Members e021708 Posted April 5, 2008 Members Share Posted April 5, 2008 Country and Western cover songs played solo with acoustic guitar. Can anyone recommend some songs like My cowgirl, etc. that you think could be covered solo with acoustic guitar? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members cooterbrown Posted April 5, 2008 Members Share Posted April 5, 2008 "You Keep Me Hangin' On""I Can't Help Myself""Tracks of My Tears""I Second That Emotion""My Cherie Amour""I'll Be There""What's Goin' On""You Are the Sunshine of My Life""What Becomes of the Brokenhearted""Since I Lost My Baby" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Stagebandit Posted April 5, 2008 Members Share Posted April 5, 2008 Motown cover songs played solo with acoustic guitar. Can anyone recommend some songs like My girl, etc. that you think could be covered solo with acoustic guitar? I'll have to preface this by stating that I don't consider these songs to be Motown, by the strictest definition, but I think they are soul songs that I know work for acoustic guitar. These are some that have helped me establish my reputation. My Girl, of course Just My Imagination (same song, almost) Higher and Higher Knock on Wood Take Me to the River Hold On, I'm Coming She Caught the Katy Hard to Handle Let's Get it On My wife sings People Get Ready Think Son of a Preacher Man There are plenty more that I can't name right now. These are all songs that we can pull with me on guitar only. Let me know if you want chords or recordings of the above mentioned tunes for reference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Stagebandit Posted April 5, 2008 Members Share Posted April 5, 2008 "You Keep Me Hangin' On" "I Can't Help Myself" "Tracks of My Tears" "I Second That Emotion" "My Cherie Amour" "I'll Be There" "What's Goin' On" "You Are the Sunshine of My Life" "What Becomes of the Brokenhearted" "Since I Lost My Baby" Nice Cooter! Posted at the same time and didn't repeat anything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Thundercranium Posted April 5, 2008 Members Share Posted April 5, 2008 Again, not technically Motown, Dock of the Bay is killer with just vocal and acoustic...at least when I do it:lol: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members badhabit Posted April 6, 2008 Members Share Posted April 6, 2008 I was going to recommend that but you beat me to it. "Dock of the Bay" is a perfect example of a "soul" tune that could effectively be performed with acoustic guitar and vocal only. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Chicken Monkey Posted April 6, 2008 Members Share Posted April 6, 2008 OP, can we get a little clarity? It's not like "Motown" is a vague, murky term, open for interpretation. Are you lookin for Motown songs, or just soul songs? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rhat Posted April 7, 2008 Members Share Posted April 7, 2008 OP, can we get a little clarity? It's not like "Motown" is a vague, murky term, open for interpretation. Are you lookin for Motown songs, or just soul songs? We pretty much always used the term motown/soul in an interchangable way even though you had the motown label and soul music. Soul music/motown was the gold standard for dance bands in the late 60s. You also had to do the standard top 40 stuff,, but any real solid working and has a good list of soul music on tap. Sam and dave stuff really worked. I would guess it still does. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mildlysane Posted April 7, 2008 Members Share Posted April 7, 2008 Let's Stay Together Al Green Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members cooterbrown Posted April 7, 2008 Members Share Posted April 7, 2008 OP, can we get a little clarity? It's not like "Motown" is a vague, murky term, open for interpretation. Are you lookin for Motown songs, or just soul songs? Yeah, I am interested to know that, as well. My suggestions were all true Motown songs, because I prefer to differentiate between Motown and Stax/Atlantic, because they sound nothing alike. Even songs recorded at Soulsville and Muscle Shoals sound very different, to me...different players, different grooves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members e021708 Posted April 7, 2008 Author Members Share Posted April 7, 2008 OP, can we get a little clarity? It's not like "Motown" is a vague, murky term, open for interpretation. Are you lookin for Motown songs, or just soul songs? Well, I quess I just want to learn to play some tunes like this on my acoustic. If the original song is soul music not cut at Motown. Cool, let's talk about it... No problem. I just love this stuff.... Here is a Wikipedia exerpt.....The Motown Sound was typified by a number of characteristics: the use of tambourines to accent the back beat, prominent and often melodic electric bass guitar lines, distinctive melodic and chord structures, and a call and response singing style that originated in gospel music. In addition, pop production techniques such as the use of orchestral string sections, charted horn sections, and carefully arranged background vocals were also used. Complex arrangements and elaborate, melismatic vocal riffs were avoided; [2] Motown producers believed steadfastly in the "KISS principle" ("keep it simple, stupid") Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Chicken Monkey Posted April 7, 2008 Members Share Posted April 7, 2008 Even songs recorded at Soulsville and Muscle Shoals sound very different, to me...different players, different grooves. Oh, absolutely. You can smell a Steve Cropper like a mile off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members pickinatit Posted April 7, 2008 Members Share Posted April 7, 2008 Motown = ??? Oh, brother! Here we go again (determined to just watch this time) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Lee Knight Posted April 7, 2008 Moderators Share Posted April 7, 2008 Gladys Knight's Daddy Could Swear. The main riff is played on a nylon string acoustic so it's not real stretch. Great tune. Daddy couldn't readDaddy couldn't write But one thing daddy sure could do rightHe could swear-ear-ear, I declare! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members cooterbrown Posted April 7, 2008 Members Share Posted April 7, 2008 Motown producers believed steadfastly in the "KISS principle" ("keep it simple, stupid") If anybody ever needed an example of how a skeletal arrangement can sound positively cinematic, in scope, all they need to do is put on "Papa Was a Rolling Stone". I remember when I was younger, I was trying to figure out what this "thing" was that I kept feeling in most ofthe mid-60s Motown arrangements I heard. Then it dawned on me that it was a lowly tambourine (including the backswing of the instrument) that was practically propelling these songs. That's real genius in detailed arranging and producing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members arf-boy Posted April 7, 2008 Members Share Posted April 7, 2008 See if you can find music by Ted Hawkins. He covered a bunch of that sort of music solo-acoustic, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rhat Posted April 7, 2008 Members Share Posted April 7, 2008 If anybody ever needed an example of how a skeletal arrangement can sound positively cinematic, in scope, all they need to do is put on "Papa Was a Rolling Stone". I remember when I was younger, I was trying to figure out what this "thing" was that I kept feeling in most ofthe mid-60s Motown arrangements I heard. Then it dawned on me that it was a lowly tambourine (including the backswing of the instrument) that was practically propelling these songs. That's real genius in detailed arranging and producing. Do the words ,, " its got a good beat and easy to dance to ring a bell" call it what you like... soul/ motown/ whatever .... that stuff was the gold standard of dance music back in the day for a reason. Its the same reason why it still fills dance floors today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Chicken Monkey Posted April 7, 2008 Members Share Posted April 7, 2008 Then it dawned on me that it was a lowly tambourine (including the backswing of the instrument) that was practically propelling these songs. The little bits with Black Jack Ashford playing tambourine are the best parts of Standing in the Shadows of Motown. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members cooterbrown Posted April 8, 2008 Members Share Posted April 8, 2008 See if you can find music by Ted Hawkins. He covered a bunch of that sort of music solo-acoustic, Ted was...wow... a true tortured (self-inflicted, mostly) artist.What an original voice, but definitely an aquired taste.He was cool, in my book, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BlueStrat Posted April 8, 2008 Members Share Posted April 8, 2008 I do Drift Away and Try A Little Tenderness acoustically. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members e021708 Posted April 8, 2008 Author Members Share Posted April 8, 2008 Doing Temptations songs solo on acoustic seems to be particularly challenging, at least for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ihateyouguys Posted April 8, 2008 Members Share Posted April 8, 2008 Motown = ??? Oh, brother! Here we go again (determined to just watch this time) Motown = James Jamerson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members arf-boy Posted April 9, 2008 Members Share Posted April 9, 2008 Ted was...wow... a true tortured (self-inflicted, mostly) artist.What an original voice, but definitely an aquired taste.He was cool, in my book, though. I like his treatment of Motown. Can't pull it off myself, though -- wrong kind of voice. I'm trying to add "Second that Emotion" and "Midnight Hour" to my Dead-ish cover band. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members cooterbrown Posted April 9, 2008 Members Share Posted April 9, 2008 I like his treatment of Motown. Can't pull it off myself, though -- wrong kind of voice. I'm trying to add "Second that Emotion" and "Midnight Hour" to my Dead-ish cover band. My favorites were when he did old country songs, like "There Stands the Glass", and "North to Alaska"...his version of "Biloxi" was just fantastic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members maclothier Posted April 9, 2008 Members Share Posted April 9, 2008 The little bits with Black Jack Ashford playing tambourine are the best parts of Standing in the Shadows of Motown. Amen to that! I do "Dock of the Bay" and people seem to enjoy it. Eddie Vedder and Pearl Jam have done it once and awhile too! Here's a video of Jim James from My Morning Jacket doing an abridged version of "Easy," like only Jim James could do. Perhaps not your musical taste, but the guy could sing the phone book and I'd love it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.