James Jamerson Jr. (born James L. Jamerson III; August 24, 1957 – March 23, 2016) was an American bass player and noted studio musician. During his over three-decades long career he recorded with

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...

, Tavares,

The Temptations The Temptations is an American vocal group formed in Detroit, Michigan, in 1961 as The Elgins, known for their string of successful singles and albums with Motown from the 1960s to the mid-1970s. The group's work with producer Norman Whitfield ...

, and many more.

Life and career

Jamerson Jr. was born in

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

to legendary session bass player

James Jamerson James Lee Jamerson (January 29, 1936 – August 2, 1983) was an American bassist. He was the uncredited bassist on most of the Motown Records hits in the 1960s and early 1970s (Motown did not list session musician credits on their releases un ...

, a cornerstone member of Motown's famed house band, The Funk Brothers. In the early 1970s, Jamerson, Jr. became an in-demand session bassist. In the next three decades he played on the studio albums by

Janet Jackson Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, actress and dancer. She is noted for her innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows. Her sound and choreogr ...

Smokey Robinson William "Smokey" Robinson Jr. (born February 19, 1940) is an American R&B and soul singer, songwriter, record producer, and former record executive. He was the founder and frontman of the pioneering Motown vocal group the Miracles, for which he ...

, and

Aretha Franklin Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Honored as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Soul", she was twice named by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine as the Roll ...

, to name a few. In the late 1970s, he formed a studio

disco Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...

group,

Chanson A (, ; , ) is generally any Lyrics, lyric-driven French song. The term is most commonly used in English to refer either to the secular polyphonic French songs of late medieval music, medieval and Renaissance music or to a specific style of ...

, along with guitarist David Williams. Their only charted single, "Don't Hold Back" reached No. 21 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in 1979 and No. 18 in Canada. Jamerson died in Detroit on March 23, 2016, at age 58. He had suffered for years with

ankylosing spondylitis Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is a type of arthritis from the disease spectrum of axial spondyloarthritis. It is characterized by long-term inflammation of the joints of the spine, typically where the spine joins the pelvis. With AS, eye and bow ...

Selected discography

With Tavares * '' Check It Out'' (1974) With

Sylvester Sylvester or Silvester is a name derived from the Latin adjective ''silvestris'' meaning "wooded" or "wild", which derives from the noun ''silva'' meaning "woodland". Classical Latin spells this with ''i''. In Classical Latin, ''y'' represented a ...

* ''

Step II ''Step II'' is the fourth studio album by American singer Sylvester, released in 1978 on the Fantasy label. Commercial performance The album peaked at No. 7 on the R&B albums chart. It also reached No. 28 on the ''Billboard'' 200. The album fea ...

'' (1978) With

High Inergy High Inergy was an American R&B and soul girl group who found fame on Motown Records in the late 1970s. They are best known for the hit song, " You Can't Turn Me Off (In the Middle of Turning Me On)". History High Inergy started in 1976 when th ...

* '' Shoulda Gone Dancin''' (1979) With The Crusaders with

B.B. King Riley B. King (September 16, 1925 – May 14, 2015), known professionally as B.B. King, was an American blues guitarist, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He introduced a sophisticated style of soloing based on fluid string bending, sh ...

and the

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London, England. The RPO was established by Thomas Beecham in 1946. In its early days, the orchestra secured profitable recording contracts and important engagemen ...

* ''

Royal Jam ''Royal Jam'' is a live recording by the jazz-funk band The Crusaders with B.B. King, Josie James and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. The album was recorded at London's Royal Festival Hall. Critical reception Richard S. Ginell of Allmusic clai ...

'' (1981) With

* ''

'' (1982) With

DeBarge DeBarge was an American musical recording group composed of several members of the DeBarge family. In addition to various solo projects completed by members of the family, DeBarge was active between 1979 and 1989. The group originally consiste ...

* ''

In a Special Way ''In a Special Way'' is the third studio album by American R&B group DeBarge, released by Gordy Records on September 23, 1983. It was recorded at Kendun Records in Burbank and Westlake Audio in West Hollywood; written and produced by lead voca ...

'' (1983) With

* '' Touch the Sky'' (1983) With

Teena Marie Mary Christine Brockert (March 5, 1956 – December 26, 2010), known professionally as Teena Marie, was an American Soul music, soul and Contemporary R&B, R&B singer, songwriter, and producer. She was known by her childhood nickname Tina before ...

* '' Starchild'' (1984) With

* '' Truly for You'' (1984) With

Philip Bailey Philip James Bailey (born May 8, 1951) is an American singer, songwriter and percussionist, best known as an early member and one of the two lead singers (along with group founder Maurice White) of the band Earth, Wind & Fire. Noted for his fo ...

* ''

The Wonders of His Love ''The Wonders of His Love'' is the second studio album by Philip Bailey, released in 1984 on Myrrh Records. It was his first gospel album, peaking at No. 13 on the ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' Top Christian Albums chart and No. 17 on the ' ...

'' (1985) With

* '' Knocked Out Loaded'' (1986) With

* '' Aretha'' (1986) With

Wayne Kramer Wayne Stanley Kramer (''né'' Kambes; April 30, 1948 – February 2, 2024) was an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, producer, and Film score, film and television composer. Kramer came to prominence in the 1960s as the lead guitarist of t ...

* '' The Hard Stuff'' (1995)

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jamerson, James Jr. (guitarist) 1957 births 2016 deaths 20th-century American bass guitarists 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American bass guitarists 21st-century American male musicians African-American guitarists American session musicians Deaths from arthritis Musicians from Detroit American rhythm and blues bass guitarists American male bass guitarists 20th-century African-American musicians 21st-century African-American musicians