Tell Me Something Good
Rufus, 1974. Solo by Al Ciner.
The Stevie Wonder-written hit with Chaka Khan; its talk-box guitar parts are part of the song's hook.
Stevie Wonder wrote Tell Me Something Good for Rufus, and Chaka Khan's vocal is the star, but the guitar is crucial to the hook. Al Ciner plays through a talk box, so his lines come out shaped like vowels, sliding and groaning in a way that sounds half-human. Those parts sit between the vocal lines, sly and slinky, giving the song its sticky, swampy character. It helped make the talk box a familiar part of 1970s funk rather than just a rock novelty. Listen for how the talk-box guitar almost seems to mouth words, answering Chaka's phrases like a backing singer with a guitar for a voice.
Tell Me Something Good by Rufus is featured in our Funk & Soul (#18) list. The solo is played by Al Ciner and the song was released in 1974.
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Who played the guitar solo on Tell Me Something Good?
Al Ciner played the solo on Rufus's Tell Me Something Good (1974).