Piece of My Heart
(Composed by Jerry Ragovoy and Bert Berns)
From the Delaney & Bonnie album Home
This track was featured on Delaney & Bonnie’s album Home, released on Stax Records in 1969. The rhythm section on much of the record was the Stax house band, Booker T. and the MGs. “Piece of My Heart” is one of two songs that utilize Carl Radle, Leon Russell, and Jimmy Karstein instead of the MGs. (Radle also plays on two of the bonus tracks included on the 2006 CD release.)
During the verses, Radle plays a very simple dotted quarter-eighth note pattern, typical of medium tempo songs. There is a clear hierarchy in the verses of this song. Bonnie’s vocal is the primary focus. Delaney’s guitar fills are secondary. Radle’s role is to be supportive and stay out of the way. This bass line provides a lot of space for Bonnie to be expressive with her vocal, and it does not interfere with Delaney’s guitar fills.
(Composed by Jerry Ragovoy and Bert Berns)
From the Delaney & Bonnie album Home
This track was featured on Delaney & Bonnie’s album Home, released on Stax Records in 1969. The rhythm section on much of the record was the Stax house band, Booker T. and the MGs. “Piece of My Heart” is one of two songs that utilize Carl Radle, Leon Russell, and Jimmy Karstein instead of the MGs. (Radle also plays on two of the bonus tracks included on the 2006 CD release.)
During the verses, Radle plays a very simple dotted quarter-eighth note pattern, typical of medium tempo songs. There is a clear hierarchy in the verses of this song. Bonnie’s vocal is the primary focus. Delaney’s guitar fills are secondary. Radle’s role is to be supportive and stay out of the way. This bass line provides a lot of space for Bonnie to be expressive with her vocal, and it does not interfere with Delaney’s guitar fills.
Radle gets to step out a little more during the choruses. The
energy of the whole band ramps up, and Radle responds by moving from the
long-note groove of the verse to a primarily sixteenth note line in the chorus.
He also provides a nice counterpoint to the vocal. As Bonnie’s melody descends,
Radle’s bass line ascends Eb-G-Ab-A-Bb (see mm. 14-15). He then punctuates the
phrase with the syncopated riff on beats 3 and 4 of the Bb chord.
Radle provides almost no variation in the groove from verse to verse. He experiments a bit more in the chorus, particularly as the song builds towards the end. Most of the embellishments occur over the Bb chord as the band repeats the chorus three times before ending. So, even as the song builds to a frenzy, Radle is carefully choosing his spots to bring a bit of flash.
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