Fontella Bass
Wikimp3 information about the music of Fontella Bass. On our website we have 15 albums and 70 collections of artist Fontella Bass. You can find useful information and download songs of this artist. We also know that Fontella Bass represents Hip Hop/R&B genres.
Biography
[Edit]The 1965 classic "Rescue Me" is widely regarded as the greatest record Aretha Franklin never made. The song in question was instead cut by singer Fontella Bass, who like Franklin channeled the power and passion of her gospel roots to create some of the finest music of soul's golden age. Born in St. Louis, Missouri, on July 3, 1940, Bass was the daughter of gospel vocalist Martha Bass, a longtime member of the renowned Clara Ward Singers. Her grandmother Navada Carter was also a professional gospel performer, and it was inevitable that Fontella follow suit, making her church choir debut at age five. Nevertheless, during the mid-'50s she rebelled against tradition, sneaking out of the house to sing secular R&B at local fairs and nightclubs. By 16, Bass was the house pianist at the St. Louis nightspot the Showbar, and in 1961 she joined local blues great Little Milton Campbell, later marrying the band's trumpeter, fledgling jazz titan Lester Bowie. Bass first earned notice for her vocal on Little Milton's 1962 hit "So Mean to Me," soon followed by her Bobbin label solo debut, "I Don't Hurt Anymore." But when Campbell and his pianist Oliver Sain parted ways, Bass exited along with Sain, who named her lead vocalist of his Oliver Sain Soul Revue. Her second single, the Ike Turner-produced "I Love the Man," followed on Turner's Prann label in 1963. Bass then cut "Poor Little Fool," a duet with Tina Turner issued on the Vesuvius imprint. And when she wasn't performing with Sain and his group, she moonlighted as a solo act, playing gigs across East St. Louis under the alias "Sabrina."
After the 1964 release of the Oliver Sain Soul Revue's debut effort, "Heavy Sugar," the pianist escorted Bass and singer Bobby McClure to Chicago, where he produced their duet, "Don't Mess Up a Good Thing," for Chess Records' Checker imprint. The single proved a Top Ten hit, and even after Bass left the group to mount a solo career, Sain remained a close collaborator. She relocated to Chicago in 1965 and late that same year scored the biggest hit of her career with her solo debut, "Rescue Me." A buoyant dance classic made memorable by Bass' impassioned, gritty vocal as well as the percolating bass of Chess session mainstay Louis Satterfield and Gene Barge's dynamic horn arrangement, the single topped the R&B charts for a month and crossed over to the pop Top Five. One of the biggest-selling records in Chess' storied history, "Rescue Me" remains an unqualified classic of the era and is a staple of oldies radio to this day, although many listeners now mistake the record as the work of Aretha Franklin, who ironically enough did not even enter the popular consciousness until two years later. Worse, Bass never received proper credit or financial remuneration for co-writing the song, and her subsequent battles with Chess execs earned her a reputation as a malcontent. The "Rescue Me" sound-alike "Recovery" followed in early 1966, reaching the R&B Top 20, but Bass' run as a hitmaker proved frustratingly short, and after scoring a minor hit late that same year with "Sweet Lovin' Daddy," she never returned to the U.S. charts again.
With her career mired in neutral, Bass exited Checker in 1969 and with husband Bowie — now a renowned avant-garde player best known for his work with the Art Ensemble of Chicago — relocated to Paris. There she collaborated with the group on an LP, the acclaimed The Art Ensemble of Chicago with Fontella Bass, but otherwise focused on raising a family until returning to St. Louis in 1971, renewing ties with Oliver Sain and signing to the Shreveport, Louisiana-based Paula label. The superb single "Who You Gonna Blame" anticipated the 1972 release of the Sain-produced Free, a remarkably soulful set that is by far the most memorable LP of Bass' career. Attention from radio and retail was negligible, however, and after subsequent singles including "Now That I've Found a Good Thing" and "It's Hard to Get Back In" flopped, she exited Paula in 1974, not resurfacing until three years later with the Epic single "Soon as I Touched Him." Apart from occasional guest appearances with the Art Ensemble of Chicago, she spent the remainder of the 1970s and most of the 1980s as a homemaker, confining her musical pursuits to her Baptist church choir, but in 1990 she teamed with her mother and brother David Peaston for a gospel LP, Promises: A Family Portrait of Faith. Bass continued her return to spiritual music with the 1995 Nonesuch release No Ways Tired, touring Europe regularly in the years leading up to the 2001 appearance of her follow-up outing, Travellin', a collaboration with the Voices of St. Louis gospel choir issued on the Canadian indie Justin Time. In subsequent years Bass suffered a series of strokes, followed by a heart attack in early December 2012 — she died in a St. Louis hospice on December 26, 2012 at the age of 72.
Collections
Title: Soul Classics
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Soul
Title: Rhythm & Soul CD 1
Genre: Soul
Title: The Ultimate Collection - Soul: 100 Hits CD 1
Genre: Soul
Title: Vintage Music Collectors Series CD 9
Genre: Pop Rock
Title: The Weekend Starts Here CD 1
Genre: Pop
Title: 101 Soul Classics CD 5
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Soul
Title: Sister Act
Genre: Theatre/Soundtrack
Title: Ladies & Gentlemen CD1
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Rock, Pop, Funk
Title: Soul Deep: The Story Of Black Popular Music (Disc 2)
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Soul, Gospel
Title: Soul Sisters CD3
Genre: Soul
Title: Soul Divas
Title: The Best Sixties Album In The World... Ever! CD2
Genre: Rock
Title: 100 Hits Of The Sixties - CD1
Genre: Rock & Roll, Pop
Title: Body & Soul CD 1
Genre: Soul
Title: Absolute 60s (CD2)
Title: Impresindibles M80 (CD3)
Genre: World Music, Disco, Pop
Title: Grey'S Anatomy (Season 6)
Genre: Indie Pop, Theatre/Soundtrack
Title: De Zwarte Lijst Volume 2 (CD 3)
Genre: Pop
Title: Solid Gold - Sweet Soul Music
Genre: Soul
Title: Chess Divas
Genre: Jazz
Title: 100 Sixties Classics (CD3)
Title: 100 Sixties Classics (CD5)
Title: The Best Sixties Album Ever (CD1)
Genre: Rock
Title: Trip - Hop - The Best Of (CD1)
Genre: Downtempo, Trip Hop, Electronica, Jazz
Title: Chess Soul Sisters
Title: De Zwarte Lijst Vol. 02 - Feel The Flow - (CD3)
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Soul, Disco, Pop, Funk
Title: De Zwarte Lijst Vol. 02 - Feel The Flow - (CD3)
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Soul, Disco, Pop, Funk
Title: Arte Summer Of Soul (CD1)
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Soul, Jazz
Title: Purely Hits Of The 60s (CD2)
Genre: Pop
Title: Girls Girls Girls Vol. 8
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Soul
Title: Girls Archiv Vol. 01
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Soul
Title: Beg, Scream & Shout! The Big Ol' Box Of '60s Soul
Genre: Soul
Title: City Lounge The Best Of (CD2)
Genre: Downtempo, Trip Hop, Electronica, Hip Hop/R&B, Soul, Jazz, Funk
Title: Oldies But Goodies Vol 12
Title: NME Top 500 Songs Of All Time (Parte II) (CD2)
Genre: Pop
Title: Solid Gold Vol. 3 - Sweet Soul Music
Genre: Soul
Title: Ministry Of Sound - Karma Collection 2003 (CD1)
Genre: Electronica
Title: Sweet Soul Music 1965
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Soul, Gospel
Title: When Rock & Roll Was Young (CD10)
Genre: Rock, Rock & Roll
Title: Jewel / Paula Records Soul Story (CD2)
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Soul, Blues
Title: The Chess Story 1947-1975 (CD10)
Genre: Blues
Title: The Chess Story 1947-1975 (CD11)
Genre: Blues
Title: Greatest Ever Mod (CD1)
Title: Twogether - Soul (Le Meilleur Des Hits Soul & R&B)
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Soul, Funk
Title: Where Southern Soul Began 1954-1962 (CD2)
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Soul, Blues
Title: The Ultimate Collection: 60s Classics (CD2)
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Rock, Pop
Title: Where Southern Soul Began Vol. 2: 1955-1962 (CD2)
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Soul, Blues
Title: Driving Songs - The Ultimate Collection (CD3)
Genre: Blues, New Wave, Rock & Roll, Indie
Title: Ultimate Jukebox - Hits Of The 60s (CD1)
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Rock, Pop
Title: Musica Para Tu Auto 60 Essential Driving Songs (CD2)
Genre: Rock
Title: Chess Soul - A Decade Of Chicago's Finest (CD2)
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Soul
Title: Soul Shots Vol. 1
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Soul, Funk
Title: Most Wanted 60s R&B
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Blues
Title: The Sixties Album: The Album Of The Decade (CD3)
Genre: Soul, Pop, Instrumental
Title: 60s - Back To The Sixties (CD05)
Genre: Rock
Title: The Sixties Album (CD3)
Genre: Club/Dance
Title: Jukebox Hits Of 1965, Volume 2
Genre: Pop
Title: Musica Del Recuerdo Los Exitos De Los 70 80 Y 90 (CD1)
Genre: Pop
Title: True Soul (CD1)
Title: 50 Greatest Soul
Featuring albums
Title: Café del Mar Jazz 2 / Cafe del Mar Jazz 2
Artist: Café Del Mar / Cafe Del Mar
Genre: Electronica, Jazz
Title: 20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection: Best Of The '60s
Artist: Various Artists
Genre: Pop
Title: Gospel Live from Mountain Stage
Artist: Various Artists
Genre: Blues, Gospel, Rock, Alternative Rock, Christian Rock, Metal, Christian Country Music, Alternative
Title: What's Happening Brother? Socially Conscious Soul
Artist: Various Artists
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Soul
Title: Soul Spectacular! The Greatest Soul Hits & Rarities of All Time!
Artist: Various Artists
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Soul
Title: Karaoke - Singing to the Hits: Soul Style (Rerecorded Version)
Artist: Various Artists
Genre:
Title: Past, Present & Future: Classics, Instrumentals & Exclusives
Artist: Cinematic Orchestra
Genre: Electronica
Title: From The Earth To The Moon (Original Soundtrack)
Artist: Michael Kamen
Genre: Theatre/Soundtrack
Title: Soul Sisters: The Very Best Of Female Soul Singers
Artist: Jessie Ware
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Soul, Disco, Funk
Title: The Ultimate Collection (CD01)
Artist: Girls Night Out
Genre: Hard NRG, Post Disco, Electropop, Soul, Gospel, Dancefloor, Disco, Dance Pop, Funk
Title: Ultimate Collection 5CD (CD2)
Artist: Northern Soul