 |
Nathan Watts | |
|---|---|
 Nathan Watts performing at the White House (2009). | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Nathan Lamar Watts |
| Born | March 25, 1954 Detroit, Michigan, US |
| Genres | Funk, soul, R&B, rock and roll |
| Occupations | Musician, musical director |
| Instruments | Bass, keyboards |
Nathan Lamar Watts (born March 25, 1954) is an American session bassist, best known for his work with Stevie Wonder from the 1970s to the present. He has served as Stevie Wonder's musical director since 1994. [1]
Born in Detroit, Nathan Watts started playing the trumpet while he was still in elementary school, inspired by Lee Morgan. Watts was part of a trio that featured other future prominent session musicians Ray Parker Jr. on clarinet and drummer Ollie Brown and frequented Motown's Hitsville Studios to attend rehearsals and recordings of The Funk Brothers, the base-band of the label. When Parker abandoned the clarinet in favor of the guitar, he convinced Watts to switch to bass, which was the first thing that he did after graduating from high school in 1972. With his first instrument, a National Bass, Watts learned "Cold Sweat" by James Brown, and soon began to study the lines of other great bassists such as James Jamerson, Chuck Rainey, and Bob Babbitt. When Ray Parker Jr. joined Marvin Gaye's band, Watts joined a local group called the Final Decision, with the intention of studying accounting, if his career as a musician failed.
In August 1974, Watts received a call to work with Stevie Wonder, in replacement of Reggie McBride, who had joined Rare Earth. At the time, Watts had only been playing bass for two years. After being selected as the official bassist of the band, Watts took part in the Japanese tour of 1975, and then began recording the album Songs in the Key of Life . Watts says throughout his career with Wonder that he recorded bass tracks on many demos that Wonder replaced with his own keyboard bass for the final versions. This method was employed for “Knocks Me Off My Feet″ and ″Isn't She Lovely″. From that moment on, Nathan Watts's career has continued to develop, both alongside Stevie Wonder and with many other artists.
Nathan Watts grew up listening to the Funk Brothers as well as other musicians such as Jimi Hendrix, Deep Purple, Rare Earth, Mahogany Rush, and Steppenwolf. In terms of his three main influences as a bassist, Watts lists James Jamerson, Chuck Rainey and Joseph "Lucky" Scott, bassist of Curtis Mayfield.
Technically, his style is characterized by the use of three fingers of the right hand, the strong attack that prints the notes, as well as the frequent use of techniques of palm mute, hammer on, trills and slides. Watts has developed an important career along with Stevie Wonder, with whom he has recorded some songs that would become classics for lovers: "I Wish", "As", "I Ain't Gonna Stand for It" and "Do I Do" are among Watts top favorite bass lines. More than 36 years in the service of Stevie Wonder – along with being the musical director of the band for 12 years – he earned in 2010 the International Bassist Award from the Winter NAMM Show, an award that recognizes the achievements of the musician throughout his career.
Nathan Watts has used his 1974 Fender Precision Bass and his 1979 Music Man StingRay as main instruments throughout his career. He has also used a Fender Jazz Bass and Yamaha, Aria, and B.C. Rich (four and five string) bass and Roland G-88. On the road he currently switches between Bossa basses (custom made red, black, and green 5 strings and 4 string blue) for a modern tone. In the studio he uses Alleva-Coppolo basses (a LG-5 Classic Crewes of five strings with and without frets). He also uses Elixir Nanowebs, and Hartke Hydrive amplifiers and LH1000 heads. Before he became an endorser for Hartke, he had previously used a National amplifier and SWR amplifiers. [2]
Melvin M. Ragin, known professionally as "Wah Wah Watson," was an American guitarist who was a member of the Funk Brothers, the studio band for Motown Records. He also worked extensively as a session musician in a variety of genres from jazz and pop to R&B.
Robert Andrew Kreinar, known as Bob Babbitt, was an American 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. Also in 1968, with Mike Campbell, Ray Monette and Andrew Smith, he formed the band Scorpion, which lasted until 1970. He is ranked number 59 on Bass Player magazine's list of "The 100 Greatest Bass Players of All Time".
James Lee Jamerson was an American bass player. He was the uncredited bassist on most of the Motown Records hits in the 1960s and early 1970s, and is now regarded as one of the most influential bass players in modern music history. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. As a session musician he played on twenty-three Billboard Hot 100 number-one hits, as well as fifty-six R&B number-one hits.
Syreeta Wright, who recorded professionally under the mononym Syreeta, was an American singer-songwriter, best known for her music during the early 1970s through the early 1980s. Wright's career heights were songs in collaboration with her ex-husband Stevie Wonder and musical artist Billy Preston.
Jeffrey Thomas Porcaro was an American drummer, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known for being the co-founder and drummer of the rock band Toto but is one of the most recorded session musicians in history, working on hundreds of albums and thousands of sessions. While already an established studio player in the 1970s, he came to prominence in the United States as the drummer on the Steely Dan album Katy Lied.
Gregory Arthur Phillinganes is an American keyboardist and arranger. A session musician, Phillinganes has contributed to numerous albums over a broad array of artists and genres. He has toured with artists including Stevie Wonder, Eric Clapton, David Gilmour and Toto, was musical director for Michael Jackson, and has released two solo studio albums.
Hotter than July is the nineteenth studio album by American singer, songwriter, and musician Stevie Wonder, released on September 29, 1980, by Tamla, a subsidiary of Motown Records. Wonder primarily recorded the album in Los Angeles at Wonderland Studios, which he had recently acquired. The album peaked at number three on the Billboard Top LPs & Tapes chart and was certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on February 3, 1981. It was Wonder's most successful album in the UK, where it peaked at number two on the UK Albums Chart and produced four top ten singles. Music videos were produced for the album's first, third, and fourth singles.
Louis Johnson was an American bass guitarist. Johnson was best known for his work with the group the Brothers Johnson and his session playing on several hit albums of the 1970s and 1980s, including the best-selling album of all time, Michael Jackson's Thriller.
Anthony Jackson is an American bassist. Described as "one of the masters of the instrument", he has performed as a session musician and live artist. He is also credited with the development of the modern six-string bass, which he refers to as a contrabass guitar.
Fulfillingness' First Finale is the seventeenth studio album by American singer-songwriter Stevie Wonder, released on July 22, 1974 by Tamla, a subsidiary of Motown Records. It is the fourth of five albums from what is considered Wonder's "classic period".
Abraham Laboriel López Sr. is a Mexican-American bassist who has played on over 4,000 recordings and soundtracks. Guitar Player magazine called him "the most widely used session bassist of our time". Laboriel is the father of drummer Abe Laboriel Jr. and of producer, songwriter, and film composer Mateo Laboriel.
David T. Walker is an American soul/R&B, and jazz guitarist. In addition to numerous session musician duties since the early 1970s, Walker has issued fifteen albums in his own name.
Oscar Castro-Neves, was a Brazilian guitarist, arranger, and composer who is considered a founding figure in bossa nova.
Bill Summers is an American, New Orleans based Afro-Cuban jazz/Latin jazz percussionist, a multi-instrumentalist who plays primarily on conga drums.
"Overjoyed" is a hit single written and performed by American R&B singer-songwriter Stevie Wonder on the Tamla (Motown) label from his 1985 album In Square Circle. The single peaked at No. 24 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in April 1986, remaining in the Top 40 for six weeks. In addition, "Overjoyed" was a No. 1 hit on the adult contemporary chart, the eighth of his career. An alternate single release featured an instrumental version on the B-side.
Motown Chartbusters is a series of compilation albums first released by EMI under licence on the Tamla Motown label in Britain. In total, 12 editions were released in the UK between 1967 and 1982. Volumes 1 and 2 were originally called British Motown Chartbusters; after this the title Motown Chartbusters was used.
Ollie E. Brown is an American drummer, percussionist, record producer, and high-school basketball coach. A prolific session musician, Brown has performed on over a hundred albums in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. Brown was also half of the American dance-pop duo Ollie & Jerry, which had a Top 10 hit with "Breakin'... There's No Stopping Us" in 1984.
John Frederick Robinson, known professionally as JR, is an American drummer and session musician who has been called "one of the most recorded drummers in history". He is known for his work with producer Quincy Jones, including Michael Jackson's multi-platinum Off the Wall album and the charity single "We Are the World". JR's drum fill kicks off Jackson's chart topper "Rock with You", and his drum solo opens the Steve Winwood album Back in the High Life (1986) to begin the number 1 song "Higher Love".
David J. Van De Pitte was an American music arranger and bass player. He is best known for his work at Motown Records during the 1960s and early 1970s, when he was responsible for arranging many of the best known and most successful of the company's records, including those by Marvin Gaye, The Temptations, The Four Tops, The Jackson 5, Stevie Wonder, Gladys Knight and many others.
Bonnie Pointer is the second self-titled studio album by Bonnie Pointer, released in 1979 on the Motown label. This was her second album and final album with Motown.
| International | |
|---|---|
| Artists | |
