Do basslines ever start on the 5th instead of the root?

There are quite a few reggae songs that start on the fifth. Two examples would be "Juvenile Child" and "Tell Me What's Wrong" - both by The Mighty Diamonds. "Lively Up Yourself" and "I Shot The Sheriff" by Bob Marley also have patterns that start on the fifth. "When The World Is Running Down" by The Police.

 

My Girl.

 

Beat me to it (although the fifth is more of a pickup note).

 

I was going to say, it's very common as the pickup note.

 

Janis Joplin's Cry Baby is the first that comes to mind.

 

What Is and What Should Never Be.

The bass line is built around that high B that Jonesy slides into at the beginning of each verse. This increases the tension of the E7 chord that Page is playing. Dominant chords create enough tension, but when the bass note is the fifth of the chord, it's even MORE tense, and results in a beautiful cadence when he resolves down to the A7 for the next chord.

Not sure if that was the thought process when he wrote it, but, there's my interpretation.

 

The very beginning of the song starts out GCC GCC. The G is the fifth.

 

A masterpiece.

 

I'm A Man (Spencer Davis Group, Chicago)

 

Used ALL the time in jazz. I did an arrangement once of "Take the 'A' Train" where the bass starts almost every chord on the fifth.

 

What about Walking on Sunshine? I heard a while ago the bass is always on the 4ths (which is PRETTY weird to me, the only instance I saw a chord with the 4th on the bass was a m6, making it a dominant seventh, I guess). I really can't check right now to see if it's true, so if anybody knows something about it, please lemme know.

 

You can start a bassline on any damn note you please and on any damn beat you please as long as it feels good.

C/S,
Rev J

 

I'm afraid it's not that simple...We can use that feeling-y, more instintive approach to our playing, we all should...But the point of these discussions is understanding new things, theory, analysis, how it all applies to music. It all depends on what kind of music you play or want to play, and what level of amateurism ou professionalism you're at or strive for. You do have a good point, but I don't think that's all, and I don't think that's the point of the question raised by the OP.

 

Jimmy Ruffin's version of What Becomes Of The Broken Hearted doesn't start on the fifth during the intro, but the verse rides the fifth at the beginning. I love the way the bass treats the chords on that song. It's a very interesting approach.