Joe Bonamassa is one of the best guitarists in the biz. And when he shares his talent on stage with the mesmerizing soulful vocals of Beth Hart on “I’ll Take Care of You,” then absolute magic happens. Robert Plant and Jimmy Page don’t get up on stage together no more, but the kind of synergy Beth and Joe share together might just be the next best thing. Beth held court in the opening of the performance with her delectable slow burn vocal performance.
Joe showed what a class act he is at this point by so tastefully accentuating her vocals without going overboard. But Joe got his chance to shine further into the song. Beth tore the roof off the joint at 3:20 with a spine-tingling wail, and then it was Joe’s turn to take a mind-melting solo. The Music Man has to say that Joe really knows how to make you feel something with his playing. Despite his prodigious technical skill, he never gets carried away and just stays locked in on the feel.
Joe uploaded his collab with Beth to his YouTube channel JoeBonamassaTV, where it hit 12 million views. Viewers couldn’t deny the magic and added comments such as “Said it a hundred hundred times. Joe and Beth are the best pairing ever. What a duo” and “When Beth Hart sings she goes straight to the gut, and together with Joe Bonamassa my heart gets shaken and stirred in a great way!”
Joe has found plenty of success as a bandleader, but some of his best work comes when he backs up a killer vocalist. Further proof of this came when he joined Joanne Shaw Taylor for her performance of “Summertime”. Joanne not only delivered the soul with her vocals, but also gave Joe a run for his money with some spicy lead guitar lines. Needless to say, Joe’s searing bridge solo brought the performance to a whole new level.
“I’ll Take Care of You” was written by American singer-songwriter Brook Benton. It was first recorded by Bobby Bland for a 1959 release. Bobby’s version hit number 89 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the following year. Joe Bonamassa and Beth Hart featured the R&B tune on their 2011 collab album Don’t Explain. They have performed the song together live on a number of occasions, with several of the performances going viral.