Bass transcription: Kool & the Gang – “Celebration”

“Celebration” was Kool & the Gang’s biggest hit. In addition to giving the group its only US No. 1, the song has been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame and selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Recording Registry on the basis that it is “culturally, historically or aesthetically significant”. It’s also the perfect song for just about any occasion you can think of that needs celebrating.

Kool & the Gang – “Celebration” bass transcription PDF

“Celebration” bass performance notes

• The bass line to “Celebration” shouldn’t cause to many problems as the part is fairly simple. The only thing that might catch you off guard is the key signature – we’re in Db major, but we don’t actually play a Db until the bridge; you might want to think of the whole thing as being in Ab mixolydian if you’re partial to modal thinking.