Sara Lee (musician)
Encyclopedia
Sara Lee is an English
bassist
and singer-songwriter, best known for replacing Dave Allen on bass guitar in post-punk
band Gang of Four
. Lee confirmed in an interview on Rundgrenradio.com that Sara Lee is her birth name.
, Lee's entire family was musical. Both parents were music teachers (her father was latterly a bass Songman in the choir of York Minster
), her sister a cellist, and her brother a trombone player. Music formed an important part of her childhood. She played tympani and double bass
in school and local orchestras as a teenager, until the day she discovered the electric bass guitar.
After playing with a couple of local bands, she moved to London
and worked as a secretary at Polydor Records. Here she was discovered by King Crimson
leader Robert Fripp
, who was encouraged to stay at a show to see "a girl who works in the office." Fripp invited her to join his band The League Of Gentlemen
.
Lee went on to work with Robyn Hitchcock
on his album Groovy Decay
and famed political punk band Gang of Four
in England, and later moved to the United States. Lee became a sought-after session, concert and recording artist, playing with the Thompson Twins
before she crossed paths with The B-52's
during the recording of their Cosmic Thing album, and can be seen in the "Love Shack
" video. Following a stint on the Cosmic tour, Sara formed The Raging Hormones with B-52 session drummer Charley Drayton
. She then started a seven-year run with the Indigo Girls
, contributing "sterling performances". In 1996 and 1997 she accompanied singer-songwriter Ani DiFranco
on tours of Europe and North America, as documented on the double-live album Living in Clip
.
Lee has played with many other artists, including Joan Osborne
, Ryuichi Sakamoto
and Fiona Apple
, and was a close friend of David Bowie
bassist Gail Ann Dorsey
.
Lee re-joined the B-52s as a touring member in 1999.
On September 12, 2000 she released her debut solo album Make It Beautiful on Difranco's Righteous Babe records. Lee recorded instrumental tracks, which were sent to musicians with whom she had previously worked to provide lyrics, including Ani DiFranco
, Emily Saliers of the Indigo Girls
, Pal Shazar
, Barbara Gogan of The Passions and Kristen Hall
.
She replaced Rachel Haden
for the final dates of Todd Rundgren's
2009 Arena
tour.
Lee was also a judge for the 5th annual Independent Music Awards
to support independent artists' careers.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
bassist
Bassist
A bass player, or bassist is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass, bass guitar, keyboard bass or a low brass instrument such as a tuba or sousaphone. Different musical genres tend to be associated with one or more of these instruments...
and singer-songwriter, best known for replacing Dave Allen on bass guitar in post-punk
Post-punk
Post-punk is a rock music movement with its roots in the late 1970s, following on the heels of the initial punk rock explosion of the mid-1970s. The genre retains its roots in the punk movement but is more introverted, complex and experimental...
band Gang of Four
Gang of Four (band)
Gang of Four are an English post-punk group from Leeds. Original personnel were singer Jon King, guitarist Andy Gill, bass guitarist Dave Allen and drummer Hugo Burnham. They were fully active from 1977 to 1984, and then re-emerged twice in the 1990s with King and Gill...
. Lee confirmed in an interview on Rundgrenradio.com that Sara Lee is her birth name.
Biography
Born in the West Midlands of EnglandEngland
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, Lee's entire family was musical. Both parents were music teachers (her father was latterly a bass Songman in the choir of York Minster
York Minster
York Minster is a Gothic cathedral in York, England and is one of the largest of its kind in Northern Europe alongside Cologne Cathedral. The minster is the seat of the Archbishop of York, the second-highest office of the Church of England, and is the cathedral for the Diocese of York; it is run by...
), her sister a cellist, and her brother a trombone player. Music formed an important part of her childhood. She played tympani and double bass
Double bass
The double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
in school and local orchestras as a teenager, until the day she discovered the electric bass guitar.
After playing with a couple of local bands, she moved to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and worked as a secretary at Polydor Records. Here she was discovered by King Crimson
King Crimson
King Crimson are a rock band founded in London, England in 1969. Often categorised as a foundational progressive rock group, the band have incorporated diverse influences and instrumentation during their history...
leader Robert Fripp
Robert Fripp
Robert Fripp is an English guitarist, composer and record producer. He was ranked 42nd on Rolling Stone magazine's 2003 list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" and #47 on Gibson.com’s "Top 50 Guitarists of All Time". Among rock guitarists, Fripp is a master of crosspicking, a technique...
, who was encouraged to stay at a show to see "a girl who works in the office." Fripp invited her to join his band The League Of Gentlemen
League of Gentlemen (band)
The League of Gentlemen was a band active during March–December 1980 that featured guitarist Robert Fripp of King Crimson fame. Other members included bass guitarist Sara Lee , keyboardist Barry Andrews and percussionist Johnny Toobad, replaced late in the band's tenure by Kevin Wilkinson...
.
Lee went on to work with Robyn Hitchcock
Robyn Hitchcock
Robyn Rowan Hitchcock is an English singer-songwriter and guitarist. While primarily a vocalist and guitarist, he also plays harmonica, piano and bass guitar....
on his album Groovy Decay
Groovy Decay
Groovy Decay was the second solo album by Robyn Hitchcock, released in 1982. His backing band for the record featured Sara Lee of Gang of Four on bass and Anthony Thistlethwaite of the Waterboys on sax....
and famed political punk band Gang of Four
Gang of Four (band)
Gang of Four are an English post-punk group from Leeds. Original personnel were singer Jon King, guitarist Andy Gill, bass guitarist Dave Allen and drummer Hugo Burnham. They were fully active from 1977 to 1984, and then re-emerged twice in the 1990s with King and Gill...
in England, and later moved to the United States. Lee became a sought-after session, concert and recording artist, playing with the Thompson Twins
Thompson Twins
The Thompson Twins were a British pop group that were formed in April 1977 and disbanded in May 1993. They achieved considerable popularity in the mid 1980s, scoring a string of hits in the United Kingdom, the United States and around the globe. The band was named after the two bumbling detectives...
before she crossed paths with The B-52's
The B-52's
The B-52's are an American rock band, formed in Athens, Georgia in 1976. The original line-up consisted of Fred Schneider , Kate Pierson , Cindy Wilson , Ricky Wilson , and Keith Strickland . Following Ricky Wilson's death in 1985 Strickland switched to guitar...
during the recording of their Cosmic Thing album, and can be seen in the "Love Shack
Love Shack
"Love Shack" is a single by rock band The B-52's. Originally released in 1989 from their album Cosmic Thing, the single was the band's biggest hit song and first million-copy seller...
" video. Following a stint on the Cosmic tour, Sara formed The Raging Hormones with B-52 session drummer Charley Drayton
Charley Drayton
Charley Drayton is an American multi-instrumental musician and producer, who has played as a drummer and bass guitarist for many bands and artists and is currently the drummer in Australian rock bands Divinyls and Cold Chisel....
. She then started a seven-year run with the Indigo Girls
Indigo Girls
The Indigo Girls are an American folk rock music duo, consisting of Amy Ray and Emily Saliers. They met in elementary school and began performing together as high school students in Decatur, Georgia, part of the Atlanta metropolitan area...
, contributing "sterling performances". In 1996 and 1997 she accompanied singer-songwriter Ani DiFranco
Ani DiFranco
Ani DiFranco is an American Grammy Award-winning singer, guitarist, poet, and songwriter. She has released more than 20 albums, and is widely considered a feminist icon.-Biography:...
on tours of Europe and North America, as documented on the double-live album Living in Clip
Living in Clip
Living in Clip is a live album by singer-songwriter Ani DiFranco, released in 1997. The title is from a comment made by live sound engineer Larry Berger, indicating that the amplifiers weren't merely being overdriven into clipping occasionally ; they were clipping so much that they were "living in...
.
Lee has played with many other artists, including Joan Osborne
Joan Osborne
Joan Elizabeth Osborne is an American singer-songwriter. She is best known for her song "One of Us". She has toured with Motown sidemen the Funk Brothers and was featured in the documentary film about them, Standing in the Shadows of Motown.-Biography:Originally from Anchorage, Kentucky, a suburb...
, Ryuichi Sakamoto
Ryuichi Sakamoto
After working as a session musician with Haruomi Hosono and Yukihiro Takahashi in 1977, the trio formed the internationally successful electronic music band Yellow Magic Orchestra in 1978. Known for their seminal influence on electronic music, the group helped pioneer electronic genres such as...
and Fiona Apple
Fiona Apple
Fiona Apple McAfee Maggart is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. Apple met international acclaim for her 1996 debut album, Tidal, which was a critical and commercial success...
, and was a close friend of David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...
bassist Gail Ann Dorsey
Gail Ann Dorsey
Gail Ann Dorsey is an American musician considered one of the premier bass guitarists and vocalists within the alternative rock scene. With a distinguished career as a session musician, it has been most notably her long association performing in David Bowie's band, from 1995 to the present day,...
.
Lee re-joined the B-52s as a touring member in 1999.
On September 12, 2000 she released her debut solo album Make It Beautiful on Difranco's Righteous Babe records. Lee recorded instrumental tracks, which were sent to musicians with whom she had previously worked to provide lyrics, including Ani DiFranco
Ani DiFranco
Ani DiFranco is an American Grammy Award-winning singer, guitarist, poet, and songwriter. She has released more than 20 albums, and is widely considered a feminist icon.-Biography:...
, Emily Saliers of the Indigo Girls
Indigo Girls
The Indigo Girls are an American folk rock music duo, consisting of Amy Ray and Emily Saliers. They met in elementary school and began performing together as high school students in Decatur, Georgia, part of the Atlanta metropolitan area...
, Pal Shazar
Pal Shazar
Pal Shazar is a US singer/songwriter. She was a founding member, with Andrew Chinich, of the 1980s New Wave pop group Slow Children, and married one of the band's producers Jules Shear in the late 1980s....
, Barbara Gogan of The Passions and Kristen Hall
Kristen Hall
Kristen Alyson Hall is an American folk rock singer/songwriter. In 2002, she was a founding member of the country music group Sugarland. She left the group in December 2005.-Lawsuit:...
.
She replaced Rachel Haden
Rachel Haden
Rachel Haden is the current bass guitarist for Todd Rundgren on his "Arena Rock" tour, and one of the triplet daughters of jazz bassist Charlie Haden....
for the final dates of Todd Rundgren's
Todd Rundgren
Todd Harry Rundgren is an American multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and record producer. Hailed in the early stage of his career as a new pop-wunderkind, supported by the certified gold solo double LP Something/Anything? in 1972, Todd Rundgren's career has produced a diverse range of recordings...
2009 Arena
Arena (Todd Rundgren album)
Arena is an album by rock musician Todd Rundgren that was released in 2008.Like several of his earlier albums, this was entirely a solo effort, with Rundgren playing all the instruments. In contrast to his earlier albums, he produced this album entirely on an Apple laptop computer using...
tour.
Lee was also a judge for the 5th annual Independent Music Awards
The Independent Music Awards
The Independent Music Awards is an international program that honors top-ranked independent artists and releases in more than 50 Album, Song, Music Video and Design categories....
to support independent artists' careers.
External links
- Rundgren Radio online audio interview with Sara Lee from 11/18/09
- Archive of Lee's former website Basiclee.com on Archive.org (Requires Flash)