---
product_id: 2221297
title: "Standing in the Shadows of Motown - The Life and Music of Legendary Bassist James Jamerson | Bass Guitar Songbook with 49 Transcriptions and Online Audio | Learn Classic Motown Bass Method"
price: "$71.58"
currency: USD
in_stock: true
reviews_count: 8
url: https://www.desertcart.us/products/2221297-standing-in-the-shadows-of-motown-the-life-and-music
store_origin: US
region: United States of America
---

# Online audio with isolated bass 49 bass transcriptions 212 pages deep dive Standing in the Shadows of Motown - The Life and Music of Legendary Bassist James Jamerson | Bass Guitar Songbook with 49 Transcriptions and Online Audio | Learn Classic Motown Bass Method

**Price:** $71.58
**Availability:** ✅ In Stock

## Summary

> 🎶 Unlock the bass secrets behind Motown’s timeless hits—feel the groove, join the legacy!

## Quick Answers

- **What is this?** Standing in the Shadows of Motown - The Life and Music of Legendary Bassist James Jamerson | Bass Guitar Songbook with 49 Transcriptions and Online Audio | Learn Classic Motown Bass Method
- **How much does it cost?** $71.58 with free shipping
- **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship
- **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.us](https://www.desertcart.us/products/2221297-standing-in-the-shadows-of-motown-the-life-and-music)

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## Why This Product

- Free international shipping included
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## Key Features

- • **Rich Historical Context:** 212 pages featuring Jamerson’s biography, Motown history, and expert analysis to connect you with the roots of classic soul.
- • **Master the Motown Groove:** 49 meticulously transcribed bass lines from the legendary James Jamerson, perfect for elevating your bass skills.
- • **All-Star Bassist Tributes:** Learn from the pros—Marcus Miller, Jack Bruce, and more contribute authentic renditions and insights, making you part of the elite bass community.
- • **Challenge Your Rhythm & Feel:** Advanced transcriptions push your timing and groove, ensuring you don’t just play notes—you embody the Motown spirit.
- • **Immersive Learning Experience:** Includes online audio tracks with bass isolated on the left channel—play along or study every note with precision.

## Overview

Standing in the Shadows of Motown is a 212-page bass guitar songbook featuring 49 transcriptions of James Jamerson’s iconic bass lines, accompanied by online audio with isolated bass tracks. This comprehensive resource blends biography, historical context, and expert analysis with performances by renowned bassists, offering an advanced yet immersive learning tool for aspiring and seasoned bass players eager to master the classic Motown sound.

## Description

desertcart.com: Standing in the Shadows of Motown - The Life and Music of Legendary Bassist James Jamerson | Bass Guitar Songbook with 49 Transcriptions and Online Audio | Learn Classic Motown Bass Method: 9780881888829: Dr. Licks, James Jamerson, Berry Gordy: Books

Review: A good book about a great bassist - This book and CD combination examines the music of James Jamerson, the studio bassist on most of the early Motown hits. Until rather recently, Jamerson was unknown to the general public and not widely known to musicians. Nonetheless, his playing was very influential and many bassists today consider his playing the gold standard of bass guitar in popular music. This book is valuable as a reference for the history of Motown, but it is primarily a teaching tool. It is organized into three parts. The first 78 pages give a biography of Jamerson and put his work into historical context. Part two (17 pages) is a compilation of data: descriptions of bass equipment, recording facilities, accompanists, and discography. Also included in this section is a four page "Appreciation of Style" by Anthony Jackson that attempts to analyze the musical elements that made Jamerson unique. Part three contains 90 pages of transcriptions of Jamerson bass lines and accompanying text. The transcriptions go with the CDs described below. The CDs and transcriptions are the heart of the set. The CDs feature Motown tunes with the bass lines played by over two dozen "all-star" bassists (e.g Marcus Miller, Jack Bruce, John Entwistle). Bass is on the left channel with instrumental accompaniment on the right. The bass lines are transcribed by the author and the transcriptions are accompanied by short bios of the artists who play the lines. The tracks on the CDs are interspersed with short interviews of people who knew Jamerson. The artists reportedly donated their services as a tribute to Jamerson and the bass lines and accompaniment were recorded in a variety of circumstances. Many tracks are recorded in home studios. The quality varies, but all tracks are well played and all are useful teaching tools. I thought the variation of sounds would be a drawback, but it is a very interesting part of the project. The best Precision Bass tones are not necessarily from the artists you would expect. (Not everyone tries to duplicate Jamerson's tone. Geddy Lee was approached backstage at a concert and contributed "Get Ready" on either a Steinberger or a Rickenbacker. Lots of fun.) The level of the transcriptions is somewhat advanced. Transcriptions are given in traditional bass staff (no tab) and the rhythms will give your reading skills a workout. There are very few specific comments about fingering, right-hand technique, or damping. Yet the range of difficulty is from dead simple (beautifully rendered) line to lines that will challenge the most advanced player. (The challenge is rhythm and feel not lots of note or big stretches.) Beginning to intermediate players can use this book, but will benefit greatly by using it with the help of a good teacher. One can quibble with the historical overview. It is quite readable, but doesn't dig deeply into any of the tough issues it raises (e.g. Jamerson's drinking and emotional stability, Berry Gordy's business practices). Since the focus is on the music, some of this reticence is laudable. However, one important musical controversy that the author fails to pursue is the question of the true credit for recorded bass lines in the era when Motown was moving from Detroit to LA. (Many tracks were demoed by LA studio bassists and then cut by Jamerson as well. There is still debate as to which track made it to the final recording. The question is acknowledged, but no new information is brought forth.) Another musical deficit is that there is very little about the interplay between Jamerson and other members of the rhythm section. (This is in contrast to the author's better-written (if slightly less important) book on the James Brown rhythm sections.) Even with those minor issues considers, this is an extremely valuable book. It is clearly a labor of love and will be an extremely valuable learning tool for any bassist with the fundamental skills (or support) necessary to ap
Review: Excellent source for Motown enthusiast / aspiring bassist - I feel that I am a mediocre bass player, but this product helped me play bass with more feel. It is an excellent source of info about motown in general and includes many stories about James Jamerson (the baddest bass player to play a fender bass). There are a ton of bassists (including james jamerson jr.) offering their insights into James' bass playing and their rendition of many of his best bass lines on cd. The bass lines are played note for note so you can really learn many of the old motown songs just the way jamerson played it (if you can keep up)... The bass lines are on one channel and the music is on the other, making it easy to turn off a channel and either play with the music or listen to the bass line only. I always used to wonder who was playing those cool bass lines for Motown way back in the day, there were never any credits for musicians on the albums back then. I found out it was James Jamerson in 1997 (about 20 years later). This is an excellent product and I was really pleased with the way it was set up. It has changed the way I play. I highly recommend this to the aspiring bass player and Motown enthusiast.

## Features

- Pages: 212

## Technical Specifications

| Specification | Value |
|---------------|-------|
| Best Sellers Rank | #82,058 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #2 in R&B & Soul #7 in Bass Guitar Songbooks #115 in Guitars (Books) |
| Customer Reviews | 4.7 out of 5 stars 619 Reviews |

## Images

![Standing in the Shadows of Motown - The Life and Music of Legendary Bassist James Jamerson | Bass Guitar Songbook with 49 Transcriptions and Online Audio | Learn Classic Motown Bass Method - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81N5n2Oa4IL.jpg)

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ A good book about a great bassist
*by R***S on May 2, 2002*

This book and CD combination examines the music of James Jamerson, the studio bassist on most of the early Motown hits. Until rather recently, Jamerson was unknown to the general public and not widely known to musicians. Nonetheless, his playing was very influential and many bassists today consider his playing the gold standard of bass guitar in popular music. This book is valuable as a reference for the history of Motown, but it is primarily a teaching tool. It is organized into three parts. The first 78 pages give a biography of Jamerson and put his work into historical context. Part two (17 pages) is a compilation of data: descriptions of bass equipment, recording facilities, accompanists, and discography. Also included in this section is a four page "Appreciation of Style" by Anthony Jackson that attempts to analyze the musical elements that made Jamerson unique. Part three contains 90 pages of transcriptions of Jamerson bass lines and accompanying text. The transcriptions go with the CDs described below. The CDs and transcriptions are the heart of the set. The CDs feature Motown tunes with the bass lines played by over two dozen "all-star" bassists (e.g Marcus Miller, Jack Bruce, John Entwistle). Bass is on the left channel with instrumental accompaniment on the right. The bass lines are transcribed by the author and the transcriptions are accompanied by short bios of the artists who play the lines. The tracks on the CDs are interspersed with short interviews of people who knew Jamerson. The artists reportedly donated their services as a tribute to Jamerson and the bass lines and accompaniment were recorded in a variety of circumstances. Many tracks are recorded in home studios. The quality varies, but all tracks are well played and all are useful teaching tools. I thought the variation of sounds would be a drawback, but it is a very interesting part of the project. The best Precision Bass tones are not necessarily from the artists you would expect. (Not everyone tries to duplicate Jamerson's tone. Geddy Lee was approached backstage at a concert and contributed "Get Ready" on either a Steinberger or a Rickenbacker. Lots of fun.) The level of the transcriptions is somewhat advanced. Transcriptions are given in traditional bass staff (no tab) and the rhythms will give your reading skills a workout. There are very few specific comments about fingering, right-hand technique, or damping. Yet the range of difficulty is from dead simple (beautifully rendered) line to lines that will challenge the most advanced player. (The challenge is rhythm and feel not lots of note or big stretches.) Beginning to intermediate players can use this book, but will benefit greatly by using it with the help of a good teacher. One can quibble with the historical overview. It is quite readable, but doesn't dig deeply into any of the tough issues it raises (e.g. Jamerson's drinking and emotional stability, Berry Gordy's business practices). Since the focus is on the music, some of this reticence is laudable. However, one important musical controversy that the author fails to pursue is the question of the true credit for recorded bass lines in the era when Motown was moving from Detroit to LA. (Many tracks were demoed by LA studio bassists and then cut by Jamerson as well. There is still debate as to which track made it to the final recording. The question is acknowledged, but no new information is brought forth.) Another musical deficit is that there is very little about the interplay between Jamerson and other members of the rhythm section. (This is in contrast to the author's better-written (if slightly less important) book on the James Brown rhythm sections.) Even with those minor issues considers, this is an extremely valuable book. It is clearly a labor of love and will be an extremely valuable learning tool for any bassist with the fundamental skills (or support) necessary to ap

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Excellent source for Motown enthusiast / aspiring bassist
*by G***N on February 23, 2006*

I feel that I am a mediocre bass player, but this product helped me play bass with more feel. It is an excellent source of info about motown in general and includes many stories about James Jamerson (the baddest bass player to play a fender bass). There are a ton of bassists (including james jamerson jr.) offering their insights into James' bass playing and their rendition of many of his best bass lines on cd. The bass lines are played note for note so you can really learn many of the old motown songs just the way jamerson played it (if you can keep up)... The bass lines are on one channel and the music is on the other, making it easy to turn off a channel and either play with the music or listen to the bass line only. I always used to wonder who was playing those cool bass lines for Motown way back in the day, there were never any credits for musicians on the albums back then. I found out it was James Jamerson in 1997 (about 20 years later). This is an excellent product and I was really pleased with the way it was set up. It has changed the way I play. I highly recommend this to the aspiring bass player and Motown enthusiast.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Don't give singers all the credit!
*by M***I on March 10, 2008*

I've always been a fan of Motown but of the singers, now I'm starting to realize I shouldn't give the singers all the credit, it was the producers, songwriters, and musicians who made the artists become hits. If it wasn't for the unique, special Funk Brothers who knows if the Motown artists would have become as successful as they did. It doesn't matter how good of a singer a singer is, if the music ain't right, the singer ain't gonna sound good. Its that something special about the Motown Sound that sparks something in our minds, hearts, and souls, the music complimented the singers excellently. James Jamerson was just a handsome, wonderful, real, interesting, talented person. Its sad he had to get recognition after he passed on. It seems the only way to become a legend is to die first then people appreciate you more, well this book taught me to love and praise people while their alive that's what keeps them going. All James wanted in his last days was recognition and to know he did make a difference in the world of music. This book taught me to appreciate the musicians, songwriters, and producers, the people behind the scenes, who made it possible for the music to become timeless, sometimes we give the singers too much credit. It was interesting for me to read most of the Funk Brothers didn't even like Rock N Roll or Soul music, they were really jazz fans and wanted to play jazz, so it shows how gifted they were to still play soul music effectively even though it wasn't their cup of tea. Another reason why Motown sound is so appealing and fresh is because the Funk Brothers laced different genres of music into the soul music and tried new things with the music creating the Motown Sound, a sound in its own class.

## Frequently Bought Together

- Standing in the Shadows of Motown: The Life and Music of Legendary Bassist James Jamerson (book and CD)
- Slap it!: Funk Studies for the Electric Bass
- Afro-Cuban Grooves for Bass and Drums: Funkifying the Clave (Manhattan Music Publications)

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*Last updated: 2026-03-01*