The birthplace of the late Motown bass legend and Funk Brother James Jamerson has renamed a street in his honor. The event was celebrated with a musical tribute to Jamerson that featured performances from local acts who played Jamerson classics including the Miracles’ “Going To A Go Go,” the Temptations’ “My Girl,” the Supremes’ “You Can’t Hurry Love,” the Four Tops’ “Bernadette,” Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On,” and many others.   

The street renaming follows the passing of a motion in the South Carolina General Assembly granting a request that the Department of Transportation “rename Steamboat Landing Road in Charleston County ‘James Lee Jamerson Memorial Highway’ and erect appropriate markers or signs along this road containing these words.”

The street naming follows a 2021 ceremony for a new headstone that was added to the legend’s grave at Woodlawn Cemetery in Detroit, Michigan, which is close by to the Motown area where Jamerson recorded so many of his classic hits. 

 “Mr. Jamerson was an American bass player who played on most of Motown Records’ hit songs in the 1960s and 1970s,” the ceremony invitation states. “One of the legendary Funk Brothers, Mr. Jamerson 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 23 Billboard Hot 100 number one hits, as well as 56 R&B number one hits.”