By Jackie Don Loe
~ Memphis Soul Blues ~
Well, I must say what a thrill it was to hang out with Memphis Guitar
legend Mabon "Teenie" Hodges, last month on Memphis' Beale Street. A key
ingredient in the Memphis Soul Sound of the 70's, along with his brothers Leroy (Bass) and
Charles (Organ), plus Howard Grimes (Drums), they were the Hi-Records rhythm section and
played on most of the labels hits. Discovered by Willie Mitchel, Teenie was soon
recording, touring and backing up such artists as Al Green, Ann Peebles, Etta James, O.V.
Wright, Otis Clay and Syl Johnson.
We were catching a blistering set from guitarist Preston Shannon.
Between sets, Teenie was nice enough to talk guitar and even wrote down the requested
chords to Al Green's first hit in 1971, "I'm So Tired Of Being Alone". Teenie's
rhythmic guitar style is a text book on how to lay down the groove and defines the sound
of classic Memphis riffs from greasy and funky to soulful and bluesy (listen to "I'm
A Ram" or "Rhymes" or "Driving Wheel" for the greasy funk). He
also co-wrote several songs with Al Green such as the epic "Love And Happiness",
"Here I Am (Come And Take Me)" and this months example, recorded in 1974,
"Take Me To The River".
Take Me To The River in the Key of "E"
Intro / Ending vamps and the three verse use this chord progression:
E7
D A E7
One and a two and a three and a four and a one and a two etc... (repeat)
Chorus:
C / / / | G / / / | D / / / | A / / /
| A7 / / / | A A |
E7 D A E7
Take me to the river, wash me down
Bridge:
C# min7 / / / | A7 / / / | C# min7 / / /
| A7 / / / | G / / / | B7 / / / | B7 / /
/ | B7 / / / |
The starts with a rolling groove on the back beat that establishes a
hypnotic bass line, backed by creeping horns and begins to vamp underneath Al Green
dedicating the song to his cousin Junior Parker. It then picks up with the verse, which is
strumming an E7 chord with a quick change from a D chord to an A chord tag, to turn it
around back to the E7 chord. Follow the strum pattern, counting one and two etc and hit
the D chord on the four, followed by the A chord on the "and" to get the feel of
the groove. It goes to the chorus three times during the song which also uses the E7 to D
- A sequence. You can also substitute a A7 sus4 chord for the D chord.
The bridge is eight measures with a C# min7 (the relative minor chord of Emaj ) flipping
back and forth with A7 (the dominant 4 chord of Emajor) in the first four measures, then
leading us to an oldtime gospel move with the G chord going to the B7 (the dominant 5
chord of Emajor). For a lesson on the groove, seek out as much of Mabon "Teenie"
Hodges as you can. If you get strange looks, tell 'em "It's a Memphis Thang!"...
Guitar
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