Prominent motown studio musician and funk brothers member bob babbitt, whose bass playing pounded through the temptations hit ball of confusion and. The history of soul music and the funk brothers, which is also a history of popular culture, is the subject of standing in the shadows of motown and artisan has done a brilliant job bringing this title to dvd. As you will see in the following video interview, he is also a very kind and humble man. May 27, 2012 the great motown bass player bob babbitt in action.
Rick suchow bob babbitt the motown legend january 2010. Unfortunately, the music world lost bob babbitt on july 16th, 2012 at the age of 74. The bass guitarist bob babbitt, who has died of brain cancer aged 74, was one of the last surviving members of the funk brothers, that exclusive club comprising a dozen or so session musicians who. Standing in the shadows of motown, based on an earlier book he had written which. Babbitt s bass playing pounded through sauch motown classics as the temptations ball of. Bob babbitt and his fellow funk brothers gained national recognition for their outstanding contribution in the grammy winning film about the funk brothers, standing in the shadows of motown. Babbittville radio and breakfast with bob cofounder. Born robert kreinar in pittsburgh, the veteran musician had been battling brain cancer for some time. Babbitt, was born robert kreinar in pittsburgh on november 26, 1937. The film was based on based allan slutskys funk brothers book. The opening titles claim the funk brothers played on more numberone hits than the beatles 20, elvis presley 7, the rolling stones 8 and the beach boys 4 combined.
As i am very influenced by motown bassists thank you bob, thank you james and take great joy in transcribing motown basslines, i have decided to write a book containing transcriptions. Bob babbitt, 74, a prominent motown studio musician and funk brothers member whose bass playing pounded through hits of the 1960s and 70s, died monday in nashville of complications from brain. Bob babbitt and jonette play bobs famous bassline from stevie wonders motown hit signed, sealed, delivered. In todays style of documentary filmmaking, with grainy blackandwhite mixed with beautiful color photography, the 1.
Detroit ap bob babbitt, who played bass on many classic motown records as a. Bob babbitt, a bassist for motown records and key accompanist to some of the recording studios biggest stars, including stevie wonder, marvin gaye. Standing in the shadows of motown bassline publishing. Incorrect book the list contains an incorrect book please specify the title of the book.
Detroit ap prominent motown studio musician and funk brothers member bob babbitt, whose bass playing pounded through the temptations hit ball of confusion and marvin gayes mercy mercy me. Welcome to the official fan page of legendary bass player bob babbitt. Jul 18, 2012 detroit ap bob babbitt, who played bass on many classic motown records as a member of the ensemble known as the funk brothers, died on monday in nashville. Babbitt traded off sessions with original motown bassist james jamerson. Bob babbitt,youve been involved with so many recordings in various. I thought there would be more original musicians of motown s snake pit. He is known for his work on standing in the shadows of motown 2002 and iron city blues 2008. Hey guys, i was wondering if any of you may be able to help me in making my decision as to which pickups to put on my bass that will give me that vintage motown sound james jamerson, bob babbitt. That same year, babbitt released his firstever solo lp, titled gypsy from jupiter, and in 2006 he published the instructional book bob babbitt awareness guide.
Legendary funk brothers bassist bob babbitt radiofacts. Bob babbitt news newspapers books scholar jstor may 2015 learn how and when to remove this template message. He was the uncredited bassist on most of the motown records hits in the 1960s and early 1970s motown did not list session musician credits on their releases until 1971, and is now regarded as one of the most influential bass players in modern music history. Jul 18, 2012 bob babbitt at the royal festival hall in 2004 during tours of america and europe by a funk brothers band. Like his fellow brothers, the bassist bob babbitt was not credited on the myriad tracks he played on, which include the evergreens touch me in the morning by diana ross, stoned love by the. The film showed that the funk brothers and bob babbitt were the heart and soul of the motown sound. The funk brothers, standing in the shadows of motown. Midnight train to georgia, rubberband man, signed, sealed, delivered, mercy, mercy, and, cool jerk to name a few. Breakfast from kona 2019 breakfast with bob from kona ironman interviews. Bob babbitt has played bass on some of the best records ever recorded. Dec 19, 2016 the film showed that the funk brothers and bob babbitt were the heart and soul of the motown sound. The bass guitar of bob babbitt remains an indelible element of the famed motown.
Hey guys, i was wondering if any of you may be able to help me in making my decision as to which pickups to put on my bass that will give me that. Bob babbitt, bassist for motowns funk brothers, passes away bob babbitt, whose bass work can be heard on the majority of motown hits of the late 60s and early 70s, passed away on monday at a nashville hospice after suffering from brain cancer. Babbitt was a bassist for the motown powerhouse band the funk brothers, which also featured uriel jones and eddie willis. Are you ready to get your company, blog, book, or product in front of the best audience on the internet. The bass guitar of bob babbitt remains an indelible element of the famed motown sound his melodic, jazzinspired grooves propel dozens of the. Motown funk brothers bassist who played on more than 200 hit records until the 2002 awardwinning documentary standing in the shadows of motown, only industry insiders and soul. His tumultuous life and musical brilliance are explored in depth through hundreds of interviews, 49 transcribed musical scores, two hours of recorded allstar performances, and more than 50 rarely seen photos in this stellar tribute to behindthe. Best motown books books that tell the music or business stories around one of americas most successful and famous record labels. Motown bass legend bob babbitt dead at 74 cbs news. Film standing in the shadows of motown pays tribute to the funk brothers, joe hunter, joe messina, uriel jones, jack ashford, bob babbitt, james jamerson on the educational cyberplayground. Babbitt, jones and the guitarist eddie willis performed concerts to mark motowns 50th anniversary in 2009.
Detroit ap bob babbitt, who played bass on many classic motown. What i would love to include in my book are a couple of photos of yourself and a couple of photos of jamerson. Bob babbitt biography, albums, streaming links allmusic. Babbitts bass playing pounded through sauch motown classics as the temptations ball of. Also in 1968, with mike campbell, ray monette and andrew smith he formed the band scorpion. I am currently writng a book in honor of jack, motown, and the funk brothers. Discussion in bassists bg started by bass301, sep 12, 2008. The setlist includes signed, sealed, delivered, you cant hurry love, dancing in the street, what becomes of the broken hearted, and i know im. Standing in the shadows of motown 2002 cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more. Babbitt did some sessions because jamerson was on a rare road gig usually with marvin gaye. Now that the legend of motowns anonymous sidemen, known as the funk brothers, has finally unfolded thanks to a landmark article titled standing in the shadows of motown by writer nelson george, and a subsequent book and film of the same name by alan slutsky bob babbitt is finally getting some long overdue and well deserved recognition. Bob babbitt was a hungarianamerican bassist, most famous for his work as a member of.
Ap detroit prominent motown studio musician and funk brothers member bob babbitt, whose bass playing pounded through the temptations hit ball of confusion and marvin gayes mercy mercy me. Motown bassist bob babbitt bass frontiers magazine. The bass guitarist bob babbitt, who has died of brain cancer aged 74, was. Bob babbitt died in july 2012 in nashville after having been diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor the preceding year. This concert release captures the funk brothers, the house band for many of motowns most beloved hits, delivering over a halfdozen songs. The film highlighted that the funk brothers played on more numberone hits than the beatles, elvis presley, the rolling stones, and the beach boys combined. July 16, 2012 nashville, tennessee session bass player that has recorded a lot of releases since 1961, rock, soul and disco, from marvin gaye to stevie wonder, temptations, jimi hendrix, alice cooper and also coproducing some albums. Monday in a nashville hospice, according to his son, joe kreinar. Bassist james jamerson was the embodiment of the motown spirit and groove the invisible entity whose playing inspired thousands. This is a live dvd recorded with only 3 of the original funk brothers. Standing in the shadows of motown, based on an earlier book he.
My babbitt search in the archives lasted over two hours to cover the past two years, so please be gentle if this question has been asked previously. A late addition to the motown stable of regular sessioneers, babbitt spent. Jul 17, 2012 prominent motown studio musician and funk brothers member bob babbitt, whose bass playing pounded through the temptations hit ball of confusion and marvin gayes mercy mercy me the. Now that the legend of motown s anonymous sidemen, known as the funk brothers, has finally unfolded thanks to a landmark article titled standing in the shadows of motown by writer nelson george, and a subsequent book and film of the same name by alan slutsky bob babbitt is finally getting some long overdue and well deserved recognition. This book contains highly detailed full or partial transcriptions of over 40.
Jul 17, 2012 bob babbitt, a bassist for motown records and key accompanist to some of the recording studios biggest stars, including stevie wonder, marvin gaye and the temptations, died july 16 at a hospice. Bank house books are proud to announce that one of the greatest characters in the music business, motown legend and. The great motown bass player bob babbitt in action. Bob babbitt, bassist for motown s funk brothers, passes away bob babbitt, whose bass work can be heard on the majority of motown hits of the late 60s and early 70s, passed away on monday at a nashville hospice after suffering from brain cancer. Bob babbitt, a bass player for motowns studio band the funk brothers, died at 7. Bob babbitt toured with the surviving members of funk brothers and joanne osborne. Babbitt came to motown in 1967, when the label was shifting away from its shuffle and chachabased rhythms into more syncopation and psychedelic soul. Standing in the shadows of motown by paul justman paul. The role of the funk brothers is described in paul justmans 2002 documentary film standing in the shadows of motown, based on allan slutskys book of the same name. The film was based on allan slutskys funk brothers book. Bob babbitt was born on november 26, 1937 in pittsburgh, pennsylvania, usa as robert kreinar.
Challenged athletes foundation ironman hall of fame. The funk brothers, standing in the shadows of motown webquest. In detroit during the 1960s bob babbitt played on dozens of hits recorded in the motown and. I thought there would be more original musicians of motowns snake pit.
The in demandagain babbitt played on rod stewarts 2009 soulbook. Bob babbitt was a staff bassist at motown along with james jamerson. Geddy lee, bob babbitt, rocco prestia, jack bruce, nathan watts and many more. If you grew up in the era of classic am fm radio, you grooved to bob babbitt, but you were likely unaware of the nameor his legacy. Jul 17, 2012 the motown session musician bob babbitt, one of the legendary funk brothers studio team, ghas died aged 74.
James lee jamerson january 29, 1936 august 2, 1983 was an american bass player. Babbitt played on many classic motown records, including stevie wonders. May 09, 2014 babbitt eventually made his way to nashville, a city that continued to have a thriving session scene, and in the 2000s, began touring with the remaining funk brothers following the release of standing in the shadows of motown. Bob babbitt at the royal festival hall in 2004 during tours of america and europe by a funk brothers band.
In todays style of documentary filmmaking, with grainy blackandwhite mixed. He died on july 16, 2012 in nashville, tennessee, usa. Jul 16, 2012 the bass guitar of bob babbitt remains an indelible element of the famed motown sound his melodic, jazzinspired grooves propel dozens of the most memorable hits from souls golden era, including stevie. I first became acquainted with the former robert kreinar by way of a posthumous and some say sacrilegious jimi slab entitled crash landing 1975 wherein this exwrestler bassist forged soulful bass passages to hendrix leftovers. Buy standing in the shadows of motown joe messina, johnny griffith, ben harper, joe hunter, bob babbitt, richard pistol allen, eddie willis, gerald levert, andre braugher, meshell ndegeocello with fast shipping and toprated customer service. Bob babbitt, a bass player for motown s studio band the funk brothers, died at 7.
Hello, what motown songs were basslines by bob babbitt. Babbitt eventually made his way to nashville, a city that continued to have a thriving session scene, and in the 2000s, began touring with the remaining funk brothers following the release of standing in the shadows of motown. Jul 05, 2007 bob babbitt and jonette play bobs famous bassline from stevie wonders motown hit signed, sealed, delivered. Bob babbittunsung hero behind some of motowns greatest hits. He was inducted into the rock and roll hall of fame. Bob babbitt 6 hrs at the usa triathlon hall of fame awards gala in tempe, arizona, legendary journalist and author mike plant, who gave me my start in our industry, was inducted. Funk brothers bassist bob babbitt dead at 74 rolling stone. Joe hunter, jack ashford, uriel jones, richard pistol allen, bob babbitt, benny papa zita benjamin, eddie bongo brown, bootsy collins. The motown session musician bob babbitt, one of the legendary funk brothers studio team, ghas died aged 74. Article motown funk brother, bob babbitt an interview from new york musician magazine, may, 2003. I do not remember doing any sessions at motown with bennybob babbitt by son of thunder 63.
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