The All-Time Great Rhythm Sections

Orignally published By The Bass Player Staff (from Bass Player Magazine, June 1998) this is essential reading for understanding how groove works.

United We Stand

What makes a rhythm section great?  Is it the ability to let the groove happen with the least amount of fuss, to lay a solid, uncluttered foundation for the rest of the music?  Or is it a knack for constant, explosive creativity that supercharges the sound and spurs other players to passionate heights?

In this survey, we've tried to include both ends of that spectrum—and points between—keeping in mind that a great rhythm section makes the music happen in its own context (even if that setting is created on the spot). Beyond that, the quickest way into our Rhythm Section Hall of Fame is to invent or synthesize a style others copy but never quite improve on.

You may disagree with our selections, so go ahead and fire off that e-mail. But first fire up your drum machine (or drummer), lay down the parts we've provided, and give yourself a taste of greatness. You owe it to the groove

James Jamerson & Benny Benjamin: The Heartbeat of Motown

From 1958 through '72, Motown cranked out one hit after another, and its rhythm-section musicians of that era—known collectively as the Funk Brothers—were the R&B equivalent of the 1927 Yankees. Tormented genius James Jamerson was their Babe Ruth; Benny Benjamin, the most explosive drummer of his time, was the band's Lou Gehrig. When they locked up on a recording date, the dance floors of the world began to shake. The final tally of #1 hits Jamerson & Co. played on during this period exceeds the total #1 output of the Beatles, Stones, Elvis, and Beach Boys... combined!    

During an era of root-5th cocktail bassists, Jamerson erupted on the scene like a supernova. A converted upright player, he set the music world on its ass with his unprecedented use of syncopation and chromaticism in a pop/R&B format. "You couldn't write for him," muses former Motown arranger Gil Askey. "You'd give him a chart and he'd look at you with that grin and say, 'You really want me to play this?', and you'd say, 'No, I want you to do your thing.'  So he'd tear up the chart and throw it on the floor and play something way better than anything the arrangers could dream up."    

Armed with his old German upright and a '62 Fender Precision he dubbed "The Funk Machine," James got inspiration from a variety of sources. "Sometimes I'd just look at a flower, and the way it would sway would make me feel like playing a certain way," he once offered. In the same breath, he admitted to conceiving a Temptations bass line by watching the way a fat woman's behind moved when she walked.   

You need to hear only the intro to Martha & the Vandellas' "Dancing in the Street" to know where Benny Benjamin was coming from: energy and attitude. He also excelled at subtle kick-drum shadings, deft brush work, and the originality of his beats. (Dig the war-dance toms on the Miracles "Going to a Go-Go.")  But above all, he was known for his constant quarter-note snare-drum groove, which pounded the beat to oblivion on songs like Stevie Wonder's "Uptight" and "I Was Made to Love Her."    

Benny wasn't the greatest shuffle player, which necessitated an additional Funk Brother: Richard "Pistol" Allen, master of the Motown shuffle. Benny's other flaw was his alcohol and drug dependence. You never knew what his condition would be when he showed up for a session if he showed up at all. Enter Uriel Jones, the best Benny Benjamin clone this side of Stevie Wonder. Jones comments, "Papa Zita [Benny's nickname] invented that Motown beat, and he taught it to us. Because of all his problems, we probably played drums on more Motown hits than he did. But he was Funk Brother #1."    

Benny's abusive lifestyle finally stilled his sticks in 1968, when he died as a result of heroin addiction. The ensuing deterioration of Jamerson's physical and mental health caused Motown to bring in Bob Babbitt to fill the void. Eventually, Jamerson's alcoholism caught up with him in 1983 when he, too, succumbed.   

To this day, the surviving Funk Brothers still marvel at James and Benny's aggressive, unrelenting lock. "You really had to stay on top of the beat to keep up with them," recalls percussionist Jack Ashford. "If you laid back, they'd leave you in the dust. They were so bad, you could make a chicken squawk on two and four and if those two guys were playing behind it, it'd be a hit."    

- Allan "Dr. Licks" Slutsky 

Essential Recordings (all on Motown):    

Hitsville USA: The Motown Singles Collection 1959-1971
Marvin Gaye: What's Going On
The Supremes: The Supremes Sing Holland-Dozier-Holland
The Four Tops: Reach Out
Martha & the Vandellas: Dance Party

Duck Dunn & Al Jackson Jr.: Delayed Beats, Deep Pockets

There's never been a rhythm section that delivered the goods with less fuss and more wallop than the team of Donald "Duck" Dunn and Al Jackson Jr.. Along with organist Booker T. Jones and guitarist Steve Cropper, Duck and Al made up the house band at Stax Records in Memphis during the heyday of '60s soul. Whether tracking funky instrumentals as Booker T. & the MG's or backing up such headliners as Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett, or Sam & Dave, this formidable lineup laid down dozens of hip-shaking grooves where feel always reigned supreme.  

"When I started playing with the MG's, it was just a treat to be in the same room with Al Jackson Jr.," Duck recalled in December '94. "He was the most respected drummer in Memphis, and I had enjoyed seeing him play plenty of times. He had the secret to that groove that big pocket with the delayed feel. If there's any secret to my playing, it comes from what Al used to tell me: 'Just wait on two.'"  In other words, delay the second beat just enough to give the groove a relaxed, laid-back feel without losing any forward motion. Doing it right is a lot harder than it sounds, as careful study of just about any MG's groove proves. It gets even trickier when you throw in some of the subtle variations that mark Dunn and Jackson's greatest tracks like Wilson Pickett's "In the Midnight Hour," which they recorded in 1965.

"That one really opened up the pocket for us," Duck noted in his '94 interview. "[Famed Atlantic Records producer] Jerry Wexler started telling us about this 'jerk' dance that was popular in New York. He started throwing his arms around and said, 'That's where the beat should be—where the arms get thrown.'  So that's where we played it. Al got that real delayed feel on two and four, and that gave me a little room for syncopation and for some of the little jumps I like to play."

During the late '60s and early '70s, Dunn and Jackson worked their magic on hundreds of recordings, including Otis Redding's "Respect" and "I Can't Turn You Loose," Sam & Dave's "Hold On, I'm Comin'" and "Soul Man," Albert King's "Born Under a Bad Sign," and MG's gems "Hip-Hug-Her" and "Soul Limbo." Booker T. & the MG's split up in 1972, and plans to reunite three years later ended when Jackson was fatally shot. His death marked the end of one of the great rhythm partnerships, and Duck says things have never been quite the same. "I've played with a lot of great drummers, but Al was one of a kind. I've never worked with anybody else who could come close to duplicating what he could do."  
- Jim Roberts