Who played bass on Chaka Khan’s ‘Ain’t Nobody’?

I’d always assumed it was keyboard wizard Greg Phillinganes who played the signature synth bass part on ‘Ain’t Nobody’, but the Internet offers me conflicting information; some say Phillinganes, others point fingers elsewhere. Let’s do some detective work:

• ‘Ain’t Nobody’ was one of four studio tracks added to the Rufus and Chaka Khan live album Stompin’ at the Savoy (1983)
• Greg Phillinganes appears on Stompin’ at the Savoy, but presumably only on the live tracks
• Rufus keyboardist David ‘Hawk’ Wolinski gets the sole writing credit for ‘Ain’t Nobody’
• Since it’s a synth bass part, we can rule out Rufus bassist Bobby Watson
• If you ask Carol Kaye, she’ll say she did it

I’m awarding the bass part to David ‘Hawk’ Wolinski on my transcription. If you have information that can conclusively solve the case, then please get in touch.

But does it matter who played it? As much as this is all a huge bass nerd rabbit hole, I think so. Parts like these can be a source of huge inspiration to people like you and me, so the creator deserves proper credit.

Anyway, onto the song itself: ‘Ain’t Nobody’ proved to be a big deal for Rufus and (in particular) Chaka; it became the first single from Stompin’ at the Savoy (after Wolinski threatened to give it to Quincy Jones for Michael Jackson’s Thriller), topping the Billboard R&B chart and winning a Grammy award. It would go on to become one of the defining songs of Chaka Khan’s career, and – more importantly for bass players – it still appears on set lists today.

Chaka Khan – ‘Ain’t Nobody’ bass performance notes

From a first glance at the transcription, a couple of things are noticeable right away:

1. It’s in the rather unfriendly key of Eb minor
2. There are an awful lot of low Eb notes that are outside the range of a standard-tuned 4-string bass

So, where does that leave us? It’s all well and good if you have a bass with five (or more) strings, but in my experience that’s the minority of bass players. It seems like the options for those without the luxury of a B-string can de-tune, transpose sections of the bassline up an octave, or use an octave pedal to achieve those low E flats – regular visitors to this site might have guessed what my preference might be…

To make life easier, I’ve made two versions of this chart:

Original bassline transcription (for 5-string bass/synth owners):

Here’s every note of ‘Ain’t Nobody’, exactly as the recorded version:

Chaka Khan – ‘Ain’t Nobody’ bass transcription PDF

4-string friendly chart:

Here’s an arrangement of the ‘Ain’t Nobody’ for standard tuned 4-string bass, not a low Eb to be seen:

Chaka Khan – ‘Ain’t Nobody’ 4-string bass arrangement PDF

Regardless of the version that you’re playing, there are some common elements that we should talk about:

1. Those octaves are fast, and relentless

The main verse part requires both consistency and accuracy from the plucking hand in order for the notes to cut through cleanly. This is no mean feat given the tempo, so spend longer than you think you need to practising the part slower than you want to.

Pro tip: Your fretting hand can use legato techniques (pull-offs etc) to relieve some of the burden and make the whole thing sound more synth-like. Note that this might have an impact on the position/fingering that you choose to play the line in.

2. Nobody likes dealing with C flat

The chord progression during the verse section is primarily Ebm7 – Cb major 7. This is completely diatonic to the key centre, but some readers might find that it takes a small adjustment period to playing notes that look and sound like B naturals but labelling them as C flats.