Ralph Bass

nato il 1.5.1911 a New York City, NY, Stati Uniti d'America

morto il 5.3.1997

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Ralph Bass

Da Wikipedia, l'enciclopedia libera

Ralph Bass (1 May 1911 5 March 1997), born Ralph Basso, Jr., was an American rhythm and blues (R&B) record producer and talent scout for several independent labels. He was a pioneer in bringing black music into the American mainstream. During his long career he worked for such labels as Black & White Records, Savoy Records, King Records, Federal Records and Chess Records, recording some of the greatest performers in black music, including Etta James, Sam Cooke, James Brown, Earl Bostic and groups such as The Platters and The Dominoes. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991 as a non-performer.[1] Ralph fathered two sons, Michael and Dennis Bass from his first marriage to Alice Bass. Ralph and Alice split up and Ralph later married Shirley Bassey whom he was wed to until he died in March 1997. Ralph's youngest son Dennis Bass went into the navy before becoming a highly successful entrepreneur and real estate developer. Dennis was bitten by the entertainment bug serving as executive producer behind Toller Cranston's "The Ice Show" on Broadway in 1977 starring Olympic gold medalist Toller Cranston. Dennis who lived in Malibu, California with his wife Darla Bass and two daughters Elizabeth Ann Bass and Shauna Dennise Bass, died June 2, 1996 after a battle with spindle cell sarcoma of the liver. Ralph's grandchildren Elizabeth and Shauna currently reside in New York, NY and are registered in the U.S. Copyright Office as the copyright holders for Bass' vast music catalogue. Ralph's youngest granddaughter Shauna Bass is also in the entertainment industry serving as OK! Magazine's on air correspondent as well as Entertainment and Beauty Director since 2007. In the James Brown biographical movie "Get On Up" produced by Bryan Grazer and Mick Jagger, actor Josh Hopkins will be playing Ralph Bass. The film will be released worldwide in 2014.

Career

Bass was born in The Bronx, New York, of an Italian-American-Catholic father, and a German-American-Jewish mother, As a young man, he visited the South and personally experienced the emotional power of black music in dance clubs. When he began his career as a record producer, segregation was in full effect and black performers were marginalized and relegated to one-night stands performing only to all-black audiences in a network of theatres and nightclubs known the Chitlin' Circuit. Bass decided to focus his career on bringing black music and black performers into the entertainment mainstream.[2]

In the 1940s at Black and White Records Bass got his start as an A&R man. He produced and recorded, among others, Lena Horne, Roosevelt Sykes, Jack McVea (suggesting he record the huge hit "Open the Door, Richard") and T-Bone Walker, including T-Bone's landmark "Call It Stormy Monday". From there he went on to help build two of the most successful independent labels, Savoy Records of New Jersey and King Records of Cincinnati, Ohio.[3] During this period, Bass toured the South with various blues bands, noted the large size of the audiences still predominantly black with but with an increasing numbers of whites. He sensed that the audience was changing.[4]

At Savoy Records from 1948 to 1951, he recorded Brownie McGhee and Johnny Otis. At Federal Records, a subsidiary of King run by Bass, he turned out a series of R&B hits, including such classics as The Dominoes' "Sixty Minute Man", "Have Mercy Baby" and Hank Ballard's "Work With Me, Annie". When Syd Nathan at King Records at first refused to sign James Brown to record "Please, Please, Please" because he thought the demo was a piece of trash (later changing his mind) Bass signed Brown to Federal and produced "Please, Please, Please", the first Federal single, which was a regional hit and eventually sold a million copies.[5][6] He produced the original version of the R&B standard "Kansas City" recorded by Little Willie Littlefield.

In 1959, the Chess brothers hired Bass away from King Records in Cincinnati to serve as A&R Director at Chess Records.[7] He was there until 1976, working with blues, gospel, R&B, and rock and roll artists, including Clara Ward, the Soul Stirrers, Etta James, Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters and Sonny Boy Williamson. He would compose the music for Pigmeat Markham's hit novelty single Here Comes the Judge[8] Later, for MCA Records he produced John Lee Hooker.[9]

References

  1. Watrous, Peter (January 17, 1919). Rock-and-Roll Hall of Fame Inducts Its 6th Crop of Legends. New York Times. Retrieved on 2006-11-08.
  2. Memorial Ralph Bass. State of Illinois 90th General AssemblyLegislation. Retrieved on 2006-11-29.
  3. Shaw, Arnold (1978). Honkers and Shouters, p. 225, 235247, New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.
  4. Keil, Charles (1991). Urban Blues, Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
  5. James Brown. history-of-rock. Retrieved on 2006-11-08.
  6. Hirshey, Gerri (1994). Nowhere to Run: The Sory of Soul Music, p. 6162, New York: Da Capo Press.
  7. The Chess Story. Retrieved on 2006-11-08.
  8. Rock'n'Roll Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on 2006-10-17. Retrieved on 2006-11-08.
  9. Real Folk Blues/More Real Folk Blues Hooker, John Lee. Retrieved on 2006-11-08.

External links

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