Foley (musician)
Encyclopedia
Joseph McCreary, Jr., known professionally as Foley, is an American composer
, musician
, and photographer who is best known as the "lead bassist" with trumpeter Miles Davis
from 1987 until 1991. With his custom-made Blue Marble "lead bass," tuned nearly an octave higher than a standard bass guitar and processed through various effects, Foley was able to create the illusion of a lead guitarist.
, where he was born and raised, composing and recording his own music
.
Foley is featured on the Miles Davis albums Amandla
, Dingo, Live Around the World
, The Complete Miles Davis at Montreux
, and countless live bootleg recordings. Foley also plays a lead bass solo on Mint Condition
's R&B Top 40 hit "So Fine" and the interlude track "Gumbo" from their CD From the Mint Factory.
In 1993, during his time at Motown, Foley released 7 Years Ago....Directions In Smart-Alec Music. The album featured the AIDS
-related song "If It's Positive," which is widely regarded as the first in a long line of AIDS awareness songs during the early 1990s. Foley performed this song live on BET
's award-winning show Teen Summit
, in which then-host Belma Johnson had taken an AIDS/HIV test and revealed the results live on the air. That episode, featuring "If It's Positive" and Foley's AIDS awareness concerns, helped BET
to win their first NAACP Image Award. The video features guest appearances from Speech
and Aerle Taree of Arrested Development. The video had heavy rotation on BET
as well. Foley later joined Arrested Development and can be seen in the group's "Ease My Mind" video and their Arsenio Hall
appearance in which he served as music arranger. He toured with Arrested Development from 1993 to 1994, alternately playing bass with Arrested Development and drums with Fishbone
, during Lollapalooza '93.
The Cité de la Musique
showed a Miles Davis exhibition from October 16, 2009 to January 17, 2010 that included Foley's famous "lead bass."
Foley has shared the stage with an array of diverse artists including Sly Stone
, George Clinton
, Santana
, Herbie Hancock
, Prince
, Chaka Khan
, Patrice Rushen
, El DeBarge
, Al Jarreau
, Alice in Chains
, Foreigner
, Bootsy Collins
, Fishbone
, Arrested Development, David Sanborn
, Jungle Bros.
, Macy Gray
, Mint Condition
, Monica, Davina, Larry Dunn
, Lenny White
, Marcus Miller
, Res, Khaleel, and Primus
.
Foley can currently be seen playing drums on tour with George Clinton
. In 2008, he served as music arranger for performances with George Clinton and His Gangsters of Love on The Tonight Show
and The Late Show
.
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
, musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
, and photographer who is best known as the "lead bassist" with trumpeter Miles Davis
Miles Davis
Miles Dewey Davis III was an American jazz musician, trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. Widely considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Miles Davis was, with his musical groups, at the forefront of several major developments in jazz music, including bebop, cool jazz,...
from 1987 until 1991. With his custom-made Blue Marble "lead bass," tuned nearly an octave higher than a standard bass guitar and processed through various effects, Foley was able to create the illusion of a lead guitarist.
Biography
Foley spent his early years playing in Columbus, OhioColumbus, Ohio
Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...
, where he was born and raised, composing and recording his own music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
.
Foley is featured on the Miles Davis albums Amandla
Amandla (album)
Amandla is an album by jazz musician Miles Davis, released in 1989. It is the third collaboration between Miles Davis and producer/bassist Marcus Miller, after Tutu and Music From Siesta , and their final album together. The album mixes elements of the genres go-go, zouk, funk and swing jazz,...
, Dingo, Live Around the World
Live Around the World (Miles Davis album)
-Track listing:# "In A Silent Way" – 1:49# "Intruder" – 4:52# "New Blues" – 5:35# Human Nature – 12:48# "Mr...
, The Complete Miles Davis at Montreux
The Complete Miles Davis at Montreux
The Complete Miles Davis at Montreux is a 2002 box set of 20 CDs comprising 11 appearances by Miles Davis at the Montreux Jazz Festival between 1973 and 1991.-Track listing:Disc 1...
, and countless live bootleg recordings. Foley also plays a lead bass solo on Mint Condition
Mint Condition
Mint Condition is an R&B band from Saint Paul, Minnesota. Formed in the late 1980s, its original members were lead singer Stokley Williams, bassist Ricky Kinchen, guitarist Homer O'Dell, pianist Larry Waddell, keyboardist Keri Lewis, and keyboardist/saxophonist Jeffrey Allen...
's R&B Top 40 hit "So Fine" and the interlude track "Gumbo" from their CD From the Mint Factory.
In 1993, during his time at Motown, Foley released 7 Years Ago....Directions In Smart-Alec Music. The album featured the AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
-related song "If It's Positive," which is widely regarded as the first in a long line of AIDS awareness songs during the early 1990s. Foley performed this song live on BET
Bet
Bet or BET may refer to:* A wager in gambling* Basic Economics Test * Bet , the second letter in many Semitic alphabets, including Aramaic, Hebrew, Phoenician and Syriac* Brunauer-Emmett-Teller isotherm. See BET_theory...
's award-winning show Teen Summit
Teen Summit
Teen Summit is an American talk show/youth show that aired on BET. It dealt with the everyday issues of teens and attempted to bring them into a positive, uplifting light and motivate the teen viewers. Various hosts have appeared on the show throughout the years, including Ananda Lewis.The show...
, in which then-host Belma Johnson had taken an AIDS/HIV test and revealed the results live on the air. That episode, featuring "If It's Positive" and Foley's AIDS awareness concerns, helped BET
Bet
Bet or BET may refer to:* A wager in gambling* Basic Economics Test * Bet , the second letter in many Semitic alphabets, including Aramaic, Hebrew, Phoenician and Syriac* Brunauer-Emmett-Teller isotherm. See BET_theory...
to win their first NAACP Image Award. The video features guest appearances from Speech
Speech (rapper)
Todd Thomas , better known by the stage name Speech, is an American rapper and musician. He is a member of the progressive hip hop group Arrested Development and has released a number of solo albums.-Background:...
and Aerle Taree of Arrested Development. The video had heavy rotation on BET
Bet
Bet or BET may refer to:* A wager in gambling* Basic Economics Test * Bet , the second letter in many Semitic alphabets, including Aramaic, Hebrew, Phoenician and Syriac* Brunauer-Emmett-Teller isotherm. See BET_theory...
as well. Foley later joined Arrested Development and can be seen in the group's "Ease My Mind" video and their Arsenio Hall
Arsenio Hall
Arsenio Hall is an American actor, comedian, and former talk show host. He is best known for his talk show The Arsenio Hall Show, which ran between 1989 and 1994, and his roles in the films Coming to America and Harlem Nights.Hall is also known for his appearance as Alan Thicke's sidekick on the...
appearance in which he served as music arranger. He toured with Arrested Development from 1993 to 1994, alternately playing bass with Arrested Development and drums with Fishbone
Fishbone
Fishbone is a U.S. alternative rock band formed in 1979 in Los Angeles, California, which plays a fusion of ska, punk rock, funk, hard rock and soul. Critics have noted of the band: "Fishbone was one of the most distinctive and eclectic alternative rock bands of the late '80s...
, during Lollapalooza '93.
The Cité de la Musique
Cité de la Musique
The Cité de la Musique is a group of institutions dedicated to music and situated in the La Villette quarter, 19th arrondissement, Paris, France. It was designed by the architect Christian de Portzamparc and opened in 1995...
showed a Miles Davis exhibition from October 16, 2009 to January 17, 2010 that included Foley's famous "lead bass."
Foley has shared the stage with an array of diverse artists including Sly Stone
Sly Stone
Sly Stone is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer, most famous for his role as frontman for Sly & the Family Stone, a band which played a critical role in the development of soul, funk and psychedelia in the 1960s and 1970s. In 1993, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of...
, George Clinton
George Clinton (musician)
George Clinton is an American singer, songwriter, bandleader, and music producer and the principal architect of P-Funk. He was the mastermind of the bands Parliament and Funkadelic during the 1970s and early 1980s, and launched a solo career in 1981. He has been cited as one of the foremost...
, Santana
Santana (band)
Santana is a rock band based around guitarist Carlos Santana and founded in the late 1960s. It first came to public attention after their performing the song "Soul Sacrifice" at the Woodstock Festival in 1969, when their Latin rock provided a contrast to other acts on the bill...
, Herbie Hancock
Herbie Hancock
Herbert Jeffrey "Herbie" Hancock is an American pianist, bandleader and composer. As part of Miles Davis's "second great quintet," Hancock helped to redefine the role of a jazz rhythm section and was one of the primary architects of the "post-bop" sound...
, Prince
Prince (musician)
Prince Rogers Nelson , often known simply as Prince, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Prince has produced ten platinum albums and thirty Top 40 singles during his career. Prince founded his own recording studio and label; writing, self-producing and playing most, or all, of...
, Chaka Khan
Chaka Khan
Chaka Khan , frequently known as the Queen of Funk, is a 10-time Grammy Award winning American singer-songwriter who gained fame in the 1970s as the frontwoman and focal point of the funk band Rufus. While still a member of the group in 1978, Khan embarked on a successful solo career...
, Patrice Rushen
Patrice Rushen
Patrice Rushen is a Grammy Award-winning African American R&B and jazz vocalist, composer and pianist.-Biography:...
, El DeBarge
El DeBarge
Eldra Patrick "El" DeBarge is an American R&B/pop falsetto singer and was the focal point and lead singer of the family group DeBarge throughout the early to mid-1980s....
, Al Jarreau
Al Jarreau
Alwin "Al" Lopez Jarreau is a seven-time Grammy Award winning jazz singer.- Background :Jarreau was born in Milwaukee, the fifth of six children. His web site refers to Reservoir, Inc., the name of the street where he lived. His father was a Seventh-Day Adventist Church minister and singer, and...
, Alice in Chains
Alice in Chains
Alice in Chains is an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1987 by guitarist and songwriter Jerry Cantrell and original lead vocalist Layne Staley. The initial lineup was rounded out by drummer Sean Kinney, and bassist Mike Starr...
, Foreigner
Foreigner (band)
Foreigner is a British-American rock band, originally formed in 1976 by veteran English musicians Mick Jones and ex-King Crimson member Ian McDonald along with American vocalist Lou Gramm...
, Bootsy Collins
Bootsy Collins
William Earl "Bootsy" Collins is an American funk bassist, singer, and songwriter.Rising to prominence with James Brown in the late 1960s, and with Parliament-Funkadelic in the '70s, Collins's driving bass guitar and humorous vocals established him as one of the leading names in funk...
, Fishbone
Fishbone
Fishbone is a U.S. alternative rock band formed in 1979 in Los Angeles, California, which plays a fusion of ska, punk rock, funk, hard rock and soul. Critics have noted of the band: "Fishbone was one of the most distinctive and eclectic alternative rock bands of the late '80s...
, Arrested Development, David Sanborn
David Sanborn
David Sanborn is an American alto saxophonist. Though Sanborn has worked in many genres, his solo recordings typically blend jazz with instrumental pop and R&B. He released his first solo album Taking Off in 1975, but has been playing the saxophone since before he was in high school...
, Jungle Bros.
Jungle Brothers
The Jungle Brothers are an American hip hop group that pioneered the fusion of jazz and hip-hop and also became the first hip-hop group to use a house-music producer. The group began performing in the mid-1980s and released its first album, Straight Out the Jungle, in July 1988...
, Macy Gray
Macy Gray
Macy Gray is a Grammy Award-winning American R&B and soul singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress, famed for her distinctive raspy voice, and a singing style heavily influenced by Billie Holiday and Betty Davis.Gray has released five studio albums, with her fifth studio album, The Sellout,...
, Mint Condition
Mint Condition
Mint Condition is an R&B band from Saint Paul, Minnesota. Formed in the late 1980s, its original members were lead singer Stokley Williams, bassist Ricky Kinchen, guitarist Homer O'Dell, pianist Larry Waddell, keyboardist Keri Lewis, and keyboardist/saxophonist Jeffrey Allen...
, Monica, Davina, Larry Dunn
Larry Dunn
Larry Dunn is a keyboardist, musical director and one of the founding members of the music group Earth, Wind, & Fire. Dunn, along with other members of Earth, Wind & Fire were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2000.-Career:...
, Lenny White
Lenny White
Leonard White III, better known as Lenny White is an American jazz fusion drummer, who is best known for playing in Chick Corea's Return to Forever.-Biography:...
, Marcus Miller
Marcus Miller
Marcus Miller is an American jazz composer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist. Miller is best known as a bassist, working with trumpeter Miles Davis, singer Luther Vandross, and saxophonist David Sanborn, as well as maintaining a prolific solo career...
, Res, Khaleel, and Primus
Primus (band)
Primus is an American rock band based in San Francisco, California, currently composed of bassist/vocalist Les Claypool, guitarist Larry "Ler" LaLonde and drummer Jay Lane. Primus originally formed in 1984 with Claypool and guitarist Todd Huth, later joined by Lane, though the latter two departed...
.
Foley can currently be seen playing drums on tour with George Clinton
George Clinton (musician)
George Clinton is an American singer, songwriter, bandleader, and music producer and the principal architect of P-Funk. He was the mastermind of the bands Parliament and Funkadelic during the 1970s and early 1980s, and launched a solo career in 1981. He has been cited as one of the foremost...
. In 2008, he served as music arranger for performances with George Clinton and His Gangsters of Love on The Tonight Show
The Tonight Show
The Tonight Show is an American late-night talk show that has aired on NBC since 1954. It is the longest currently running regularly scheduled entertainment program in the United States, and the third longest-running show on NBC, after Meet the Press and Today.The Tonight Show has been hosted by...
and The Late Show
Late Show with David Letterman
Late Show with David Letterman is a U.S. late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and is produced by Letterman's production company, Worldwide Pants Incorporated. The show's music director and band-leader of the house band, the CBS Orchestra, is...
.
External links
- Official website
- [ Allmusic entry]
- YouTube Channel