Bass transcription: LaBelle – “Lady Marmalade”
Female vocal trio LaBelle’s fourth album, Nightbirds (1974) brought them mainstream recognition, spearheaded by the commercial success of No.1 single “Lady Marmalade”. Recorded in New Orleans under the direction of Allen Toussaint and featuring members of The Meters, “Lady Marmalade” remains – alongside “Roxanne” – one of the most-loved songs written about a prostitute:
LaBelle – “Lady Marmalade” bass transcription PDF
“Lady Marmalade” bass performance notes
- It’s George Porter Jr. from The Meters handling bass duties, so we know we’re in safe hands. I’d guess that he was wielding his Precision bass.
- The main riff is a two-bar pattern built on G minor pentatonic that implies a Gm7 – C7 chord progression. The initial phrase is almost the same as the Miles Davis classic “Footprints”, which sounds almost the same as The Beatles’ “Come Together”.
- Once you’ve got your fingers around the main pattern and the unison, descending pentatonic run that occurs at the end of each chorus section, then there’s not much to worry about here other than following the structure of the song, which isn’t as straightforward as you’d hope if you’ve ever tried to busk it without a chart.