Allen McGrier

Noted R&B bassist for Tina Marie as well as songwriting and production with Teena Marie, Rick James, and many others. Like a lot of young bassists, McGrier grew up in the shadows of Motown and the Jamerson family in particular. Born on July 24, 1957, McGrier was surrounded by the Motown sound, with a little rock radio mixed in. He began playing trumpet at age 12 but always felt bass in his soul. After transferring to a new junior high school, he met James Jamerson Jr. and began hanging at the family's home. "I had refrigerator privileges," he smiles. When James Jamerson Sr. played at a school talent show and "tore the place up," that clinched it. Equipped with an Epiphone semi-hollow bass his dad bought him in time for his first year of high school, McGrier made the switch from trumpet, applying the influences of Jamerson, Billy Cox, John Paul Jones, and Rocco Prestia. (from Bass Player magazine - Chris Jusi Oct 2018.