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James Lee Jamerson was born on January 29, 1936 in Edisto Island, South Carolina and died on August 2, 1983 in Los Angeles, California. James was only 47 years old when he died, but it’s utterly remarkable all the things he accomplished in that short time. Along with his sidekicks, The Funk Brothers, James and his band mates played on more Number 1 Hits than the Beach Boys, the Rolling Stones, the Beatles, & Elvis COMBINED!!!!!!


James was the Bass Player who largely played on all those Motown hits but went unaccredited until the Smash Hit Album by Marvin Gaye "What's Going On." Here’s a brief history on James. When he was living on Edisto Island, South Carolina, the Bass was not his first instrument of choice. Oh yeah! I bet you didn't know that did you? His first instrument was the Piano and at the time he had a little "House Band" in which they went around playing all of the hits of that time such as "Bad Bad Whiskey" with James on Piano. There was some talk that his Aunt Everlina McKnight (My Mother) taught him how to play the Piano. Well, James was playing since he was 10 years old and self taught. James and his brother Richard Brown stayed in our household when my aunt (James’ Mother) moved to Detroit after she found work.


While attending Northwestern High School in Detroit, Michigan, one day while he was in the band room, James picked-up the upright bass and as they say “the rest is history.”


At 22 years old, James played with a band called "Washboard Willie and the Supersuds of Rhythm" and then later down the road he had his own band called "The James Jamerson Quartet." James went on to start playing with "Mr. Excitement Jackie Wilson" and that’s when he was spotted by Smokey Robinson & Mickey Stevenson. That’s basically how he initially got started with Motown Records.


James played for the likes of Mary Wells, Shorty Long, Junior Walker & the All Stars, the early Isley Brothers, Gladys Knight & the Pips, the Four Tops, Smokey Robinson & the Miracles, the Supremes, the Temptations, Martha Reeves & the Vandellas, the Marvelettes, Young Stevie Wonder, the Jackson 5, Edwin Starr, Eddie Kendricks, David Ruffin, Jimmy Ruffin, Tammi Terrell, Kim Weston, the Contours, the Velvelettes, the Undisputed Truth, the Spinners, the Originals, the Elgins, Bonnie Pointer, Marv Johnson, Eddie Holland, Earl Van Dyke and the Soul Brothers (aka) the Funk Brothers, and the list goes on and on. James also played on some Non-Motown Hits such as the Osmonds, Shirley Bassey, Joe Williams, Aretha Franklin, Joan Baez, Maria Muldaur, Yusef Lateef, Buddy Miles, Dennis Wilson, the Crusaders, the Mighty Clouds of Joy, Stanley Turrentine, Tom Jones, Charo, the Pointer Sisters, Nancy Wilson, Johnny Bristol, Curtis Mayfield, Jerry Butler, John Lee Hooker, J.J. Barnes, Johnnie Mae Mathews, James Darren, the film score from Cooley High, the Starsky & Hutch television theme, the theme from the television show S.W.A.T., Jackie Wilson, Robert Palmer, the Hues Corporation, Al Green, the Dramatics, Marilyn McCoo & Billy Davis Jr., Jeff Beck, John Handy, Hugo Montenegro, Quincy Jones, Bill Withers, H.B. Barnum, Al Wilson, the Caravans, the Silvers and Harvey Mason. Since his death, James is regarded as the most influential Bassist in Modern Music and is considered to be "The Godfather of The Bass." James has received numerous forms of recognition for his work.


Also In 1989 the book "Standing in the Shadows of Motown-The Life and Music of Legendary Bassist James Jamerson" was released. In 1999, he was awarded the Hollywood Rock Walk Award. Then in 2000 James was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio.


In 2002 the documentary "Standing in the Shadows of Motown" was released and it garnered Jamerson and the Funk Brothers two Grammy Awards along with the Grammy’s Life Time Achievement Award. In 2003 he was honored during a two-day festival given by the Avery Research Institute and the College of Charleston in his hometown of Charleston, South Carolina. During that event, the Mayor of Charleston presented the family with a Proclamation from the City of Charleston.


In 2007 Jamerson and the rest of the Funk Brothers were inducted into the Musician's Hall of Fame in Nashville, Tennessee. In 2008 he was awarded the Gullah/GeeChee Nation’s Anointed Spirit Award. On March 5, 2009, the South Carolina House of Representatives passed a Resolution asking for the induction of James Jamerson into the South Carolina Hall of Fame. On August 7th,2009 James Jamerson was inducted into "The Fender's Music Hall Of Fame". In 2011 James Jamerson was awarded BassPlayer Magazine Lifetime Acheivement Award. In 2012 Mr. James Jamerson Sr. was awarded the "Samson's 2012 International Bassist Award"








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