I wrote previously about a great bassline that people attribute to James Jamerson, but was performed by then 18-year-old Michael Henderson.
Here’s another bassline that sounds like Jamerson, but isn’t.
In 2015 the music world lost Wilton Felder. Most people familiar with Felder know him as a brilliant saxophone player and founding member of the jazz / funk / soul super group The Crusaders.
What many people don’t know is that in the early 1970s Felder was also a first-call studio bass player and is responsible for laying down one the greatest bass lines in pop music history.
Here for your enjoyment is Felder’s isolated bass line to The Jackson 5’s “I Want You Back.” Join me and marvel at Felder’s tone, clarity, articulation, and rock-solid groove.
And that oh-so-tricky bridge around 2:10!