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Jamerson vs. Kaye - the hits
- Thread starter Killed_by_Death
- Start date
For the Talkbass cage match of the day of course.
Probably Kaye. I think the songs she played on had a wider audience, I don't really know. I'd take Jamerson though only because when it comes to sheer jamming ability and playing the blues he's unmatched, in my opinion.
Hits definilty Kaye, alone the beach boy stuff was huge.
I like Jamerson style more too , but i am just a sucker for his tone and I prefer fingers over pick
Number of hits? Gotta go with Carol Kaye.
I like Jamerson's style better myself. But if we're leaving emotions out of this and sticking to numbers.....
I like Jamerson's style better myself. But if we're leaving emotions out of this and sticking to numbers.....
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Kaye played on more hits easily, even without laying claim to Jamerson's tracks that she obviously and demonstrably did not play.
In her defense i think when you do so much studio work, you easily confuse a recording with a demo session. I am pretty sure that she played a demo on those hits, but they went with jamerson to play on the recording
33 straight takes to record 'The Way We Were', with Kaye adhering to Hamlisch's directive to keep her bass lines low-key. On the 33rd take, Kaye decided to ad-lib, adding a lot of bass arpeggios in to the mix... doing what felt right, muscially, helped create an Oscar Award winning piece, as well as not having to do the dreaded 34th take...
... unsure if she really received her due, over the course of her career, but she sure should have.
... unsure if she really received her due, over the course of her career, but she sure should have.
That's a tough call. Probably Carol Kaye by a nose. They are both frigging awesome though.
To me, no doubt about it- Carol Kaye. I knew who Jamerson was because of the Motown hits he played on in the 60s as I was a teenage bassplayer BUT I used to see Carol Kaye's name everywhere on all sorts of albums (studio sessions credits)). For a longtime I thought Kaye was a dude, what I mean is that it was unheard of in mainstream music back then to have such a funky female bassplayer. P/S- some of us used to buy albums depending on who played on them, sometimes without listening to it before you bought it.
Kaye, more labels and more diverse.
Jamerson, one label, but bigger impact!
Jamerson, one label, but bigger impact!
Bigger conscious impact no doubt is Jamerson...as a unique stylist and one of the key definers of the Motown sound he's idolized and studied by more bass players than Carol Kaye by a long way. But when you hear songs as much as you've heard all the stuff CK has played on that has to influence how you hear what a bass part should be. I was in my mid thirties before I realized that Jack Casady was (and fifty years later still is) a primary influence from my parents playing Jefferson Airplane records a lot when I was a kid before I even started playing bass. The phenomenon of unconscious influence is not to be underestimated.
Couple things here.
First, there is a fairly contentious history to the comparisons between Carol and JJ. So, I suggest we try to be nice about it.
Second, it is MUCH more complicated than counting hits between them. The studio work included not just the original hits that were released in the States, but also secondary recordings that were released in different languages etc in overseas markets. In some cases, both players did separate recordings of the same tune; but it may or may not be clear which went on what recording. I suspect that Carol did more tracks that went on radio play "hits" somewhere in the world; but, JJ did many of the Motown hits we heard on the radio in the States. There have been arguments between the camps about this. But, I don't feel it is constructive for us to go there.
So, as I said, let's play nice. Both were special players and profound influences. I think that's enough. Otherwise, it gets complicated.
First, there is a fairly contentious history to the comparisons between Carol and JJ. So, I suggest we try to be nice about it.
Second, it is MUCH more complicated than counting hits between them. The studio work included not just the original hits that were released in the States, but also secondary recordings that were released in different languages etc in overseas markets. In some cases, both players did separate recordings of the same tune; but it may or may not be clear which went on what recording. I suspect that Carol did more tracks that went on radio play "hits" somewhere in the world; but, JJ did many of the Motown hits we heard on the radio in the States. There have been arguments between the camps about this. But, I don't feel it is constructive for us to go there.
So, as I said, let's play nice. Both were special players and profound influences. I think that's enough. Otherwise, it gets complicated.
It looks to me like we're already being nice. Well done, everyone.