Standing In The Shadows Of Motown: The Life And Music Of Legendary Bassist James Jamerson

by Dr. Licks (Pseudonym), Berry Gordy (Foreword), Allan Slutsky

Guitar BookBassist James Jamerson was the embodiment of the Motown spirit and groove the invisible entity whose playing inspired thousands. His tumultuous life and musical brilliance are explored in depth through hundreds of interviews, 49 transcribed musical scores, two hours of recorded all-star performances, and more than 50 rarely seen photos in this stellar tribute to behind-the-scenes Motown. Features a 120-minute CD Allan Slutsky's 2002 documentary of the same name is the winner of the New York Film Critics "Best Documentary of the Year" award

Genres: Music, Biography, Nonfiction, History, Reference

194 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1989

Reviews

[Don Inman]

Hi, my names Don and I'm a music nerd.

I'm here to disabuse you regarding the Barry Gordie myth. Barry Gordie did not grow Motown's catalog. The Fun Brothers did. And James Jamerson was the beat that drove the Funk Brothers, literally and figuratively. Yes he was an addict, a drinker, a womanizer and all those other evil nasty things attributed to black musicians. He was also the greatest bass player, yes I said greatest. Yes I'm willing to defend that. So don't be hating on me for being willing to take a stand that may go against grain. I cut my teeth on Motown music. The beat, the moves and the voices impressed this uber white boy from Iowa. The lyrics contained no threats of violence, no swearing, no demeaning misogynistic lyrics. Just music that everyone could dig. Like the Wolfman said "You gonna love it to death baby". The Funk Brothers were session musicians, or studio musicians. A bunch of misfits who gelled the Motown sound. Back then studio musicians didn't make much money. And even though they were playing for Motown they were still black, all but one, in a white dominated music world. So when Gordie moved to California he left Hitsville high and dry. The documentary "Standing in the Shadows of Motown" tells the story. With no music jobs the musicians wandered Detroit looking for gigs. The story of James is the story of the Detroit sound. Can you dig it?

[Gabriel Monticello]

A must read for every Bass guitarist. James Jamerson is one of the most important musicians in the instruments history.
The book is in three parts
1. Biography- exceptional. Well written and full of details about the man, and the funk brothers. Great information for everyone.
2. Technical information- includes analysis of his sound, discography, listing of all funk brothers, and a Chromatic exercise that James would do. The exercise is good for bassists the rest is great for anyone.
3. Excerpts of his songs in music with tributes by stars and an accompanying disk of the stars playing those excepts.
The transcriptions are one of the best parts of the book. The stars tributes and recordings are not. I would have preferred to have samples of James playing his works.

A video under the same name is available. It focuses on the entire band. This book focuses on James.

For a brief bio on James, click here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Ja...

[Jason Das]

5 stars for existing and shining its light how and when it did. And for the 1980s, a pretty impressive multimedia effort.

But there's a lot of room for improvement when/if there's ever market or passion enough for an updated version. This is the kind of book that deserves to be superseded in the best possible way: building something better on the original's foundation/blazed trail.

Licks has passion and understanding, and I understand that some of the research done for this book is important, but... He's not much as a writer. This story could be told better

It would be great to have more background, more interviews, more (or at least higher quality) photos. Virtually everything that exists related to Jamerson would fit in one book; why be selective?

It would be great to have tablature for the transcriptions, if only so more people could learn from them.

The guest star bass players and the pages about them are a distraction; if that was a separate book/recording, I wouldn't read or listen to it. The original multitracks for these songs exist, and many have an isolated bass tracks. A Motown-blessed version with Jamerson's actual recordings would be the real thing we want and need, rather than the tribute-record hodgepodge. (But I know that's unlikely and was even less likely in 1988. Is the tribute record better than nothing? Not for me.)

[Adam]

As a musician, aspiring bass player, and general fan of music (especially when it's heavy on the low end) this is probably one of my favorite books and I generally don't read non-fiction. Give this a read if you love music (history), Motown, bass, or James Jamerson. I think this an enjoyable and great read for anyone, musical background or not unless, of course, you don't enjoy this sort of music. If you like funk though I can almost guarantee you'll like this book and appreciate the genius of the great James Jamerson.

[Bjm Index]

7

[Jasper Le Comte]

So, this is very much a book consisting of two halves: a pretty good, but perhaps a little unpolished, biography of one of the greatest bassists of all time, and a collection of great transcriptions of his basslines. As I got the book for that sheet music first and foremost (as many do, I would imagine), I think it makes the most sense to have the weight of my rating rest more on my thoughts on the transcriptions.

For those who are not familiar with Jamerson: he was the foremost bassist on many classic Motown hits in the sixties and seventies (before his decline and early death). He was lauded as a genius in his time and long after, most Motown producers would simply not record without him, and his basslines featured on major hits, such as Ain't No Mountain High Enough (Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell), For Once in My Life (Stevie Wonder), What's Going On (Marvin Gaye), Darling Dear (Jackson 5), I Heard it Through the Grapevine (Gladys Knight and the Pips) and many, many more.

The biography is okay, giving a good and thorough overview of his life, clearly supported by a lot of research and interviews with everyone in Jamerson's circles. Sometimes, the tone is perhaps stuck a bit too hard on 'reverent' and I overall feel like the picture actually summoned by the text is a bit fuzzy at times. Perhaps the writing style was not quite my cup of tea and assumed a level of familiarity with the relevant people and places I do not possess. I never really felt fully adrift or anything, but I sometimes did feel like there was a bit clearer and more vivid of a picture to be painted.

Said feeling, of course, is also due to the fact that this book was written in the late eighties and published only a good five years after Jamerson's passing. Consequently, the book features a lot of references to people and musical acts I have not heard of, partly because I am not a real Motown specialist, but also because not all of that music is as well remembered today as it was back then. For this reason, I also plan to watch the 2002 documentary based on this book (which is available in its entirety on YouTube, but don't tell the copyright holder ;) ), to also get the naturally crucial audio that a written book cannot convey along with the text, of course.

All that said, the sheet music is fantastic and detailed, making this the definitive source for Jamerson transcriptions. I have had the pleasure of playing a few of these basslines in music school (Ain't No Mountain High Enough, What's Going On and Darling Dear) and can very confidently say those were some of the most enjoyable pieces I have played so far. I also enjoyed how each (set of) transcription(s) was hand picked by a who's who of world class bassists and how each of those recommendations (because, again, this book was published in 1989) is accompanied by a delightfully youthful picture of then up-and-coming bassists who are now indelible names in the bass hall of fame. For maximum "Oh look at that adorable baby compared to now!" effect, I recommend the pages on Pino Palladino, Geddy Lee and Marcus Miller. It also speaks to Jamerson's impact and legacy that the author was able to get all these incredible musicians to contribute to the book.

In short: a pretty good biography and a great, if not the single best source for Jamerson transcriptions! Pick this up if you are a bassist and maybe consider it if you are really into Motown. If you are neither, I doubt this will do a lot for you. But hey: niche books deserve their spot too.

[Thomas Ray]

There's also a terrific documentary of the same name, imdb.com/title/tt0314725/reference featuring the surviving Funk Brothers and outstanding singers such as Joan Osborne and Bootsy Collins, singing their hits while the band plays. Awesome music.

[Rolan Velasquez]

Essential for any bass player student and teacher alike. Some of the best bass lines that come out of the US that are still influencing music to this day. A must have.

[Ruben]

Great story, good writing, and excellent transcriptions. A must-have for any bassist and recommended to any fan of Motown.

[Barbara Washington]

This is a book that I have not read yet,but as soon as I get the
chance to I will.I am interested in this book because,of course I
love music,James Jamerson has been hailed as one the greatest bass
of all time,he has played on some of the most memorable songs that we
hear all the time,and he is from North Carolina.

[Brian]

Jamerson is magical.

[Earl Schlubb]

This book was published in the 1980s and the layout design and the quality of the photos (b/w) leave a bit to be desired. The concept, however, is a real treat. The reader is presented initially with a simple biography of Jamerson, which of course will appeal to those who are interested in learning about a musician who was tremendously influential but who remained nameless to most listeners. The book then moves into a section of specially recorded song versions with bass in the left channel and a backing track in the right. Various bassists played their versions of James Jamerson's bass lines from familiar and not-so-familiar Motown (and other) tunes. (Although I am not an expert, I think that most of the guest musicians played renditions that are close to the original transcriptions.) The reader is presented with a short bit on the musician and his work, and then the musical notation for the track(s) is included. (There is no tablature provided, and many of the tracks' sheet music is pretty rough for beginners.) I would love to see more books like this on other musicians and their work. I now have a much better idea of the historical context in which James Jamerson worked, and the sheet music + tracks on the CD is a great addition.

I removed one star because the editing is not the greatest—there are far too many errors in the prose (things like "it's" when possessive "its" should have been used), and they detracted from this stickler's experience, although not to a great extent.

[Wade]

Inspirational story of one of the most important musicians in history and a great resource.

Some reviewers have criticised the recordings of Jamerson's work by other top bass players which are included in this book. Although I've rarely listened to/used them - preferring instead to use the original recordings with Jamerson, or the isolated tracks available on youtube - it is interesting to hear other legendary players have a go at playing Jamerson's parts. A few even sight read the transcriptions for these recordings.

Some reviewers would prefer better or clearer photos. It's possible that these are the only photos in existence.

Some reviewers would like TAB to be included. Here's an idea: Write the names of the notes underneath. Or work through the notation slowly and TAB it out yourself. Or do both. Jamerson could read music. Perhaps you should learn too :)

Some reviewers would prefer a better researched/written biography. I guess this would be interesting. However, Jamerson appears to have had a career as an anonymous, genius exponent of the bass, who spent all day and night playing music. I don't think he composed music, words, poems, nor was he a political activist. Other than the musical analysis and life anecdotes contained in this book and movie of the same name, what else would Jamerson have had time to do?

[Peter Farness]

Dr. Licks was definitely a searcher or seeker in what I have come to know and unravel, in my own woefully incomplete studies of American history and literature, as one of our principal cultural meltdowns known as "the eighties." In that respect, I guess you could call him a fellow traveler of roots rockers such as Los Lobos, the Blasters, and Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble, looking for inspiration elsewhere in that strange era. And so, often implicitly, were the hefty list of contributors to this book who acknowledged their debt to the evermore authentic Jamerson. A musical lodestone, James Jamerson, for all his faults, stayed true to his style, not compromising it in the music production obsessed seventies, probably not all that great a decade for our country either, as I've also come to discover in my studies. Extra nerd points go to the erudite but wonky Anthony Jackson for his musical analysis, a conspicuous tone unlike any other source quoted in the book, sticks out like a clean thumb on a dirty baby. (Jackson is actually a really accomplished and respected musician, and maybe he's just appraising or defending the earthy Jamerson style for a high-brow audience that may condescend to this music?)

[John Tarves]

Interesting book about one of the best bass players ever - who put his imprint on so many of the hits of Motown records. Lots of primary sources recounting the stories of Jamerson's life and his music.
Really neat feature of a link (provided on title page) of a link to many of the top bassists in the world playing his lines. Great bonus! Would especially be of interest to any bass guitar players.

[Scott Draper]

Great biography of James Jamerson. And plenty of challenging bass parts to learn. Need to tackle them one of these days.

[Ben Zimmerman]

This is a great blend of biography and music book. Absolutely worth the read.

[Johnny Orr]

Essential reading for any musician.

Anyone who loves Motown will also enjoy x

[David Grundy]

My GOAT