♫ CLICK on the pic to run the audio of The Temptations at YouTube
James Jamerson courtesy of Phil Chen, former bassist with Rod Stewart
❚ BOOST YOUR BASS for this vintage Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer from The Temptations Christmas Card, the group’s first holiday release, produced by Barrett Strong on Motown Records in 1970.
That distinctive bass line comes from the fingers of Funk Brother the “incomparable” James Jamerson, whose improvisations on his Fender Precision Bass, nicknamed the Funk Machine, underpin the fabled Motown Sound. JJ is supposed to hold the record for playing on the most No 1 chart hits, from My Guy, Baby Love, Reach Out, Grapevine, Tears of a Clown, What’s Going On, and on pretty well everything that came out of Hitsville USA.
Boggle at the Jamerson discography documented at Bob Lee’s Bassland.net … Then glimpse him on-camera and relish his playing effectively a duet with Marvyn Gaye’s angelic vocals in this exceptional video of What’s Going On (below). It’s a live ensemble performance from the 1973 film, Save The Children. Hang on in for “Hey baby” and the tumultuous seventh minute when cool-as-ever JJ is doing his bit to push the temperature…
➢➢ Shapers of the 80s ➣➣ 