Jackson 5 "I want you back" Bass Cover! (video)
This was quite the undertaking. I've been coming back to this song over the years-- learning a lick or two, forgetting them, relearning. I finally decided to sit down and focus on playing the full song start to finish. This bass line is no joke. Unbelievable that some kid was ripping this up live.
I found the bridge to be especially difficult but I got through it "okay". You can see the concentration in my face all the way through lol. Super super fun time playing this song. Enjoy!
You sound really good but to qualify for prizes for Steemit Open Mic please follow the rules. Thank you.
Good stuff. I was grooving to this song a few weeks back. Do you know who played the original bass on the recording?
Great question. I looked it up and wiki had some interesting info.
' The "I Want You Back" bassline is considered by many as the greatest of all time and thus has sparked many debates about who played the bass during the recording. Famously The Funk Brothers were Motown's backup musicians and after the company's relocation to Los Angeles band members changed. Many tend to believe that it was James Jamerson who played the bass during recording but he was most active from 1962-1968. During the later years of his career Jamerson had grown unreliable due to substance abuse[9]. Most evidence suggest that a new member of the Funk Brothers, Wilton Felder, was the one who played the Bass along with Bob Babbitt.'
It sounds like Jamerson, but I also thought it was late for him. Interesting that it is a bit of a mystery. I watched "Standing in the Shadow of Motown" about the Funk Brothers and I always thought they were open about who played what. With a bass line this good, you think everyone would know. Then again Motown like most labels promoted the "artist/singer" but didn't want to lose their musicians to competition, so kept them locked down pretty well contractually.
It's crazy/sad to say that I live probably no more than 15 minutes away from the Motown Museum in Detroit and have yet to go.
Great cover! I never noticed before how intricate that bass line is. I want to learn it myself now
Awesome cover - great song - You Nailed It Bro! Oh and BTW, if you want an official entry into "openmic" you need to edit the vid and say "openmic # 46" at the beginning and also have those words in your main title as well. Looking forward to more bass covers!
cool playing!