Serious money in entertainment memorabilia

Collecting items of entertainment memorabilia is more popular than ever, says Chris Carter.

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James Jamerson: legendary grooves
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It's no wonder the 1961 Fender Precision Bass guitar was looking a little worn around the edges when it went up for auction online last weekend in California. It had once belonged to the legendary bassist James Jamerson, session musician to The Supremes, The Temptations and Stevie Wonder, among others. In fact, so prolific was Jamerson that he is thought to have played on 95% of Tamla Motown recordings. Marvin Gaye wouldn't settle for anyone else. But when recording What's Going On in 1971, nobody knew where Jamerson was. Gaye scoured the bars for Jamerson, eventually finding and bringing him back to the recording studio. It's said that Jamerson laid down the track's famous bass line while lying on the floor.

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Chris Carter
Wealth Editor, MoneyWeek

Chris Carter spent three glorious years reading English literature on the beautiful Welsh coast at Aberystwyth University. Graduating in 2005, he left for the University of York to specialise in Renaissance literature for his MA, before returning to his native Twickenham, in southwest London. He joined a Richmond-based recruitment company, where he worked with several clients, including the Queen’s bank, Coutts, as well as the super luxury, Dorchester-owned Coworth Park country house hotel, near Ascot in Berkshire.

Then, in 2011, Chris joined MoneyWeek. Initially working as part of the website production team, Chris soon rose to the lofty heights of wealth editor, overseeing MoneyWeek’s Spending It lifestyle section. Chris travels the globe in pursuit of his work, soaking up the local culture and sampling the very finest in cuisine, hotels and resorts for the magazine’s discerning readership. He also enjoys writing his fortnightly page on collectables, delving into the fascinating world of auctions and art, classic cars, coins, watches, wine and whisky investing.

You can follow Chris on Instagram.