Born: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1934
Nick names: None
Instruments:tambourine, vibes, marimbas, maracas, triangle, cabassa, wood block, chimes, bells, finger cymbals and kazoo.Added effects by using foot stomps, hand claps and even a hotel sheet!
When Bob Dylan wrote his song "Mr.Tambourine Man" he could have had Jack Ashford in mind.
He took this "simple" instrument to a virtuoso level and made it become an integral part of "The Motown Sound".
Jack joined Motown in 1963,after Marvin Gaye had seen him playing vibes with a jazz band in Boston.
EMI Records' president Sir Joseph Blackwood the boss of EMI in England famously once remarked that Motown "would never sell in Britain because the tambourine was too loud."
What he probably didn't know was that the reason that it was so loud was a simple one,there wasn't enough mikes in the studio for the tambourine so Jack had to sit in the drum booth with Benny Benjamin.
When it came to mixing the track they couldn't turn the tambourine down without turning the drums down.They then realised that they liked what they heard and the sound was born.