Fontella Bass

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Fontella Bass was an American R&B and soul singer and songwriter, born in 1940 in St. Louis, Missouri. She was the daughter of the gospel singer Martha Bass, who sang with the Clara Ward Singers, and the older sister of the singer David Peaston. At five she accompanied her grandmother's singing at funerals on the piano, at six she sang in the church choir, and at nine she went on tour with her mother through the South and Southwest. At seventeen she began performing professionally at the Showboat Club. Through the singer Little Milton and the bandleader Oliver Sain she joined the band, first as a pianist, then as a singer.

Music and breakthrough

She recorded for Bobbin Records and was produced by Ike Turner. Her 1964 single Poor Little Fool had Tina Turner as a backing singer, but had little success. Her big hit came in 1965 with Rescue Me, which reached number one on the R&B chart. She married the jazz trumpeter Lester Bowie and worked with the Art Ensemble of Chicago, which led to the album Art Ensemble of Chicago With Fontella Bass in 1971. After that came Free in 1972, No Ways Tired in 1995 and Rescue Me in 2005, among others. She also worked with The Cinematic Orchestra.

Influence

Bass received two Grammy nominations and a place on the St. Louis Walk of Fame. Her voice combines the power of gospel with the tight backing of 1960s soul. In this way she linked church, soul and avant-garde jazz. She died in 2012.

Listening

Discography

Studio albums

• 1966The New Look
• 1971Art Ensemble of Chicago With Fontella Bass
• 1972Free
• 1995No Ways Tired
• 2001Travellin’
• 2005Rescue Me

In School of Rock

The chapters, maps and magazine stories of School of Rock are currently available in Dutch only.

• After Hours: Session 3^NL Reader