Exploring Georgie Fame Licks

Okay, so we're gonna look at some Georgie Fame licks. There are three tracks I picked out, which all have very short, very cool, economical solos in a classic R&B context.

Live at the Flamingo

There's a live album called Live at the Flamingo, which features two of these tracks. It's from the early 60s and is a really cool live recording in Soho, London. Highly recommended!

Overview of the Licks

So, I'm just going to play through them. They're fairly economical, making really good use of your blues licks. If you come from that kind of blues world, as I imagine quite a lot of you do, and you've played piano or keys but are wondering how to apply it here, this will be useful.

He actually pads underneath all three of these solos in a specific tone. He's using an M100 rather than a C3 on most of this stuff, so it's going to sound slightly different. Let's dive in!

Track Breakdown

1. Let the Good Times Roll

First, let's look at a lick from Let the Good Times Roll.

• The blues starts on the four.
• The licks are very short but very effective.
• You're starting on the B flat.

I imagine you've probably played something quite similar to that on the piano or Rhodes, but you're probably not going to be holding a chord like that underneath since it would have died out ages ago.

• You go back to the one and then to the six as a flat turn.
• In this section, you're holding the root at the top the whole time.

This is a very Hammond-specific thing. It can take a little getting used to since you've got to be mobile underneath it while holding one note.

• For the turnaround, you're using a diminished walking up to the two, ending on a kind of 11.
• This means a G minor there and a G minor 7 shape over the C.

Check out the tune on the live album because the whole arrangement is really cool, it's kind of a version of Ray Charles's take on it.

2. Baby, Please Don't Go

The next one we'll look at is Baby, Please Don't Go. We all know it from Van Morrison and a ton of other artists.

• This one is in G, so we won't be using percussion on this track.
• It features similar licks, but it's a different tune with a lot of classic R&B flavors.

The organ sound, whether you have the Rotary (Leslie) effect or not, especially when playing in G, it's a sweet spot, think of that Give Me Some Loving area.

• The way he plays that little lick really pulls it back.
• I would play that with thumb and finger on the same key, which wouldn't work on a piano at all.

For the chords, I'm just using G7, C9, and either the D7 or the flat 10.

3. I Live the Life I Love

The last one is I Live the Life I Love, I Love the Life I Live.

• We will use the percussion for this one, as it leans more towards lazy jazz phrasing while still being a blues tune.
• We're in C, maintaining the same tone on the bottom.

I'll take a little of the higher octave out because I'm going to play that lower voice.

• Again, very basic but so effective.
• It uses a lot of the six and minor three, very common in this type of music.

Padding the C7, that six and minor are how he plays it. I really enjoy those little gunshot-like, percussive trills; they're very cool and effective!

Conclusion

I discovered this album when I was about 15 and these licks have always stayed with me. I often revisit them as old friends, and they always work. They may not be the most advanced, but if you come from the blues world and want to apply them, they work everywhere, and they always sound good on this instrument!