(Guitar Book). Bassist James Jamerson was the embodiment of the Motown spirit and groove the invisible entity whose playing inspired thousands. His tumultuous life and musical brilliance are explored in depth through hundreds of interviews, 49 transcribed musical scores, two hours of recorded all-star performances, and more than 50 rarely seen photos in this stellar tribute to behind-the-scenes Motown. Features a 120-minute CD! Allan Slutsky's 2002 documentary of the same name is the winner of the New York Film Critics "Best Documentary of the Year" award!

More than a pattern book, this lays out the theory behind the use of pentatonic scales in jazz, and follows with transcribed solos and exercises. Still a favorite after 14 years, this book has become a standard in the field.

(Bass Recorded Versions). Exact transcriptions with tab for 21 bass-heavy Motown faves: Ain't No Mountain High Enough * Baby Love * Dancing in the Street * Get Ready * I Just Want to Celebrate * My Girl * My Guy * Stop! in the Name of Love * Where Did Our Love Go * You Can't Hurry Love * and more.

In 1959, twenty-nine-year-old Berry Gordy, who had already given up on his dream to be a champion boxer, borrowed eight hundred dollars from his family and started a record company. A run-down bungalow sandwiched between a funeral home and a beauty shop in a poor Detroit neighborhood served as his headquarters. The building’s entrance was adorned with a large sign that improbably boasted “Hitsville U.S.A.” The kitchen served as the control room, the garage became the two-track studio, the living room was reserved for bookkeeping, and sales were handled in the dining room. Soon word spread that any youngster with a streak of talent should visit the only record label that Detroit had seen in years. The company’s name was Motown. Motown cuts through decades of unsubstantiated rumors and speculation to tell the true behind-the-scenes narrative of America’s most exciting musical dynasty. It follows the company and its amazing roster of stars from the tumultuous growth years in Detroit, to the drama and intrigue of Hollywood in the 1970s, to resurgence in 2002. Set against the civil rights movement, the decay of America’s northern industrial cities, and the social upheaval of the 1960s, Motown is a tale of the incredible entrepreneurship of Berry Gordy. But it also features the moving stories of kids from Detroit’s inner-city projects who achieved remarkable success and then, in many cases, found themselves fighting the demons that so often come with stardom—drugs, jealousy, sexual indulgence, greed, and uncontrollable ambition. Motown features an extraordinary cast of characters, including Diana Ross, Michael Jackson, Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson, and Stevie Wonder. They are presented as they lived and worked: a clan of friends, lovers, competitors, and sometimes vicious foes. Motown reveals how the hopes and dreams of each affected the lives of the others and illustrates why this singular story is a made-in-America Greek tragedy, the rise and fall of a supremely talented yet completely dysfunctional extended family. Based on numerous original interviews and extensive documentation, Motown benefits particularly from the thousands of pages of files crammed into the basement of downtown Detroit’s Wayne County Courthouse. Those court records provide the unofficial—and hitherto largely untold—history of Motown and its stars, since almost every relationship between departing singers, songwriters, producers, and the label ended up in litigation. From its peaks in the late 1960s and early 1970s, when Motown controlled the pop charts and its stars were sought after even by the Beatles, through the inexorable slide caused by their failure to handle their stardom, Motown is a riveting and troubling look inside a music label that provided the unofficial soundtrack to an entire generation.

Under Berry Gordy, Motown was a place where studio musicians usually stood in the shadows, unlike the solo stars whose names appeared on the albums. Gordy held a tight rein on his musicians, forbidding them from playing for other record companies and denying them credit on his records. In Guitars, Bars, and Motown Superstars, author and guitarist Dennis Coffey tells how he slipped Gordy's draconian rules and went on to success as both a Motown musician and a million-selling solo artist. He offers a fascinating backstage look at the Detroit, L.A., and New York music scenes in the '60s and '70s, with side trips to the smoky clubs and funky studios where the Motown Sound was born. Coffey is credited with creating a lot of that sound, including the famous guitar intro to the Temptations' classic "Cloud Nine." He played on hundreds of Motown albums, and introduced such innovations as the wah-wah pedal into the Motown recording studio. Guitars, Bars, and Motown Superstars is an entertaining and amusing memoir of one of the most dynamic and influential periods in contemporary pop culture, and a unique insight into the ups and downs of the studio guitar-for-hire. It's also a look at the dizzying rags-to-riches-and-back-again career of a rock musician who went from million-seller with a house in the Hollywood Hills, and ultimately back to his roots in the Detroit area. A must for fans of Motown, rock, and you-are-there popculture history. Book jacket.

(Bass). As the legendary bassist for the famous Stax-Volt studios in Memphis, and as one of the most influential bass players in the history of American music, Donald "Duck" Dunn (1941-2012) laid down the booty-shaking foundations to countless soul, R&B, blues, and rock recordings throughout the 1960s and '70s, providing the essential grooves for generations of listeners. Duck worked with some of the biggest artists, musicians, and songwriters of the day, including Booker T. & the MGs, Otis Redding, Sam & Dave, Wilson Pickett, Eddie Floyd, Elvis Presley, Isaac Hayes, and many more. And later, as a member of John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd's riotous Blues Brothers, Duck helped revitalize these genres via his epic bass lines and role in the hit movie. But his unparalleled 50-year career was just getting started. He went on to record and perform with the likes of Eric Clapton, Neil Young, Tom Petty, Stevie Nicks, CSNY, Bob Dylan, Jimmy Buffett, and many more, until his passing in 2012. Now, in this exclusive, one-of-a-kind book, Duck's life and music are presented in full detail, with rare photos, stories, over an hour of audio demonstrations and play-alongs, gear info, and authentic, note-for-note transcriptions of nearly 60 iconic bass lines. Written by bassist and researcher Nick Rosaci, with help from Duck's family, friends, and music compatriots, this book presents a piece of history that documents not only the triumphs and tragedies of Duck's amazing life, but also uncovers the magic behind the "soul fingers" that plucked a thousand timeless grooves.

(Book). You may not have heard of them, but you have certainly heard their songs! From the lo-fidelity origins of early pioneers to today's dazzling technocrats, the role of the music producer is as murkily undefined as it is wholly essential. Sonic Alchemy: Visionary Music Producers and Their Maverick Recordings is an exploration of the influence of the often colorful, idiosyncratic and visionary music producers through popular music and the fascinatingly crucial role they have played in shaping the way we hear pop music today. Sonic Alchemy is nothing short of the secret history of the music producer.