Fontella Bass
Encyclopedia
Fontella Bass is an American
soul
singer, who is best known for the 1965 R&B
hit
"Rescue Me
", which she also co-wrote.
, Missouri
, the daughter of gospel
singer Martha Bass
(a member of the Clara Ward Singers). At an early age, Fontella showed great musical talent – at five years old she was providing the piano accompaniment for her grandmother's singing at funeral services, she was singing in her church's choir at six years old and by the time she was nine she was accompanying her mother on tours throughout the American South and Southwest.
Fontella continued touring with her mother until the age of sixteen. As a teenager, Bass was attracted by more secular music. Throughout high school she began singing R&B songs at local contests and fairs. At seventeen, she started her professional career working at the Showboat Club near Chain of Rocks, Missouri
. In 1961, she auditioned on a dare for the Leon Claxton carnival show and was hired to play piano and sing in the chorus for two weeks, making $175 per week for the two weeks it was in town. She wanted to go on tour with Claxton but her mother refused and according to Bass "... she literally dragged me off the train". It was during this brief stint with Claxton that she was heard by vocalist Little Milton
and his bandleader Oliver Sain
who hired her to back Little Milton on piano for concerts and recording.
Bass originally only played piano with the band, but one night Milton didn't show up on time so Sain asked her to sing and she was soon given her own featured vocal spot in the show. Milton and Sain eventually split up and Bass went with Sain; he also recruited male singer Bobby McClure
and the group became known as "The Oliver Sain Soul Revue featuring Fontella and Bobby McClure".
With the support of Bob Lyons, the manager of St. Louis
station KATZ
, Bass recorded several songs released through Bobbin Records and produced by Ike Turner
. She saw no notable success outside her home town. It was also during this period she met and subsequently married the noted jazz trumpeter Lester Bowie
.
after a dispute with Oliver Sain. She auditioned for Chess Records
, who immediately signed her as a recording artist. Her first works with the label were several duets with Bobby McClure
, who had also been signed to the label. Released early in 1965, their recording "Don't Mess Up a Good Thing" (credited to Oliver Sain) found immediate success, reaching the top five at R&B radio and peaking at #33 at pop. In 1979 the song was covered by Ry Cooder
with Chaka Khan
on Cooder's album Bop 'Til You Drop.
Bass and McClure followed their early success with "You'll Miss Me (When I'm Gone)" that summer, a song that had mild success, reaching the Top 30 on the R&B chart, although it made no significant impression on the pop chart. After a brief tour, Bass returned to the studio. The result was an original composition with an aggressive rhythm section; backing musicians on the track included drummer Maurice White
(later the leader of Earth, Wind, & Fire), bassist Louis Satterfield and tenor saxophonist Gene Barge
, with the young Minnie Riperton
among the background singers.
The song "Rescue Me
" shot up the charts in the fall and winter of 1965. After a month-long run at the top of the R&B charts, the song reached #4 at the pop charts and gave Chess its first million-selling single since Chuck Berry
a decade earlier. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc
.
Bass followed with "Recovery," which did moderately well, peaking at #13 (R&B) and #37 (pop) in early 1966. The same year brought two more R&B hits, "I Can't Rest" (backed with "I Surrender)" and "You'll Never Know." Her only album with Chess Records
, The New Look, sold reasonably well, but Bass soon became disillusioned with Chess and decided to leave the label after only two years, in 1967. By her own account, she was effectively cheated out of her royalties for "Rescue Me", which she had co-written with pianist Raynard Miner:
Bass demanded a better royalty rate and artistic control; she approached her then manager Billy Davis about securing her writing credit on the song but was told not to worry about it. When the record came out and her name was still not on it she was told it would be on the legal documents, but this never happened. She continued to agitate about the matter for a couple years but later recalled: "It actually side-stepped me in the business because I got a reputation of being a trouble maker."
Tiring of the mainstream music scene, she and husband Lester Bowie left America and moved to Paris in 1969, where she recorded two albums with the Art Ensemble of Chicago
– Art Ensemble of Chicago with Fontella Bass
and Les Stances a Sophie
(both 1970). The latter was the soundtrack from the French movie of the same title. Bass's vocals, backed by the powerful, pulsating push of the band has allowed the "Theme De YoYo" to remain an underground cult classic ever since. She also appeared on Bowie's The Great Pretender
(1981) and All the Magic
(1982).
Even with the success of "Rescue Me" it was many years and much litigation before Bass would be credited with her share of the songwriting and the royalties. In 1993 Bass sued American Express
and Ogilvy & Mather
for the unauthorized use of the song in a commercial for the credit card giant.
album Breath of Life.
Like many artists of her time, Bass experienced a revival of interest. She was featured on the PBS Special and accompanying DVD, "Soul Celebration. Soul Spectacular" recorded live at Heinz Hall in Pittsburgh, PA, November 2001. Her voice can be heard on two tracks on The Cinematic Orchestra
's 2002 album Every Day, and another two tracks on their 2007 album Ma Fleur.
She has been inducted into the St. Louis Walk of Fame
. She is the older sister of R&B singer David Peaston
, who was a former Showtime at the Apollo
champion.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
soul
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
singer, who is best known for the 1965 R&B
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
hit
Hit record
A hit record is a sound recording, usually in the form of a single or album, that sells a large number of copies or otherwise becomes broadly popular or well-known, through airplay, club play, inclusion in a film or stage play soundtrack, causing it to have "hit" one of the popular chart listings...
"Rescue Me
Rescue Me (Fontella Bass song)
"Rescue Me" is a song written by Fontella Bass, Raynard Miner and Carl William Smith. In 1965, it was released as a single by Fontella Bass. It would prove the biggest hit of Bass' career, reaching #1 on the R&B charts for four weeks and placing at #4 on the Billboard Hot 100...
", which she also co-wrote.
Early life
Fontella Bass was born in St. LouisSt. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
, Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
, the daughter of gospel
Gospel
A gospel is an account, often written, that describes the life of Jesus of Nazareth. In a more general sense the term "gospel" may refer to the good news message of the New Testament. It is primarily used in reference to the four canonical gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John...
singer Martha Bass
Martha Bass
Martha Bass was an American gospel singer.After migrating to St. Louis as a young girl, she joined the Pleasant Green Baptist Church, where she was a promising gospel vocalist. She came under the authoritative and watchful tutelage of Mother Willie Mae Ford Smith, the head of the Soloists Beareau...
(a member of the Clara Ward Singers). At an early age, Fontella showed great musical talent – at five years old she was providing the piano accompaniment for her grandmother's singing at funeral services, she was singing in her church's choir at six years old and by the time she was nine she was accompanying her mother on tours throughout the American South and Southwest.
Fontella continued touring with her mother until the age of sixteen. As a teenager, Bass was attracted by more secular music. Throughout high school she began singing R&B songs at local contests and fairs. At seventeen, she started her professional career working at the Showboat Club near Chain of Rocks, Missouri
Chain of Rocks, Missouri
Chain of Rocks is a village in Lincoln County, Missouri, United States. The population was 91 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Chain of Rocks is located at . It is named after an exposure of bedrock in the Mississippi River north of St. Louis that forms a remarkable "chain of rocks" across its width...
. In 1961, she auditioned on a dare for the Leon Claxton carnival show and was hired to play piano and sing in the chorus for two weeks, making $175 per week for the two weeks it was in town. She wanted to go on tour with Claxton but her mother refused and according to Bass "... she literally dragged me off the train". It was during this brief stint with Claxton that she was heard by vocalist Little Milton
Little Milton
James Milton Campbell, Jr. , better known as Little Milton, was an American electric blues, rhythm and blues, and soul singer and guitarist, best known for his hit records "Grits Ain't Groceries" and "We're Gonna Make It."-Biography:Milton was born James Milton Campbell, Jr., in the Mississippi...
and his bandleader Oliver Sain
Oliver Sain
Oliver Sain was an American saxophonist, songwriter, bandleader, drummer and record producer....
who hired her to back Little Milton on piano for concerts and recording.
Bass originally only played piano with the band, but one night Milton didn't show up on time so Sain asked her to sing and she was soon given her own featured vocal spot in the show. Milton and Sain eventually split up and Bass went with Sain; he also recruited male singer Bobby McClure
Bobby McClure
Bobby McClure was an American soul singer. McClure was raised in St. Louis and sang in church and gospel groups in his youth. He sang with The Soul Stirrers in the 1950s, and moved into secular music soon after, singing with Bobby & the Vocals, Big Daddy Jenkins, and Oliver Sain...
and the group became known as "The Oliver Sain Soul Revue featuring Fontella and Bobby McClure".
With the support of Bob Lyons, the manager of St. Louis
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
station KATZ
KATZ (AM)
KATZ is an Urban Gospel radio station serving the area of St. Louis, Missouri, USA. The Clear Channel Communications outlet broadcasts with power level of 5 kW.- History :...
, Bass recorded several songs released through Bobbin Records and produced by Ike Turner
Ike Turner
Isaac Wister Turner was an American musician, bandleader, songwriter, arranger, talent scout, and record producer. In a career that lasted more than half a century, his repertoire included blues, soul, rock, and funk...
. She saw no notable success outside her home town. It was also during this period she met and subsequently married the noted jazz trumpeter Lester Bowie
Lester Bowie
Lester Bowie was an American jazz trumpet player and composer. He was a member of the AACM, and cofounded the Art Ensemble of Chicago.-Biography:...
.
Recording career
Two years later she quit the Milton band and moved to ChicagoChicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
after a dispute with Oliver Sain. She auditioned for Chess Records
Chess Records
Chess Records was an American record label based in Chicago, Illinois. It specialized in blues, R&B, soul, gospel music, early rock and roll, and occasional jazz releases....
, who immediately signed her as a recording artist. Her first works with the label were several duets with Bobby McClure
Bobby McClure
Bobby McClure was an American soul singer. McClure was raised in St. Louis and sang in church and gospel groups in his youth. He sang with The Soul Stirrers in the 1950s, and moved into secular music soon after, singing with Bobby & the Vocals, Big Daddy Jenkins, and Oliver Sain...
, who had also been signed to the label. Released early in 1965, their recording "Don't Mess Up a Good Thing" (credited to Oliver Sain) found immediate success, reaching the top five at R&B radio and peaking at #33 at pop. In 1979 the song was covered by Ry Cooder
Ry Cooder
Ryland Peter "Ry" Cooder is an American guitarist, singer and composer. He is known for his slide guitar work, his interest in roots music from the United States, and, more recently, his collaborations with traditional musicians from many countries.His solo work has been eclectic, encompassing...
with 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...
on Cooder's album Bop 'Til You Drop.
Bass and McClure followed their early success with "You'll Miss Me (When I'm Gone)" that summer, a song that had mild success, reaching the Top 30 on the R&B chart, although it made no significant impression on the pop chart. After a brief tour, Bass returned to the studio. The result was an original composition with an aggressive rhythm section; backing musicians on the track included drummer Maurice White
Maurice White
Maurice White is a Grammy Award–winning American singer, songwriter, musician, record producer, arranger. He is the older brother of Verdine White and Fred White and the leader and founder of the band Earth, Wind & Fire...
(later the leader of Earth, Wind, & Fire), bassist Louis Satterfield and tenor saxophonist Gene Barge
Gene Barge
Gene Barge, a founding member of the 1960s band The Church Street Five, was born in Norfolk, Virginia in 1926, is an accomplished tenor and alto saxophonist and composer in several bands....
, with the young Minnie Riperton
Minnie Riperton
Minnie Julia Riperton was an American singer-songwriter best known for her 1975 single "Lovin' You". She was married to songwriter and music producer Richard Rudolph from 1972 until her death in the summer of 1979. They had two children - music engineer Marc Rudolph and actress/comedienne Maya...
among the background singers.
The song "Rescue Me
Rescue Me (Fontella Bass song)
"Rescue Me" is a song written by Fontella Bass, Raynard Miner and Carl William Smith. In 1965, it was released as a single by Fontella Bass. It would prove the biggest hit of Bass' career, reaching #1 on the R&B charts for four weeks and placing at #4 on the Billboard Hot 100...
" shot up the charts in the fall and winter of 1965. After a month-long run at the top of the R&B charts, the song reached #4 at the pop charts and gave Chess its first million-selling single since Chuck Berry
Chuck Berry
Charles Edward Anderson "Chuck" Berry is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter, and one of the pioneers of rock and roll music. With songs such as "Maybellene" , "Roll Over Beethoven" , "Rock and Roll Music" and "Johnny B...
a decade earlier. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc
Music recording sales certification
Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,...
.
Bass followed with "Recovery," which did moderately well, peaking at #13 (R&B) and #37 (pop) in early 1966. The same year brought two more R&B hits, "I Can't Rest" (backed with "I Surrender)" and "You'll Never Know." Her only album with Chess Records
Chess Records
Chess Records was an American record label based in Chicago, Illinois. It specialized in blues, R&B, soul, gospel music, early rock and roll, and occasional jazz releases....
, The New Look, sold reasonably well, but Bass soon became disillusioned with Chess and decided to leave the label after only two years, in 1967. By her own account, she was effectively cheated out of her royalties for "Rescue Me", which she had co-written with pianist Raynard Miner:
- "I had the first million seller for Chess since Chuck Berry about 10 years before. Things were riding high for them, but when it came time to collect my first royalty check, I looked at it, saw how little it was, tore it up and threw it back across the desk."
Bass demanded a better royalty rate and artistic control; she approached her then manager Billy Davis about securing her writing credit on the song but was told not to worry about it. When the record came out and her name was still not on it she was told it would be on the legal documents, but this never happened. She continued to agitate about the matter for a couple years but later recalled: "It actually side-stepped me in the business because I got a reputation of being a trouble maker."
Tiring of the mainstream music scene, she and husband Lester Bowie left America and moved to Paris in 1969, where she recorded two albums with the Art Ensemble of Chicago
Art Ensemble of Chicago
The Art Ensemble of Chicago is an avant-garde jazz ensemble that grew out of Chicago's AACM in the late 1960s. The group continues to tour and record through 2006, despite the deaths of two of the founding members....
– Art Ensemble of Chicago with Fontella Bass
Art Ensemble of Chicago with Fontella Bass
Art Ensemble of Chicago with Fontella Bass is a 1970 album by the Art Ensemble of Chicago recorded in Paris and first released on the America label...
and Les Stances a Sophie
Les Stances a Sophie
Les Stances a Sophie is a 1970 soundtrack album by the Art Ensemble of Chicago recorded in Paris for a French film directed by Moshe Mizrahi and first released on the Pathé Marconi label in France and on Nessa Records in the U.S.. It features performances by Lester Bowie, Joseph Jarman, Roscoe...
(both 1970). The latter was the soundtrack from the French movie of the same title. Bass's vocals, backed by the powerful, pulsating push of the band has allowed the "Theme De YoYo" to remain an underground cult classic ever since. She also appeared on Bowie's The Great Pretender
The Great Pretender (Lester Bowie album)
The Great Pretender is the first album by Lester Bowie recorded for ECM and released in 1981.-Reception:The Allmusic review by Michael G. Nastos awarded the album 4 stars stating "The Great Pretender is a perfect title for this effort, a mix of funk and humor, gospel and jazz, with no small points...
(1981) and All the Magic
All the Magic
All the Magic is the second album by Lester Bowie recorded for ECM. It was released in 1982 as a double LP with the first disc consisting of band performances and a second disc of solo trumpet improvisations by Bowie.-Reception:...
(1982).
Even with the success of "Rescue Me" it was many years and much litigation before Bass would be credited with her share of the songwriting and the royalties. In 1993 Bass sued American Express
American Express
American Express Company or AmEx, is an American multinational financial services corporation headquartered in Three World Financial Center, Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States. Founded in 1850, it is one of the 30 components of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The company is best...
and Ogilvy & Mather
Ogilvy & Mather
Ogilvy & Mather is an international advertising, marketing and public relations agency based in Manhattan and owned by the WPP Group. The company operates 497 offices in 125 countries with approximately 16,000 employees.-History:...
for the unauthorized use of the song in a commercial for the credit card giant.
Later career and life
The next few years found Bass at a number of different labels, but saw no notable successes. After her second album, Free, flopped in 1972, Bass retired from music and concentrated on raising a family (she has four children with Bowie). She returned occasionally, being featured as a background vocalist on several recordings, including those by Bowie. In 1990 she recorded a gospel album with her mother and brother David Peaston, called Promises: A Family Portrait of Faith and undertook a fall tour of the US West Coast, called "Juke Joints and Jubilee", which featured both traditional gospel and blues performers. During the 1990s she hosted a short-lived Chicago radio talk show, released several gospel records on independent labels; through old friend Hamiet Bluett, she was invited to perform three tracks on the World Saxophone QuartetWorld Saxophone Quartet
The World Saxophone Quartet is a jazz ensemble founded in 1977, implementing elements of free funk and African jazz into their musical routines.-History:...
album Breath of Life.
Like many artists of her time, Bass experienced a revival of interest. She was featured on the PBS Special and accompanying DVD, "Soul Celebration. Soul Spectacular" recorded live at Heinz Hall in Pittsburgh, PA, November 2001. Her voice can be heard on two tracks on The Cinematic Orchestra
The Cinematic Orchestra
The Cinematic Orchestra is a British jazz and electronic outfit, created in 1997 by Jason Swinscoe. The band is signed to Ninja Tune independent record label. In addition to Swinscoe, the band includes PC former DJ Food member on turntables, Luke Flowers , Tom Chant , Nick Ramm , Stuart McCallum ...
's 2002 album Every Day, and another two tracks on their 2007 album Ma Fleur.
She has been inducted into the St. Louis Walk of Fame
St. Louis Walk of Fame
The St. Louis Walk of Fame honors well-known people from St. Louis, Missouri, who made contributions to culture of the United States. All inductees were either born in the Greater St. Louis area or spent their formative or creative years there...
. She is the older sister of R&B singer David Peaston
David Peaston
David Peaston is an American R&B/gospel singer who in 1990 won a Soul Train Music Award for Best R&B/Soul or Rap New Artist...
, who was a former Showtime at the Apollo
Showtime at the Apollo
Showtime at the Apollo is a syndicated music television show, first broadcast on September 12, 1987 to May 24, 2008 with 1093 episodes, and is produced by the Apollo Theater...
champion.
Singles
| Year | Single | US R&B Singles Rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a... | US Pop Singles | Album |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1965 | "Don't Mess Up a Good Thing" | 5 | 33 | The New Look |
| "Rescue Me Rescue Me (Fontella Bass song) "Rescue Me" is a song written by Fontella Bass, Raynard Miner and Carl William Smith. In 1965, it was released as a single by Fontella Bass. It would prove the biggest hit of Bass' career, reaching #1 on the R&B charts for four weeks and placing at #4 on the Billboard Hot 100... " |
1 | 4 | ||
| "You'll Miss Me (When I'm Gone)" | 27 | 91 | ||
| 1966 | "I Can't Rest" | 31 | - | Rescued: The Best of Fontella Bass |
| "I Surrender" | 33 | 78 | ||
| "Recovery" | 13 | 37 | ||
| "Safe and Sound" | - | 100 | Where the Girls Are Vol. 3 | |
| "You'll Never Know" | 34 | - | Rescued: The Best of Fontella Bass | |
| 1967 | "Lucky In Love"/"Sweet Lovin' Daddy" | - | - | "The Very Best of Fontella Bass" |
Selected albums
| Year | Album |
|---|---|
| 1966 | The New Look |
| 1970 | Les Stances a Sophie Les Stances a Sophie Les Stances a Sophie is a 1970 soundtrack album by the Art Ensemble of Chicago recorded in Paris for a French film directed by Moshe Mizrahi and first released on the Pathé Marconi label in France and on Nessa Records in the U.S.. It features performances by Lester Bowie, Joseph Jarman, Roscoe... ; with the Art Ensemble of Chicago |
| 1972 | Free |
| 1980 | From the Root to the Source |
| 1992 | Rescued: The Best of Fontella Bass |
| 1995 | No Ways Tired |
| 1996 | Now That I Found a Good Thing |
| 2001 | Travelin |
External links
- [ Fontella Bass biography at Allmusic]
- Fontella Bass: Coming Full Circle
- Fontella Bass page