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Bobby Womack was an underrated master of R&B Guitar, who influenced many, wrote the book, and/or popularized much of what is considered the R&B guitar vernacular. From his use of sixths, sliding fifths, and double-stops, he helped stamp out a much-copied style of guitar. I walk through his time with the Valentinos, Sam Cooke, Aretha Franklin, Wilson Pickett, and his own two first solo records cut in Memphis at American Studios. He was also one of the cats that helped make the Telecaster the de facto R&B guitar.
Please check out my Spotify playlist for Bobby here:
open.spotify.c...
Zac's gear for this video
1967 Telecaster - D'Addario XL120+ 95-44 strings amzn.to/3a5qxVi
1967 Deluxe Reverb with Celestion Vintage 30 speaker
Pedalboard:
Vintage MXR Script logo Dyna Comp
Boss TR-2 Tremolo
Boss Volume Pedal
Boss DD-2 Delay
Boss TU-12H Tuner
Truetone CS6 for power amzn.to/38S9rZK
George L's cables
#askzac #guitartech #telecaster
There’s a great quote by Keith Richards- “Bobby Womack, what a guy. He walks into the room, picks up your guitar, turns it upside down and plays it better than you can play it the right way up! Bobby you make me sick!”
That is a great quote
Fantastic quote… I read that in his voice
There is so much we attribute to other players that really finds its roots in Bobby Womack and Curtis Mayfield's rhythm playing.
You are on the money, Mark.
Hendrix is 1/2 Curtis Mayfield. :)
Both were friends of Jimi Hendrix especially Womack you can see where the two take after one another
@@55vermeer remember Cornell Dupree, Curtis Mayfield, and Bobby Womack were on the same tour with jimi when he was touring with the Isley Brothers.
Nailed it! When my band was hired to back the Stax group the Soul Children, we were rehearsing during sound check and one of the Soul Children turned to me and said, "Gimme some of that Bobby Womack sh$t." Fortunately, having grown up on those Pickett records, I knew just what he meant.
I know you know! Thank you for commenting, Michael. I love your work
Good to hear the '67 put through her paces Zac! Sounded great with that touch of tremolo. Amazing stuff on all these players. Loving these man.
Thank you so much, Keith!
Fantastic insights. My experience of listening to Coltrane and Cannon Ball play together was similar as I started to recognise each players nuance. I couldn’t help but relate this to your recognition of the different guitarists in the mix.
I instantly recognised what you were playing at the start of the video from my Spotify play list, however I wasn’t aware of the player. I am so grateful to have those doors opened to me. Coincidentally I am starting a T style build this week, so this is a great inspiration.
Much appreciated! Pedro.
Thank you so much, Pedro. Hope the build goes well
Love see you do a show on Teenie Hodges, that would be very enlightening to a lot of young guitarists 13:29
Curtis Mayfield was a huge influence on that Gospel R&B as well as on Jimi's Castles Made of Sand / Wind Cries Mary. Thanks for this connection. Another nice video here!
YES
Thank you so much for relaying those stories and histories to us. All the players you mentioned were mostly rhythm guitar players. Amazing ones! It’s so hard to find that today. Most guitar players just want to blow notes (usually more than they should). Although some are great lead players most fall apart when they switch to rhythm parts. No groove, no tone and no support for the vocals.
Leads are 10% of playing. Rhythm is 80% and the rest is knowing when to not play anything. You’d think you’d get the 80% part down first!
I use Hendrix as a great example of an artist known for his soloing but if you just listen he is an extremely good rhythm player and plays rhythm most of the time. Curtis Mayfield had a beautiful style too.
Anyway sorry for rant and thanks for instructing us on those great players who were musicians first and guitar players second.
You are spot on!
I was lucky to be the guitarist in an 8 pc soul band. We did Midnite Mover, I Found a True Love etc. I became so into Bobby. Great episode honoring a super musician, Bobby Womack 😉👍🇺🇸
This episode pointed me towards the Bobby Womack catalog, which I'd never explored before, and stumbled upon the 1970 album "The Womack 'Live'." The guitar work, material, playing, singing, good humor and general overall feel is just fantastic.
Bobby was a beast on the guitar...amazing song writer too. The solo he plays on that live album is so cool.
I was teaching at Manual Arts HS here in LA in 1980 and my students knew I was a singer-songwriter (one of them put me in touch with Michael Jackson- but that's another story) and one day Bobby's nephew Curtis Womack brought in Bobby's Tele to show me. Nice!!
Being a clevelander I was familiar with Bobby and his playing style you filled in a lot of the blanks for me with this video. I think one of his greatest songs ever was "Breezin" it was very cool that George Benson brought him in to play rhythm guitar On his grammy winning iconic version of the song. I love Reggie Young and this adds even more to his musical legacy
After realising that many of my favourite records where cut on a maple cap I decided to buy one many years ago. Many great maple cap players where mentioned here. But Zac forgot to mention that Duane Allman played a 68 maple cap on his Muscle Shoals sessions. That guitar is now at Hard Rock Las Vegas. Some nice pics out there with Skydog wearing a maple cap.
That and a 1966 Strat
I just love your intro ditty. Had to figure it out just now. Really fun to play.
Also, watched the three part Reggie Young series on the TrueTone channel. That guy is a musician's musician and seems to be completely down to earth. I know you said it was hard seeing your icon in such a state of declining health, but honestly I appreciate it more than you could know. If you hadn't interviewed him it's entirely possible I may have never known the true genius behind so many memorable guitar parts.
You're quite the masterful interviewer as well - logically and methodically leading us through the years and filtering it through the context of that particular era. I could tell he really loved being able to relive memories with someone, like yourself, who genuinely knows and cares about the history as much as he enjoyed living it. Pure gold. I live for this sort of stuff. Thanks.
Thank you for the kind words. I felt like the intro fit my desire to do something fun and informative. Reggie was such a deeply kind and soulful man. It was an honor to get to know him, and I am so glad I can have a little part in keeping his memory alive.
I forgot about Ronnie Wood and one of my favorite covers "If you don't want my love".. another great Womack tune.
Yes
What a great tribute to so many R&B players. I knew Bobby wrote “I’m in Love” but I always thought Charles “Skipp” Pitts recorded that tune with Wilson. I know Skipp was responsible for It’s Your Thing (Isley Brothers) and Shaft Issac Hayes, and a whole lot more.
One of my favourite Bobby Womack tunes is ‘Put Me In Coach”
One of the best players I ever knew always told me that learning and playing R&B style guitar goes much further in one's personal growth as a player than something like blues, which it seems everyone starts with. There's certainly some overlap in the styles, but I always wished I had started focusing on that style sooner. Nothing wrong with learning blues and pentatonics, but it definitely does develop habits that are so hard to break away from. Womack, Ernie Isley, and Cropper are my three faves to draw inspiration from. Great vid! I didn't know some of this stuff about Bobby.
Zac I am so enjoying these videos and learning a lot. Thanks for this episode on Bobby and Remembering Reggie. Both these guys had such influence my playing before I knew they were the ones playing on so many great songs. Well done and keep'em coming!
Thank you so much, EJ Mo
I'm In Love, love, love .... love, love, love. Great video lesson on Bobby, et al. I learned so much. If Sam Cooke had not been murdered, he was planning to start his own music production business. He had big plans and is described an an astute young businessman. I'm sure Bobby would've been part of Sam's label.
I think you are right
“It’s All Over Now”. That’s a tune we covered and it was in the set list for years I think. Rolling Stones, 1964. You just didn’t know it was Bobby Womacks tune. Thanks for doing this video and the interview with Reggie. I have been in Memphis mode for the last couple of months after catching that on True Tone Lounge.
Maybe I was not clear. Bobby wrote and performed the tune.
Ask Zac No, just saying the general public knew it as a Stones tune. We always said it was a Womack tune when we played it. I was just working on “If you don’t want my love” this evening on the ‘79 Anniversary Strat. I started using the bridge pickup after watching your David Grissom interview. I was always on the neck or in between neck and middle, all the knobs on ten with the volume rolled back to 7 for rhythm. Rolling the tone knobs back and setting up for using the bridge pickup has been another journey for me. Thanks to Zak again. Great episode featuring Bobby. Speaking of the Stones one of my band brothers has been featuring records from a vast collection he has on his Facebook page, and he brought up Ry Cooder. Someone commented about the first time they had heard him, on some obscure Cooder LP. Come on man, ‘Sister Morphine”. For Pete’s sake. I had not put two and two together on Al Perkins though. I first heard him on a Flying Burritos anthology. It was cool to hear him talk about the Egos, David Lindley, and doing that overdub on a pedal steel he had just bought. My nerves would have been “Torn and Frayed”.
Man, that is a GREAT sounding Tele!
Thanks!!!
I too, love Bobby’s version of California Dreaming , tho John Phillips wrote it, the mamas and the papas version sounds too happy like Small World, whereas Bobby’s version captures the words as it should be , a song about loneliness and depression
For me, both Bobby Womack and Curtis Mayfield do not get enough credit (certainly within the popular narrative).
Both were possessed of an astonishing genius!
Bobby was indeed one of the best double line players. His way of playing occurs a lot in Tim Pierce's game!
Today I heard Suspicious Minds on the radio and thought of Reggie involuntarily. I still can't believe that he recorded the song with the Gibson Super 400 as it is written. I hear a Telecaster, so wonderfully dry and clear.
Zac, what do you mean? Thanks for your contribution.
Reggie claimed he used Scotty's guitar, not the Tele on "Suspicious Minds." Yes, most session guys have borrowed from Bobby's playing.
@@AskZac Thank you very much Zac! This in turn shows Reggie's versatility. His guitar playing remains unforgettable and unique!
@@maxroyle6750 Here it indicates *Scotty didn't own this ES-5 or use it on any session. He would sometimes play someone elses guitars between takes but even to this day has only ever used his own guitars for sessions and performances www.scottymoore.net/guitarplayer97.html
Just came across your video and became an instant fan! Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge!
Another great video, Zac. Bobby has always been one of my favorite soul guitarists, as well as being an amazing songwriter, singer and performers ever.
Thank you so much. Big fan of Bobby’s. Agreed all around
Your intro playing sounded sweet.Thanks for the history on Bobby Womack ,huge influence on my playing style and countless others .
Love your shows ask Zac and the inimitable True Tone lounge with the great session players . Keep up the excellent work .
Thank you, Danny
I love Bobby's country record too. I have no way to verify it but I have a feeling he liked country, between his country record, using a pedal steel in the studio a lot and often touring with a steel player.
I played that song with Wilson Pickett and that's the part I played in "I'm in love"
Now that is COOL!!!
Love your storytelling! Also, your playing sounds really, really good. Thanks, man!
Thank you so much, and thank you for watching!
Dude is just super chilled.
Thank you. Minutes well spent with you.
My pleasure!
Love this style !
Thanks, Kevin
I really dig these videos focusing on a single guitarist. I hope you get around to Leon Rhodes, Jimmy Bryant, Grady Martin, Roy Nichols, and Jerry Reed - to name only a handful. No rush. I am enjoying your content, as is.
Also, I would love to see a video on your thoughts regarding gear minimalism vs gear acquisition syndrome. How do you balance having too few with having too many? (Personally, my problem is not guitars themselves. But pickups! I want more pickups than I want guitars to put them in.) I think a video of you discussing your thoughts and approaches on this never-ending debate may aid the rest of us in our gear journey.
I envy anyone who doesn’t obsess over gear and just plays and makes music and views these things as tools. That said, it’s a fun hobby and there are so many cool sounds out there - I say cork sniff away!
I love all of your ideas. And yes, I will take a look at minimalism vs GAS.
ocduff You are one of my problems - if I did not want half of your product line, I would gladly have no more than handful of guitar! Alas, I look at your website and I am, like, “Oh, Christ, I need another guitar to place these pickups in.” For example, just because I want a set of your Buckaroo tele pickups, I ordered a MJT tele body a few months ago, and here in the next month or so, I will be finally ordering another set of your pickups. Another example: because I want a DiMarizo Chopper T, I had to think up a guitar build to justify the purchase of yet another pickup. (At some point, I will be reaching out via email for two strat pickups to pair with the Chopper T.)
@@ocduff It is always fun to buy stuff.
Oh man, thanks Joshua - there’s so many cool aftermarket offerings out there these days. Maybe that’s the problem. Always something new to try! Eminence just came out with an Alessandro Alnico speaker line that uses paper voice coil formers, like all the old speakers we love. So I hear ya - GAS for sure. Gonna have to dig deep to outfit my Bassman clone with them!
What? Never knew Bobby played guitar!!!! 👍🏽
Yes! This makes my day.
So cool to hear the history of Womack. All I knew of him was the bad stuff you alluded to. Will have to check him and the other players out you mentioned. I believe Rene Hall played at the Copa with Cooke?
Funny I think Cropper gets credit for “I’m in Love” - can you speak to this (or does this turn into a Jamerson / Kaye feud as to who played what?)?
Love your videos and your style.
With Cooke, Clifton White was the other guitarist besides Womack on the "Copa" album. I think the confusion with "I'm In Love" is due to a mistake by Jim Weider in his fantastic "Get That Classic Fender Sound" video.
th-cam.com/video/fQp2b68PrMM/w-d-xo.html
The video was done pre-internet, and it would have been difficult to find out who actually played on it due to lack of musician's credits on older albums, and labels and the union were not easy to get info from. I give Jim plenty of slack on this. He is a hero, and that video influenced me a ton.
Fantastic info. Thanks for setting me and the record straight. Consider my mind blown on Womack being the one to play that gorgeous lick (and yes, I believe that the Weider video is where I got my info!). Thanks for the Spotify link. Been listening to Womack all day now. As I say often, if music stopped being made in 1970, we’d still have so much stuff to listen to and absorb and be fascinated by.
Thanks again for the video and the dialogue. Incidentally I also love the Tele sounds on Cooke’s “Night Beat” album - I think Barney Kessell and Rene Hall are cited there (Rene Hall may have helped with the arrangements for Copa if the liner notes are correct - that he didn’t play on the album is interesting!). I’ll have to look up Clifton White now!
@@ocduff First of all, LOVED THIS VIDEO! Bobby Womack never seems to get the recognition he deserves as a guitar player. Having said that, the iconic double stop, sliding lick in "I'm In Love" was played by Reggie Young. Bobby played the other guitar part with the arpeggiated chords and all those amazing hammer-on licks. I was amazed when I discovered that, because Womack wrote that song, and that lick is so identifiable, it sounds like it must have been played by the writer of the song. I learned all of this from a short clip inserted into the end credits of one of the True Tone lounge videos with Reggie where he demonstrates both parts. Both extraordinary musicians, and it's amazing knowing that they respected each other and took so much influence from each other.
43:25 in this video th-cam.com/video/cimXdMFczyA/w-d-xo.html
cheers
a lot of the licks came from Gospel music, thats where you wil find some real genius, also Al Greens guitarist played some of the most incredible chord progressions i have ever heard. Also the great Ray Clark and Skip Pitts who were friends of mine and Wil Nobles.
New subscriber here, love your channel and always loved reading your column in Vintage Guitar. Best to you man, look forward to new videos!
Thanks Jazz Tele!
That's a great video. Thank you Zac ! I've heard of Boby Womack before. Thanks to you I'm discovering his playing now. You're right, hi version of California Dreaming is amazing ! Now I'm gonna watch your video about Cornell Dupree. As for Boby, it's the first time I hear about him :-) Thanks again !
Cool!
Loving your series on Tele artists. I have tried tons of different guitars and just love the Tele. Really enjoyable to learn the stories and and influence from these great artists.
Glad you like them!
Another excellent show Zac. Keep 'em comin'! Cheers
I will! Thank you for watching.
Oh wow great to see this i love learning about the soul/R+B guitar masters Bobby Womack, Curtis Mayfield and Cornell dupree... love the way they played the guitar :-)
Cool!
Hey Zac - thanks for these pocket bios of key players.They're extremely enlightening and enjoyable. BTW, all the tracks from your Spotify list can also be found on Apple Music. I added some other goodies like the swampy "Arkansas State Prison" from Bobby's *My Prescription* album.
Great addition
Good stuff, he wasn't a Nashville guy. He was a Memphis type of guy. Muscle Shoals and the swampers. Great stuff
This was so interesting! Thank you for making this
You're so welcome!
So Sweet Zac! Love your Tele. Tele & tube amp = Heaven! Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for watching!
Love that influence!
Zac, ya missed one cat, an important one...Eric Gayle. He was an R&B monster leaning towards jazz stuff as in the band name he an Cornell played..."Stuff". You have a great show here man...Doug R.
Another gem!
Thank you, Roy!
Man, that sounds nice!
Thanks!
That last riff sounds like ....how I wish it would rain...
Very informative video, Zac! Thanks for sharing it with us.
Thank you, Brent
I am happy to have found you. I feel like I struck gold.
Thanks, Pat!!
Zac! Have you ever plugged your guitar into an oscilloscope? That's why Stratocasters were a new invention,
the six individual, two-way adjustable bridge pieces. You've got some nice riffs.
Ronnie Wood Studio Album "Now Look" Features Bobby in many songs , and is just brilliant,
Zac, nobody is doing Bobby Womack lessons. You seem to have some of his stuff down. Would be willing to break down some of this stuff. Im particularly taken by the live version of You send me.
I am brainstorming ideas for future episodes right now.
@@AskZac Please let me know if you end up making it. And thank you for introducing me to this wonderful guitarist. Groovin and You send Me....i think i listened to these tunes for like an hour yesterday.
Just coming back to this video for rewatch.... :)
I like your presentation style but seriously after the photo of him playing a tele upside down I thought you would at least mention it. If you did, I missed it.
Zac, at the end of your first video of the Reggie interview there's an excerpt of an earlier video where Reggie seems to claim that he played the upper descending double-stop part in "I'm in Love" and Bobby played the lower.
I would have to watch that again. It sounds like Reggie playing the low part, and Bobby playing the high on the recording.
I think Reggie played the double stop descending thinner sound and Bobby played the lower fills on his hollow-body King guitar . He played the same guitar on the 2 songs he wrote on the Box Tops first LP.
Yup, those were the guys I wanted to play like. Cornell, especially.
I'm still trying
Ask Zac Lotta people have seen this pic but they don’t know who the other guitarist was. i.pinimg.com/originals/12/b3/8f/12b38f45bf5e628bce2080dc270a1a66.jpg
Surprised to not hear Curtis Mayfield in the intro list of cats ?
I did not mention him because of his idiosyncratic tuning. He was certainly influential.
@@TruetoneFX I can see that, love it btw 🙏
Thanks!
Very cool Zac.
Thank you, Grant!
Nice video. Also my uncle has a 68’ that looks very similar to that telecaster.
Yep. Blonde was the standard color, and late 67 and 68 Telecasters are pretty much identical.
Great stuff...
LOVE the Spotify playlist !
SO glad
@@AskZac How about a feature on Jerry Donohue as solo artist I saw him live a few years ago and he turned that Tele into fire !
Bobby also did the intro on the Boxtop's "The Letter".
yes
I recently bought an Epiphone Wilshire from Rick Levy, their current guitarist. Said he used it on the most recent tour for Tommy Roe. Chatted him up for about an hour before he had to get going. Super cool guy.
no, he did not play on “ The Letter” at all.
@@AskZac no, he didn’t .
dont forget Pop Staple and Clarence Carter YOU TALKING REAL SOUL.
Great video! Thanks for the Spotify tracks.
Glad you like them!
If you played in Wilson Pickett's band, you *had* to be able to deliver that Bobby Womack stuff. Here's one more example. The whole performance by Wilson and the band just makes me miss those good old days. Giants walked the earth.
th-cam.com/video/cHbh4aGJmHc/w-d-xo.html
Thanks for your research this is super refreshing! Subscribed!
Thanks and welcome
Dude your playlists on Spotify rule
Let's not forget about Stax Records legend Steve Cropper.
Fret not, he will get his own video.
Zac, being an R&B fan, I'd be very surprised if you weren't familiar with another Wilson Pickett tune which bears the Bobby Womack sound, namely, the up-tempo "I Found a True Love." It's a wonderful track, of course, but also interesting in that it showcases not just Young and Womack's R&B influences, but some country-inspired licks, too. Those two giants certainly had some great chemistry going in those days. I've loved the playing on that record for close to fifty years now (yeah, I'm that old!).
Is the suggestion box open for more players to profile? If so, here are some suggestions... Willie "Little Beaver" Hale, of TK Records fame in the 1970s and 1980s. Mabon "Teenie" Hodges of the Hi Records studio band is another all-time great who sometimes flies under the radar.
I love that Wilson tune, and yes, all of those guys were influenced by Country music too. Great suggestions!
@@AskZac - Thanks!
I saw Bobby open for Santana in the early 70s..he played a dark red tele with black pickguard..I enjoyed him a little more than Santana..
Great stuff as always, Zac.
I appreciate that
Great job! AGAIN!!
Thank you! Cheers!
Excellent video, new subscriber.
Welcome aboard! THANK YOU
A riff you played near the end, sounds just like Rainy Night in Georgia, did Bobby play on this song?
No, that was Cornell Dupree on Rainy Night
Zac, I've been playing rhythm on Telecasters for about 54 years, and they have always been with maple fingerboards. Is there any advantage, or disadvantage to rosewood fingerboards? The Duncans are from my 1967 Telecaster, which are so old, I don't even remember what they were called, to me, they're just Duncans!
I just like the feel of rosewood. I get slowed down by rosewood
Thanks. One of my heroes, you forget what a bitchin' guitar player he was
Robbie Robertson brought it to the Band's country funk
Like your style here's a thought ever since working in a music store changing strings is a topic so Zac how do you change strings what gauge on which guitar what was it like stringing for Brad? Thanks love the info👍
Great question. Thank you
I forgot to be your lover - has a similar sound..
Do you know who played all the tasty little licks on barefoot in by Robert Parker?
Searching...Looks like it was most likely a NOLA guitarist. Let me see what I find.
👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼
Zac ? Where did Curtis Mayfield come into the picture.All the other guys you mentioned ....even Jimi, sound like Curtis to my ear.
I left him out because of his use of altered tuning. I love his playing
Maybe Curtis Mayfields alt tunings would make a great show. You are the best.
That is a good idea
Can't for the life of me remember who I stole that quote from. Being a guitar player is a messy business.
Has anyone done a Reggie style course? That would be a big seller!
I like that idea! There is a cat on YT that has done a great job on Reggie’s th-cam.com/video/_obvTgJwzkg/w-d-xo.html
Great videos!
by the way
Thanks!
I just watched your wonderful interview with the late great Reggie Young! So thank you,Zak!
Don't forget Curtis Mayfield!
YES
Do you have a video of R&B essential licks or concepts?
No, but I should!
Ask Zac Subscribed!
I prefer "Influenced by" to "Stolen from"
Thumbs up if you said “damn it Bobby!” To yourself
I thought reggie played a strat
Not in the 60s
Little talking more teaching please
How much did you pay for the video?