Jul 18, 2012 bob babbitt at the royal festival hall in 2004 during tours of america and europe by a funk brothers band. The bass guitar of bob babbitt remains an indelible element of the famed motown sound his melodic, jazzinspired grooves propel dozens of the. Until the 2002 awardwinning documentary standing in the shadows of motown, only industry insiders and soul aficionados appreciated the. The motown session musician bob babbitt, one of the legendary funk brothers studio team, ghas died aged 74. 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. May 27, 2012 the great motown bass player bob babbitt in action. 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 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. He was inducted into the rock and roll hall of fame. I thought there would be more original musicians of motowns snake pit.
Incorrect book the list contains an incorrect book please specify the title of the book. 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. 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. Funk brothers bassist bob babbitt dead at 74 rolling stone. Bob babbitt at the royal festival hall in 2004 during tours of america and europe by a funk brothers band. Bob babbitt was a hungarianamerican bassist, most famous for his work as a member of. Unfortunately, the music world lost bob babbitt on july 16th, 2012 at the age of 74. Bob babbittunsung hero behind some of motowns greatest hits. Legendary funk brothers bassist bob babbitt radiofacts.
Babbitt s bass playing pounded through sauch motown classics as the temptations ball of. Bob babbitt,youve been involved with so many recordings in various. 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. Babbitt, was born robert kreinar in pittsburgh on november 26, 1937. Jul 17, 2012 the motown session musician bob babbitt, one of the legendary funk brothers studio team, ghas died aged 74. 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. Bob babbitt, a bassist for motown records and key accompanist to some of the recording studios biggest stars, including stevie wonder, marvin gaye. Prominent motown studio musician and funk brothers member bob babbitt, whose bass playing pounded through the temptations hit ball of confusion and. 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.
Standing in the shadows of motown, based on an earlier book he had written which. Babbitt traded off sessions with original motown bassist james jamerson. Challenged athletes foundation ironman hall of fame. Babbitt came to motown in 1967, when the label was shifting away from its shuffle and chachabased rhythms into more syncopation and psychedelic soul. Best motown books books that tell the music or business stories around one of americas most successful and famous record labels. Bob babbitt has played bass on some of the best records ever recorded. 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, a bass player for motown s studio band the funk brothers, died at 7. 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 in demandagain babbitt played on rod stewarts 2009 soulbook. 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. The setlist includes signed, sealed, delivered, you cant hurry love, dancing in the street, what becomes of the broken hearted, and i know im. 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. Welcome to the official fan page of legendary bass player bob babbitt. Rick suchow bob babbitt the motown legend january 2010.
This is a live dvd recorded with only 3 of the original funk brothers. In todays style of documentary filmmaking, with grainy blackandwhite mixed with beautiful color photography, the 1. James lee jamerson january 29, 1936 august 2, 1983 was an american bass player. 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. 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 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. Are you ready to get your company, blog, book, or product in front of the best audience on the internet. Joe hunter, jack ashford, uriel jones, richard pistol allen, bob babbitt, benny papa zita benjamin, eddie bongo brown, bootsy collins. Breakfast from kona 2019 breakfast with bob from kona ironman interviews. Midnight train to georgia, rubberband man, signed, sealed, delivered, mercy, mercy, and, cool jerk to name a few.
Bob babbitt toured with the surviving members of funk brothers and joanne osborne. The film was based on allan slutskys funk brothers book. In todays style of documentary filmmaking, with grainy blackandwhite mixed. Motown bass legend bob babbitt dead at 74 cbs news. Bob babbitt, a bass player for motowns studio band the funk brothers, died at 7. 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. Bob babbitt news newspapers books scholar jstor may 2015 learn how and when to remove this template message. Detroit ap bob babbitt, who played bass on many classic motown records as a. Bob babbitt was one of the greatest and most recorded bass players in the.
The film was based on based allan slutskys funk brothers book. The bass guitar of bob babbitt remains an indelible element of the famed motown. Hello, what motown songs were basslines by bob babbitt. 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. 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 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. Bank house books are proud to announce that one of the greatest characters in the music business, motown legend and. Standing in the shadows of motown by paul justman paul.
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. Babbitt did some sessions because jamerson was on a rare road gig usually with marvin gaye. Find bob babbitt biography and history on allmusic the bass guitar of bob. The funk brothers, standing in the shadows of motown. Born robert kreinar in pittsburgh, the veteran musician had been battling brain cancer for some time. The bass guitarist bob babbitt, who has died of brain cancer aged 74, was. 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. 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. Detroit ap bob babbitt, who played bass on many classic motown. Bob babbitt died in july 2012 in nashville after having been diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor the preceding year. The funk brothers, standing in the shadows of motown webquest.
I thought there would be more original musicians of motown s snake pit. The film showed that the funk brothers and bob babbitt were the heart and soul of the motown sound. November 26, 1937 july 16, 2012 was a hungarianamerican bassist, most famous for his work as a member of motown records studio band, the funk brothers, from 1966 to 1972, as well as his tenure as part of mfsb for philadelphia international records afterwards. Standing in the shadows of motown 2002 cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more.
The great motown bass player bob babbitt in action. I am currently writng a book in honor of jack, motown, and the funk brothers. I do not remember doing any sessions at motown with bennybob babbitt by son of thunder 63. He is known for his work on standing in the shadows of motown 2002 and iron city blues 2008. This book contains highly detailed full or partial transcriptions of over 40. Standing in the shadows of motown bassline publishing. Bob babbitt was a staff bassist at motown along with james jamerson. 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. 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. Article motown funk brother, bob babbitt an interview from new york musician magazine, may, 2003. A late addition to the motown stable of regular sessioneers, babbitt spent. What i would love to include in my book are a couple of photos of yourself and a couple of photos of jamerson. In detroit during the 1960s bob babbitt played on dozens of hits recorded in the motown and.
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. Babbitt was a bassist for the motown powerhouse band the funk brothers, which also featured uriel jones and eddie willis. 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. 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. 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. As you will see in the following video interview, he is also a very kind and humble man. He died on july 16, 2012 in nashville, tennessee, usa. Bob babbitt, a bass player who became worldrenowned for his studio work at motown records and, as an independent musician, with a host of celebrated stars, passed away this morning, july 16. Monday in a nashville hospice, according to his son, joe kreinar. Also in 1968, with mike campbell, ray monette and andrew smith he formed the band scorpion. Motown bassist bob babbitt bass frontiers magazine. Babbitt played on many classic motown records, including stevie wonders.
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. 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, jones and the guitarist eddie willis performed concerts to mark motowns 50th anniversary in 2009. Babbittville radio and breakfast with bob cofounder. 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. Bob babbitt biography, albums, streaming links allmusic. 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 was born on november 26, 1937 in pittsburgh, pennsylvania, usa as robert kreinar. 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. The bulk of the book comprises transcriptions of many of jamersons bestloved basslines, many accompanied by a written and spoken on the audio cd introduction from wellknown bass players such as will lee, marcus miller, john patitucci, john entwistle, pino palladino, geddy lee, bob babbitt, rocco prestia, jack bruce, nathan watts and many. Jul 16, 2012 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. Ann patchett on why we need lifechanging books right now. Bob babbitt and jonette play bobs famous bassline from stevie wonders motown hit signed, sealed, delivered.
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