Soul Corner RIP - Bob Babbitt

 Motown Funk Brother Bob Babbitt, one of the great soul music bass players, died Friday in Nashville at age 74.

Babbitt was recruited to Motown by the legendary James Jamerson in 1967 and brought a rock edge, creating some of that label's most memorable hits: The Temptations "Ball of Confusion", Marvin Gaye's "Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)", Smokey Robinson's "Tears of A Clown" and Edwin Starr's "War".

Babbitt's resume is way too long to recount here.  He even played behind Frank Sinatra. But few songs have opened with a better bass line than this one we previously featured on the Soul Corner (Soul Corner - Cool Jerk):

Here's Babbitt playing in the Funk Brothers documentary film (good shot at 1:19 mark) supporting Joan Osborne on one of my all time favorite Motown tributes:

And for my money, having played on this song alone ought to have earned Bob Babbitt Hall of Fame status: