Delta Lady piano lick - Need Help!!!

[musicbysterling]

I've been beating my head all morning trying to figure out that descending piano lick mid verse in Joe Cocker's  live version of Delta Lady. Amazing Slow Downer is not being my friend right now.

Can anyone please help me?

 

[MathOfInsects]

Well, at least in the first verse the outline is Eb, D, C, Bb, B, Bb, A, Ab, G-C, with some thirds and octaves decorating it. Is that what you're referring to? 

[Baldwin Funster]

The unmatched Leon Russell.

[allan_evett]

I found the studio recording on YT music (The Joe Cocker Classic Vol 4 album); the piano part is much clearer.  Though if prepping this one for a gig I'd likely focus on the feel and changes, vs precise notation.  It's a descending chordal riff, moving from the 1 to 5.  Over the 1 bass (C, in this case) I tried various descending patterns using these RH chord inversions: C, F, Gm, Edim (a rootless C7, of sorts...), Dm.. For 5, I used Eb, Dm  and Cm over the G root.  Mess around with those (plus any single note patterns) and create your own variation that grooves within that verse section.  I do better with this stuff with that approach, vs focusing on the minutiae. 

[musicbysterling]

7 hours ago, MaskOfInsects said:

Well, at least in the first verse the outline is Eb, D, C, Bb, B, Bb, A, Ab, G-C, with some thirds and octaves decorating it. Is that what you're referring to? 

Yes

[Konnector]

A couple of variations from a quick Google:

 

 

 

[stoken6]

I hear the second note as a D (as per @Konnector's first example) and the sixth as F#. but both are helpful. Personally, I would voice the first bar as "a fourth over a third" (so G-Bb-eb, F-A-d etc.) and the second bar as "third over fourth" (B-e-g and so on). Classic gospel-derived lick.

 

Cheers, Mike.