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The Latest Breaking News from James Jamerson

“He played upright but wanted to play the P-Bass. Motown said, ‘Nah, you ain't making no money playing that.’ But he said, ‘If you want me, I'm playing the P-Bass’”: Bootsy Collins on the musician that totally “changed his mind” about bass playing

James Jamerson's immense contribution to Motown Records in the ’60s and ’70s went largely uncredited – but his game-changing adoption of the P-Bass, coupled with his off-kilter technique, makes him an electric bass pioneer

Guitar World

“Sly turned his back on me in the control room, giving a shout whenever he heard something he liked”: How Larry Graham’s hand-picked replacement supercharged this 1973 hit for Sly & The Family Stone with an iconic bassline

On Graham’s recommendation, Rustee Allen arrived at the Record Plant in California to overdub his iconic If You Want Me to Stay bassline

Guitar World

“When I'm listening to Dear Prudence or those other great Beatles songs, you’re aware of what the bass is doing. That doesn’t happen with the Stones”: Why Gene Simmons calls Paul McCartney the king of bassists

His other favourites include Motown legend James Jamerson and — surprise — Ronnie Wood

MusicRadar

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“He fined me 50 bucks and fired me, even though I didn’t mess up”: The bassists of James Brown reveal what life was really like playing alongside the Godfather of Soul

Fred Thomas, Ray Brundidge and Bootsy Collins dig into what it meant to play with Soul Band No. 1

Guitar World

“We took 36 hours to cut Good Vibrations. We knew it was a big deal”: Carol Kaye’s 10 greatest basslines

The session legend was responsible for some of the finest bass playing ever committed to tape – here are her best moments

Guitar World

“That move from F to Ab is either a clever allusion… or it’s an accident!” He’s one of the most influential bassists of all time, but did Motown’s James Jamerson make a mistake on this 1969 hit record?

How Jamerson’s ‘mistake’ helped set the foundation for The Temptations’ No. 1 hit

Guitar World

“The door burst open. It was James, who was late and had come into the wrong room. He started listening and said, ’No, no, that's not the way you do it,’ and grabbed my EB-3”: Jack Bruce on his chance meeting with Motown hit-maker James Jamerson

Speaking in 2001, the late Cream bassist recalled his encounter with Jamerson at the Record Plant in L.A.

Guitar World

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“I played a 5-string with Lauryn Hill, but it didn’t feel like a real bass”: Raised on R&B, schooled by fusion, and empowered by punk rock, Bad Brains bassist Darryl Jenifer remains a 4-string purist

The bass powerhouse behind Washington DC’s Bad Brains pioneered a style that changed the history of punk

Guitar World

“Was that open-string a mistake or pure brilliance? Who cares? It’s a masterpiece”: Did bass maestro Willie Weeks miss a note on this Donny Hathaway classic?

Willie Weeks is best known for his storied bass solo on Hathaway’s 1972 Live album, but the disc also features what may be his baddest bassline

Guitar World

“The greatest advice I ever heard was from James Jamerson: ‘If you don’t feel it, don’t play it.’ I have that written on my guitar case as a reminder”: Parlor Greens’ Jimmy James on his biggest musical lessons, and why, like Hendrix, he's all about rhythm

“Driving the locomotive” in new supergroup Parlor Greens might be the Seattle soul man’s finest hour yet, and it finds him happiest when holding it down on rhythm guitar

Guitar World

“l’d been listening to Jamerson for some time, but this was staggering”: Inside James Jamerson’s 10 seminal “B-Sides”

Anthony Jackson and James Jamerson Jr reveal the hidden secrets of Motown’s multi-track recordings

Guitar World

“There I was, 28 years old, playing with Stevie Wonder – and he makes the song a bass feature!” Did Nate Watts play on the most under-appreciated bass anthem ever?

The story behind the incredible 10-minute bassline on Stevie Wonder’s 1981 hit Do I Do

Guitar World

“George Harrison opened the door to reveal a Formula 1 car in the hall. He said, ‘We made it from a kit and can’t get it out of here!’” Former ELO bassist Michael de Albuquerque’s life and times

Mary Hopkin and Violinski collaborator on becoming friends with Roy Wood, reissuing his solo albums and stepping away from the “not very nice” music industry in favour of antique dealing

Louder

“When called for, I try to get into that ‘stoopid’ mindset, like not even knowing the names of the strings. Physically, I'll even use a cruder, rougher approach”: Chris Wood unpacks his playing – both schooled and unschooled – with Medeski, Martin & Wood

Leaning on a vintage Fender and an old Ampeg, Chris Wood indulged his tone addictions on Medeski, Martin & Wood's Uninvisible

Guitar World

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Guitar World

“Eric was a bit taken aback”: When Jack Bruce radically reworked Cream hits to Eric Clapton’s surprise – and that time Marvin Gaye asked him to join his band

Some people believe rock ’n’ roll should never leave the cozy three-chord confines of the garage – and then there’s Jack Bruce

Guitar World

“I’d cover the strings in cheeseburger grease, barbecue sauce – even blood. I didn’t want the bass to sound like a friggin’ guitar!” Crosby, Stills & Nash’s 1969 debut took bassist Stephen Stills on an unlikely tone journey

Nicknamed Captain Manyhands, Stephen Stills ranks among pop music’s finest unsung bass talents

MusicRadar

"He became just my hero, really": Paul McCartney's bass idol, 'incomparable' Motown session giant James Jamerson

We celebrate one of the greatest of them all

Guitar World

“Be yourself and play what moves you. James Jamerson said it best: ‘If you don’t feel it, don’t play it’”: Parlor Greens’ Jimmy James is putting the soul back into guitar, groove by groove

With his inspired new trio, Seattle guitarist Jimmy James digs deep into Meters-style funk, rocking his Silvertone and making the world a better place

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Guitar World

“Technical bass players might be able to spell it out in print, but if the pocket isn’t there, it’s just dots on paper”: The Meters’ George Porter Jr on surviving Hurricane Katrina, the subtleties of New Orleans funk and his unusual slap style

According to George Porter Jr., his job as a bassist is to tie the groove and the rhythm together

Guitar World

“My hand was starting to swell up and blood was coming out of my ears. If I hadn't worked on that stuff, there's no way I could have done it”: Basil Fearrington breaks down his bassline on Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway’s Back Together Again

Basil Fearrington tracked with a custom Carl Thompson that had become “almost impossible to play”

Guitar World

“Shania Twain got me into alternate tunings. I use them a lot on gigs now, and they’ve seeped into my solo stuff”: What session bass supremo Derek Frank learned from playing with pop’s A-listers – and how he brings it to his own music

Serving the songs of Shakira, Gwen Stefani and Orianthi doesn’t mean the bass journeyman can’t bring a bit of Rocco Prestia, James Jamerson and Pino Palladino to proceedings

Guitar World

“Jamerson pushed the intercom button and said, ‘Not bad for a white chick!’” How Suzi Quatro cut her teeth on Motown hit-maker James Jamerson

Suzi Quatro’s soul and Motown-influenced rock bass playing made her a huge star throughout the 1970s and beyond

Guitar World

“Dad would never touch the gunk that had built up on the fingerboard. He told me, ‘The dirt keeps the funk’”: Inside the sound and style of Motown master James Jamerson

Five top low-enders with links to the bass great dissect the James Jamerson style

Guitar World

“Playing with a pick is not something you learn over the weekend. It requires the same commitment as learning to play upright bass with a bow”: Listen to Anthony Jackson’s landmark bassline on the O’Jay’s For the Love of Money

Anthony Jackson’s use of a pick and phase shifter was famously first heard on the O’Jays’ 1973 hit

Guitar World

“I think Sgt Pepper was a ‘prize period’ when I was playing my best bass”: Paul McCartney’s 10 best basslines with The Beatles

Paul McCartney is, to state the obvious, a bass guitar legend – and these are his 10 best basslines

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