James Jamerson

Next one, 1971, Valerie Simpson.

This has got James Jamerson on bass, who Paul has quoted as being the inspiration for his bass lines changing on Rubber Soul.

So you want to hear how James Jamerson plays on it? Check out that favor, Valerie Simpson.

It's almost played rubato with like a jazz bluesy vibe, like a film noir soundtrack maybe, until it breaks into kind of like a gospel riff for the main song.

Do yourselves a favor.

They were the house band, but they were uncredited.

A guy named James Jamerson played the bass on so many, like Papa was the Rolling Stone, so many Temptations, the Supremes hits.

That's him on You Keep Me Hanging On.

Hang on, listen, listen.

If you look at Prince interviews, the subject doesn't come up that much unless he's asked about him.

You know, it's not like Stevie Wonder, or it's not like, you know, James Jamerson, or it's not, I'm trying to think of musicians, or Carlos Santana, or Joni Mitchell, where Prince will regularly name check these guys.

You know, he probably talks about the Cocteau twins more than he talks about Michael Jackson.

But There was definitely respect for what Michael Jackson had done.

And

of course, James Jamerson.

Yeah, right.

Motown.

And the bass.

Like, what the hell? James Jamerson is like the god of bass, like the Motown bass, and he will influence like everybody.

He's a huge deal in the bass world.

The movement, like what he does, if you just listen to the bass in this song, it's fantastic.

Again.

With a love that will see you.

Okay, so all that is happening in the harmony, but we haven't even talked about James Jamerson in this moment, right? So it's like, rewind a little bit after the verse.

So when it does this, like the tonic chord, right? James Jamerson is playing the third.

He loved Jimi Hendrix.

His inclusion of Michael Henderson, who was, you know, a protege of James Jamerson.

That he could hear that and be like, that works with what I do.

Because in the spectrum of Black American music, you are definitely in it.

That's the sound of surf music.

Then turn on almost any Motown hit and listen underneath the song where James Jamerson is playing a precision bass.

And in 1965, when Bob Dylan walked out at the Newport Folk Festival and went electric, the guitar in his hands was a sunburst Stratocaster.

Country, rockabilly, soul, surf, Motown, folk rock.