Motown Records churned out hit singles with remarkable efficiency, thanks largely to a stable of skilled professional session musicians. However, exactly who played on their most iconic recordings remains a mystery because, as was standard within the music industry, no Motown release in the 1960s credited these musicians for their work. These practices have led to conflicting accounts, the most famous of which concerns bassists James Jamerson and Carol Kaye. To this day, Kaye alleges that she played on numerous classic Motown recordings but has been purposefully omitted from Motown history. Conversely, Jamerson—who died more than thirty years ago—continues to be vehemently defended by acolytes such as biographer Allan Slutsky, who see Kaye's claims as blasphemous. Drawing on previously unexamined sources, this article reconstructs Kaye's involvement with Motown and, in so doing, reevaluates the merits of the Kaye/Jamerson controversy. Building on the work of Andrew Flory, I explore the role of session musicians in Motown's creative process and argue that critics and fans have propagated a problematic discourse in which Jamerson has been valorized and Kaye has been dismissed. Ultimately, Kaye's story not only provides a useful corrective to the historical record, it also demonstrates the need for further research into session musicians’ contributions to popular music.

中文翻译：

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重构摩城音乐家的历史：卡罗尔·凯伊/詹姆斯·贾默森之争

Motown Records 以非凡的效率制作出热门单曲，这在很大程度上要归功于稳定的熟练专业音乐家。然而，究竟是谁演奏了他们最具标志性的唱片仍然是个谜，因为按照音乐行业的标准，1960 年代摩城发行的唱片都没有将这些音乐家的作品归功于他们。这些做法导致了相互矛盾的说法，其中最著名的是贝斯手 James Jamerson 和 Carol Kaye。时至今日，Kaye 声称她曾演奏过许多经典的 Motown 唱片，但被故意从 Motown 的历史中删除。相反，三十多年前去世的贾默森继续受到传记作家艾伦·斯卢茨基等追随者的强烈辩护，他们认为凯伊的说法是亵渎神明的。借鉴以前未经审查的资料，本文重构了 Kaye' 与摩城的牵连，并在此过程中重新评估了 Kaye/Jamerson 争议的优点。在 Andrew Flory 的工作基础上，我探讨了音乐家在 Motown 的创作过程中的作用，并认为评论家和粉丝传播了一种有问题的话语，其中 Jamerson 得到了重视，而 Kaye 被解雇了。最终，Kaye 的故事不仅为历史记录提供了有用的纠正，还表明需要进一步研究音乐家对流行音乐的贡献。的创作过程，并争辩说批评家和粉丝传播了一个有问题的话语，其中贾默森被赋予了价值，而凯伊被解雇了。最终，Kaye 的故事不仅为历史记录提供了有用的纠正，还表明需要进一步研究音乐家对流行音乐的贡献。的创作过程，并争辩说批评家和粉丝传播了一个有问题的话语，其中贾默森被赋予了价值，而凯伊被解雇了。最终，Kaye 的故事不仅为历史记录提供了有用的纠正，还表明需要进一步研究音乐家对流行音乐的贡献。