Bob Babbitt

The bass guitar of Bob Babbitt remains an indelible element of the famed Motown sound -- his melodic, jazz-inspired grooves propel dozens of the most memorable hits from soul's golden era, including Stevie Wonder's "Signed, Sealed, Delivered," Smokey Robinson & the Miracles' "The Tears of a Clown," Marvin Gaye's "Mercy Mercy Me," and Gladys Knight & the Pips' "Midnight Train to Georgia." Born Robert Kreiner in Pittsburgh, Babbitt studied classical music as a teen but soon gravitated to rhythm & blues, and by age 15 he was playing upright bass in a number of local bar bands. Up...