Guitar Songs, Tabs & Lessons

Bad Company

2 guitar songs · Tabs, Lessons & Tone Guide Classic Rock

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Feel Like Makin' Love - Guitar Lesson

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Bad Company - Guitar Lesson

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Band Overview

History and Guitar Legacy

Bad Company formed in 1973 from members of Free, Mott the Hoople, and King Crimson, becoming a defining blues-rock and Hard Rock band of the 1970s. Led by guitarist Mick Ralphs and vocalist Paul Rodgers, with bassist Boz Burrell and drummer Simon Kirke, the band was managed by Led Zeppelin's Peter Grant. Their approach proved that perfectly placed riffs and soulful notes played through cranked tube amps could deliver massive impact without overplaying.

Playing Style and Techniques

Mick Ralphs combines deceptively sophisticated rhythm work with expressive lead playing. His rhythm technique features open-position and barre chord voicings with excellent dynamic control, mixing clean passages with crunchy overdriven sections. His lead style draws from blues-rock traditions, emphasizing pentatonic phrasing, wide vibrato string bending, and singing legato that complements rather than competes with vocals. Ralphs demonstrates the discipline of knowing when not to play, making every note memorable.

Why Guitarists Study Bad Company

Bad Company teaches intermediate players the art of doing more with less. Ralphs exemplifies how restraint and feel matter more than flashy technique. His sound proves that thick, warm tones from tube amps and open chords require no overdoing. For guitarists seeking to separate themselves from merely technically proficient players, Bad Company songs develop essential skills in groove, dynamics, and tone shaping that define great playing.

Difficulty and Learning Path

Bad Company songs sit in the beginner-to-intermediate range with accessible chord progressions using standard open and barre shapes. However, capturing the feel, dynamics, and tone presents the real challenge. "Bad Company" requires tasteful arpeggiation and controlled strumming dynamics, while "Feel Like Makin' Love" demands confident rhythm playing with punchy overdriven tone and precise transitions. Learning these songs builds foundational ear training and tone awareness.

What Makes Bad Company Essential for Guitar Players

Mick Ralphs built his style around open-position chords and simple barre shapes played with exceptional dynamic control. Studying his rhythm parts teaches you how volume swells, pick attack variation, and strumming intensity shape a song's emotional arc.
His lead work is rooted firmly in the minor and major pentatonic scales, with emphasis on expressive string bending, often full-step and one-and-a-half-step bends with wide, controlled vibrato. These techniques are essential building blocks for any blues-rock guitarist.
Bad Company songs frequently use the contrast between clean and overdriven tones within the same track, making them great for practicing amp gain staging and learning when to dig in with your pick versus when to back off for a cleaner response.
Ralphs often employs arpeggiated chord passages, picking individual notes within a chord shape rather than strumming, which is a critical technique for creating space and texture in a band setting. The intro to 'Bad Company' is a perfect example.
The band's arrangements leave plenty of room in the mix, teaching guitarists the underrated skill of knowing when NOT to play. Ralphs frequently drops out or simplifies during verses, then drives the chorus home with fuller strumming, a dynamic approach that makes every note count.

Did You Know?

Mick Ralphs wrote 'Can't Get Enough' on a Gibson Les Paul tuned to open G, a tuning he picked up from his admiration of Keith Richards' rhythm style with the Rolling Stones.

Before Bad Company, Ralphs played with Mott the Hoople and wrote their hit 'All the Young Dudes' (later reworked by David Bowie), giving him a strong pop-rock songwriting instinct that informed his riff construction.

The band recorded their debut album at Headley Grange, the same remote English country house where Led Zeppelin recorded parts of 'Physical Graffiti' and 'Led Zeppelin IV', using Ronnie Lane's mobile studio for a raw, live-room sound.

Ralphs was known for running his Les Paul straight into a cranked Marshall with virtually no effects pedals, relying entirely on pickup selection, volume knob manipulation, and pick dynamics to shape his tone, a philosophy that influenced an entire generation of no-frills rock guitarists.

Paul Rodgers occasionally played rhythm guitar on stage and in the studio, meaning some Bad Company tracks feature dual guitar layers despite being a four-piece band, something to listen for when learning the album versions versus live arrangements.

The self-titled track 'Bad Company' from their debut album uses a deceptively simple structure built on arpeggiated open chords in the key of D, but the emotional weight comes entirely from Ralphs' restrained picking dynamics and the space he leaves between phrases.

Bad Company was the first act signed to Led Zeppelin's Swan Song Records label, and Jimmy Page reportedly admired Ralphs' ability to craft massive-sounding riffs from simple chord shapes, a compliment from one of rock's greatest riff architects.

Essential Albums for Guitarists

Bad Company 1974

The debut album is the definitive starting point. 'Bad Company' teaches arpeggiated chord dynamics and controlled picking, 'Can't Get Enough' is a masterclass in tight rhythm guitar with a driving groove, and 'Ready for Love' offers expressive bending and vibrato over soulful chord changes. Every track rewards studying dynamics and feel over technical complexity.

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Straight Shooter 1975

'Feel Like Makin' Love' features one of classic rock's most recognizable riffs built on power chords and open strings with a crunchy overdriven tone, perfect for practicing tight, punchy rhythm playing. 'Good Lovin' Gone Bad' adds a harder edge with faster chord changes and more aggressive picking, pushing your rhythm chops further. This album expands on the debut's blueprint with slightly more complexity.

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Run with the Pack 1976

This album showcases Ralphs at his most versatile, blending acoustic and electric textures. 'Silver, Blue & Gold' is a beautiful exercise in fingerpicked arpeggios and clean tone, while 'Live for the Music' brings heavier riffing with boosted midrange crunch. It's ideal for guitarists looking to develop both their acoustic and electric skills within one artist's catalog.

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Tone & Gear

Guitar

Mick Ralphs is most closely associated with the Gibson Les Paul Standard, particularly late-1950s and early-1970s models with a classic cherry sunburst finish. He also frequently used a Gibson Les Paul Custom (the 'Black Beauty') during the band's peak years. On certain tracks and live performances, he reached for a Fender Stratocaster for cleaner, more articulate passages, but the Les Paul was his primary voice, its thick mahogany body and set neck providing the warm, sustained midrange that defines Bad Company's guitar tone.

Amp

Ralphs ran primarily through Marshall amplifiers, specifically the Marshall JMP 100-watt Super Lead heads paired with 4x12 cabinets loaded with Celestion Greenback speakers. He cranked the amp's volume to push the power tubes into natural overdrive, achieving that warm, harmonically rich breakup without relying on external gain pedals. The Marshall's bright, punchy midrange paired with the Les Paul's thick low-end created his signature full but never muddy tone. He typically kept the presence and treble moderate to avoid harshness.

Pickups

Ralphs relied on stock Gibson PAF-style humbuckers in his Les Pauls, the neck pickup for warm, rounded lead tones with singing sustain, and the bridge pickup for tighter, punchier rhythm work. These vintage-output humbuckers (typically around 7.5–8.5k ohms) provided enough output to push a cranked Marshall into saturation while retaining dynamic response and pick sensitivity. The lower output compared to modern high-gain humbuckers meant his tone cleaned up beautifully when he rolled back the guitar's volume knob, a technique he used constantly.

Effects & Chain

Ralphs was famously minimalist with effects, his signal chain was essentially guitar straight into the Marshall amp with no pedalboard to speak of during the classic era. His tone shaping came entirely from pickup selection, the guitar's volume and tone knobs, pick attack dynamics, and the amp's natural overdrive. On rare occasions, a wah pedal (Dunlop Cry Baby) would appear for specific lead passages, and some studio tracks feature subtle tape delay or studio reverb added during mixing, but these were engineer choices rather than part of his live rig. This 'plug in and play' approach makes his tone very achievable with basic gear.

Recommended Gear

Guitar

Fender Stratocaster

Mick Ralphs used the Stratocaster selectively for cleaner, more articulate passages that contrasted with his Les Paul's warm sustain. Its bright, single-coil voice provided tonal variety without abandoning Bad Company's signature full-bodied character.

Guitar

Gibson Les Paul Standard

Ralphs' primary instrument, the late-1950s and early-1970s Les Paul Standard delivered the thick mahogany warmth and sustained midrange that defines Bad Company's signature tone. Its PAF humbuckers pushed Marshall power tubes into natural overdrive, creating that harmonically rich breakup.

Guitar

Gibson Les Paul Custom

The 'Black Beauty' Les Paul Custom was Ralphs' go-to during Bad Company's peak years, offering the same warm sustain as the Standard with added aesthetic presence. Its stock PAF humbuckers provided perfect output balance for dynamic playing and controlled volume-knob rollbacks.

Amp

Marshall Plexi (1959 Super Lead)

Ralphs cranked Marshall JMP 100-watt Super Lead heads to push power tubes into warm, natural saturation without external gain pedals. The amp's punchy midrange paired with his Les Paul's thick low-end created Bad Company's full yet articulate tone.

Pedal

Dunlop Cry Baby Wah

Ralphs rarely relied on effects, but occasionally deployed the Dunlop Cry Baby wah for specific lead passages in studio tracks. Its dynamic responsiveness complemented his minimalist approach, adding expression without altering his core tone.

How to Practice Bad Company on GuitarZone

Every Bad Company song page on GuitarZone includes a built-in Practice Toolbar. No app to download, no account needed. Open any song, then use the toolbar to slow the video to 0.5× speed, set an A/B loop around the exact riff you're working on, and jump between song sections instantly.

The toolbar appears automatically on every guitar tab, lesson, and cover page. Pick a song below, hit play, and start practicing at your own pace.

Practice Feel Like Makin' Love - Guitar Lesson Practice Bad Company - Guitar Lesson