James Jamerson
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Year:
2000
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Inducted by:
Mike Stoller
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Category:
Musical Excellence
Introduction
He bestowed the funkiest, grooviest basslines in the Motown catalogue.
James Jamerson played the bass with an intuition like no one else. Although he was a sideman, he revolutionized the bass and brought it out of the shadows and to the forefront of music.
Award for Musical Excellence Retrospective Reel
King Curtis, Hal Blaine, Scotty Moore, James Jamerson and Earl Palmer are Inducted at the 2000 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony-
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Award for Musical Excellence Retrospective Reel00:02:01
Hall of Fame Essay
2000
I walked into Berry Gordy Jr’s basement recording studio on Detroit’s West Grand Boulevard, the electric bass was still an infant. Leo Fender’s 1951 brainchild had yet to find an identity - a situation that ended with the first note Jamerson played on a Motown record.
In one momentous and soulful trifecta, the instrument found its voice, a fledgling record company discovered its heartbeat, and a generation took a bold step toward finding its groove.
