Fontella Bass

Biography

Fontella Marie Bass was born on July 3, 1940, in St. Louis, Missouri, to gospel singer Martha Bass, with whom she began performing as a child, touring and singing gospel until age 16. She graduated from Soldan High School in 1958 and at 17 started her professional career as a pianist at the Showboat Club near Chain of Rocks, Missouri, backing blues singer Little Milton under bandleader Oliver Sain; soon promoted to featured vocalist, she joined Sain's Oliver Sain Soul Revue with Bobby McClure after a split from Milton.[1][2][3] Her early style blended gospel roots with emerging R&B and soul, influenced by her church background and St. Louis club scene.

Signed to Chess Records' Checker subsidiary in 1965 after moving to Chicago, Bass scored her breakthrough duet 'Don't Mess Up a Good Thing' with Bobby McClure, followed by her self-penned solo hit 'Rescue Me,' which reached No. 1 on the R&B chart and No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Chess's first million-seller since Chuck Berry. She released further singles like 'Recovery' before leaving due to royalties disputes in 1967, then married jazz trumpeter Lester Bowie, relocating to Paris in 1969 for avant-garde jazz albums with the Art Ensemble of Chicago, including 'Les Stances a Sophie.' Retiring briefly in 1972 to raise family, she resumed in the 1980s with jazz, blues, gospel crossovers, Grammy-nominated 'No Ways Tired' (1995), and 'Travellin'' (2001).[1][3][4]

Bass's legacy spans soul, gospel, jazz, and R&B, earning two Grammy nominations, induction into the St. Louis Walk of Fame, and enduring popularity for 'Rescue Me,' often performed in oldies revivals. She passed away on December 26, 2012, in St. Louis at age 72 from heart attack complications, remembered as the 'First Lady of St. Louis Soul' for her versatile voice and genre-crossing career.[1][2][3]

Fun Facts

• The bass line on 'Rescue Me' was played by drummer Maurice White, future founder of Earth, Wind & Fire.[4]
• Bass wrote 'Rescue Me' herself and received her first Grammy nomination for it in 1966, losing to Petula Clark.[1][4]
• She once corrected a young saxophonist for mistakenly calling 'Rescue Me' an Aretha Franklin song, yet they became close friends and collaborators.[4]
• After a 1990 conversion to Christianity, Bass embraced gospel but continued secular work, stating 'You can carry Christ in your heart, but you gotta work.'[4]

Associated Acts

• Art Ensemble of Chicago
• Lester Bowie Ensemble

Musical Connections

Mentors/Influences

• Martha Bass - Mother and gospel singer who taught her piano and singing (Gospel tours together) [Childhood to age 16]
• Oliver Sain - Bandleader who promoted her from pianist to vocalist (Oliver Sain Soul Revue) [c. 1957-1960s]

Key Collaborators

• Bobby McClure - Duet partner in soul revue and recordings ('Don't Mess Up a Good Thing' (1965)) [1960s]
• Lester Bowie - Husband and jazz trumpeter on multiple projects ('The Great Pretender' (1981), 'All the Magic' (1982), 'No Ways Tired' (1995)) [1969-1999]
• Art Ensemble of Chicago - Avant-garde jazz group co-founded by Lester Bowie ('Art Ensemble of Chicago with Fontella Bass' (1970), 'Les Stances a Sophie' (1970)) [1969-1970]
• Bosman Twins (Dwight and others) - Jazz saxophonists in Voices of St. Louis ('Live in Italy,' 'Travellin'' (2001)) [1980s-2001]

External Links

• Spotify
• Wikipedia
• MusicBrainz

Tags: #2008-universal-fire-victim, #avant-garde-jazz, #chicago-soul