When it comes to iconic bass albums, Donny Hathaway Live stands proudly alongside legendary Motown and Beatles records. For bassist Willie Weeks, this 1972 live album marked a pivotal moment in his career, a moment that would leave an indelible mark on the world of bass guitar. Since then, Weeks has gone on to work with music giants like Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, John Mayer, and Eric Clapton. Yet, his experience with Hathaway remains one of the most intense and rewarding of his career, so much so that Weeks even took a year off after the recording, unable to find a follow-up musical setting as fulfilling.
Live is most renowned for Weeks’s unforgettable bass solo on “Voices Inside (Everything Is Everything)” and his take on Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On,” a version still adored by club musicians. However, the album also features perhaps his most iconic bass track of all: “Little Ghetto Boy.” Co-written by Hathaway’s collaborators Ed Howard and percussionist Earl DeRouen, the song has since been covered by artists like Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, and Norwegian soul singer Noora Noor. Austin bassist Roscoe Beck, who has a deep understanding of groove, also celebrates this track for its inventive bass lines.
“As with a James Jamerson bassline, when you look at a transcription, you’re dumbfounded,” Beck told Bass Player. “Willie’s creating a lot of notes and playing figures constantly through the changes. But ignore the dots on the page, and what you hear is a part that’s swinging and rock solid.”
The track begins with minimal percussion and Weeks laying down whole notes. The song’s first verse kicks in with a unison figure at bar 4, which repeats an octave lower at 00:32 as the full band joins in. By bar 14, the interplay between Weeks and drummer Fred White solidifies with eighth-note accents on beats one and three. Weeks also introduces chromatic walk-ups, paying homage to his two main influences: Jamerson and jazz bassist Ray Brown.
As the first chorus hits, Weeks adopts a classic Jamerson style, emphasizing the root-5th-octave relationship. White loosens his groove slightly, abandoning the kick on the downbeat of three in favor of hitting the ‘and’ of three. Weeks’s bass tone here is a standout, with the use of a 1962 Fender Precision bass with flatwounds through an Ampeg SVT providing a gritty, bluesy sound.
In the second verse, Weeks’s bass playing continues with syncopated Jamerson-esque rhythms, ghost notes, and the use of open strings. The low E string makes a powerful appearance at 01:11, while Weeks masterfully navigates Hathaway’s passing chord at 01:22. By the second chorus, Weeks begins to break away from the eighth-note pattern, shifting to a more free-flowing dotted-eighth feel. At 01:46, he runs up the neck of his bass for a thrilling fill, nearly maxing out the range of the P-Bass.
During the keyboard solo, Weeks sticks with his dotted-eighth groove, and his fill at 02:09 recalls the motif from his earlier solo on “Everything Is Everything,” further demonstrating his innovative approach.
But it’s the third and final verse, followed by another chorus, where Weeks truly unleashes his full swing, injecting motion with bold 16th-note fills and a particularly interesting climb at 02:42. The third fill at 02:53, however, is where things get intriguing. Weeks hits an open G on the ‘and’ of one, which stands out as an odd moment in the track. Was it a slip-up or a genius move? The slight time shift suggests it could have been a mistake during a take, though Live was compiled from performances at New York’s Bitter End and L.A.’s Troubadour, so there’s room for ambiguity. What’s more curious is that Hathaway plays a G13 chord on his keyboard at this moment—an intentional choice or a happy accident?
Beck, who has spent years listening to this track, is captivated by the moment. “That grabs my ear by the lobes every time. And it seems to get hipper with each listen,” Beck remarks. “Was it a mistake or pure brilliance? Who cares? This is bass tone to die for! Groove, taste, swing, and innovation: it’s a masterpiece of live bass playing from a musician who remains as vital as ever.”
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