"Berry thought I was playing too loud, so he told me to turn my bass down, but I was only listening to what Smokey wanted. "Berry and I had a little tiff about a performance I gave on stage with The Miracles," he said. Without knowing he was being noticed by members of Motown, Newton said he was soon approached by Ron White from the Miracles to tour with them and other Motown artists who were traveling to support their music. Newton joined the 1965 Motown Review European tour, and also joined the “Ready Steady Go” British TV show. (According to Newton, he was selected to perform on the tour as a bass player, because Jamerson was asked by Motown to stay in Detroit to play on upcoming recordings). "Jamerson saw my talent and I learned so much from him," Newton said.īefore joining Motown, Newton continued playing music with various local groups and blues artists, and said Hank Cosby, who was head of A&R, saw one of his performances and told Smokey Robinson about him. Newton said he would listen to Motown albums in his bedroom and said he specifically studied the musical notes Jamerson played.Īs a new 17- year-old Motown musician, some of the first songs Newton played on with Jamerson, as a second bassist include: "Nowhere To Run" by Martha and the Vandellas, "Reach Out (I'll Be There)" by The Four Tops, "Baby Love," by The Supremes and a slue of other records. (Jamerson was a Motown bassist who played on several successful singles and albums, who was known for his creative technique). "There weren't many electric bass players at the time and I got into it because it was the instrument my favorite bassist, James Jamerson played," he said. ![]() According to him, the instrument he gravitated toward was the electric bass. At the time, Newton was a teenager in the 1960's when he played saxophone and electric bass for various musical groups and blues artists such as John Lee Hooker, Jimmy Reed and T-Bone Walker to name a few. With an extensive education and background in music, Newton said one of his fondest memories took place while living in Detroit, Mich. Newton is a bass player who said his memories are special, but his love for being a musician is what describes him. Throughout his career as a professional bass player, he's worked on multiple Motown tracks, as well as spent time building an artistic and studio career with Holland-Dozier-Holland at Invictus/Hotwax Records, and went on to expand his career throughout several musical genres. ![]() Tony Newton was one of those Detroit bass-playing musicians, who said he grew up loving and studying music. ![]() When Motown Records made its Detroit, Mich., premiere, several of the label's upcoming musicians, artists and engineers already had a strong background in music.
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