines was that the Motown studio was one of the first to record by plugging the bass directly into the studio control board (in the past, bassists had been recorded using the sound coming through their portable amplifiers). But whether it was swaying on “Love Is Here And Now You’re Gone,” rocking out on “Heat Wave,” funky on “Ain’t Too Proud To Beg,” or loud and demanding on “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough,” the invention, technique, and drama that emanated from James Jamerson’s 1962 Fender Precision bass made him one of the most influential musicians of the sixties.” CHAPTER 5: PRODUCTION pg. 110

—Nelson George, author, “Where Did Our Love Go?” St. Martin’s Press (Copyright 1985)

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