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The Jackson 5 – ‘I Want You Back’

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‘I Want You Back’ was the first single to be released by The Jackson 5 and features a young Michael Jackson on lead vocals. It was a number 1 hit for the band and remains popular to this day. Although often mistakenly credited to Motown legend James Jamerson, the bassline on this track was actually performed by Wilton Felder, who played saxophone and bass with the Crusaders.

Be sure to hit the Download Resources button above to download the PDF transcription for this piece (available to subscribers only). The transcription is available WITH TAB and WITHOUT. Please note that a backing track is NOT included with this course. The track used in the play-along can be purchased from www.karaoke-version.co.uk.

This course contains the following videos, each of which can be selected from the video player above:

1. ‘I Want You Back’ Play-Through

In this video I’ll be playing through the track using a Fender Custom Shop ’67 Precision bass.

2. Course Overview

In this video I’ll be giving a brief overview of the song and its bassline. I’ll also be talking about the instrument on which the original was recorded, as well as providing some advice on how you can find an appropriate tone.

3. Intro (Part 1)

The Intro section of this song makes use of the bass parts for both the Chorus and the Verse sections. In this video, I’ll be talking through the opening eight bars of the Intro, which will also cover the Verse sections of the track.

4. Intro (Part 2)

This lesson covers the line in the second half of the Intro, which will also be used during the Chorus sections of the song.

5. Chorus

In this lesson we’ll be working through the first Chorus of the song. The majority of the bass part has already been covered during the Intro section, but there are some simple additional parts to factor in here.

6. Chorus Variation

There is an important variation in the Chorus bass part that is used later in the song. This lesson will cover that variation, which is deceptively challenging.

7. Middle 8

The Middle 8 of the song features a difficult arpeggio-based line from the bass. Although this line seems simple, it’s quite a challenge to play accurately. We’ll be covering that line here.

8. Final Chorus

The track rides out on a repeating Chorus, based on the structure established earlier. There are some small variations in these repeats which are worth learning, and these are covered here.