logo). There is speculation that in mid to late-1960s Jamerson's then-primary instrument was parted with, and that he acquired and replaced it with a 1966 model. Quotations In a 1983 interview with Musician magazine, Jamerson said about Motown's songwriting-production team that they "would give me the chord sheet, but they couldn't write for me. When they did, it didn't sound right. (...) When they gave me that chord sheet, I'd look at it, but then start doing what I felt and what I thought would fit. (...) I'd hear the melody line from the lyrics and I'd build the bass line around that." Motown's founder Berry Gordy called Jamerson an "incredible improviser" and said "I, like some of the other producers, would not do a session unless at least two of the Funk Brothers were present – namely, [drummer] Benny Benjamin and James Jamerson." Notes References Further reading External links James Jamerson's recorded bass parts isolated BassLand James Jamerson page James Jamerson transcriptions and educational resources 1936 births 1983 deaths 20th-century African-American musicians 20th-century American bass guitarists 20th-century American male musicians 20th-century double-bassists African-American guitarists Alcohol-related deaths in California American double-bassists American funk bass guitarists American male bass guitarists American rhythm and blues bass guitarists American session musicians Burials at Woodlawn Cemetery (Detroit) Deaths from cirrhosis Deaths from pneumonia in California Guitarists from Detroit Guitarists from South Carolina Male double-bassists Northwestern High School (Michigan) alumni People from Edisto Island, South Carolina The Funk Brothers members