Here’s a look at the classic bass line on “Midnight Train To Georgia”, by Gladys Knight and the Pips.  It was a 1973 number one and it later went on to win the group a Grammy award in 1974.  It’s become quite a signature track for Gladys Knight over time and if you ever fail to break the LA acting scene it’ll be on the iPod on the flight home.

This had got to be one of the more awkward to play bass lines from the era and the bass player in question is legend Bob Babbit, who along with Jamerson, helped define the motown bass sound.  It’s a constantly twisting line,
If you’re ever on stage, thinking, “You need to make this bass line more interesting”…. “What patterns can you make your hand go in now?” or perhaps “You need to prove to anyone watching that you’ve learned all the notes on the neck!” it helps to remember that some of the baddest ‘holding it down’

bass parts are quite contently slap bang down the business end of the bass.  Maybe one of the best things though is the realisation that is can be and probably was played in just the first 4 frets where the whole chromatic scale lives…….

Jazz Pianist David Patrick once scolded me (he was my teacher at the time) when I brought in my lovely new 6 string bass, “Don’t move your hand anywhere until you can play your ass off in the first 4 frets!”.  It seemed harsh then but I’ve come to see the point he was making.  This bass line is a good reminder of that truth.

Midnight Train To Georgia

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