Fontella Bass, 1

So, you KNOW this song:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXSocE_M1G4

"Rescue me, take me in your arms
Rescue me, I want your tender charm
'Cause I'm lonely and I'm blue
I need you and your love too
Come on and rescue me...."

...but, do you know Fontella Bass?

She grew up singing gospel with her mom, but soon found her way into the bar circuit, singing with blues great Little Milton and soul legend Oliver Sain. Early in her career, she recorded a top-10 R&B hit with Bobby McCLure:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufQQUdeCaec

(anyone else hear the blueprint for Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell there?)

Then she made her solo debut with THAT song....and, by the way, she didn't just sing that song, she WROTE it. And she refused to roll over when Chess Records wouldn't give her the writing credit, or her royalties. Which pretty much killed her "career". A few singles and one album later, she found herself off the label and a virtual exile in Paris.

Which wasn't that bad. In Paris, she made two great albums and the legendary Theme De YoYo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=perVFDDy_xg

with the Art Ensemble of Chicago and her husband, the trumpeter Lester Bowie (whom she'd met in Little Milton's band). Returning to the States, she recorded her best solo album, "Free" (1972) and the great lost single "Who You Gonna Blame". They were huge artistic successes and even bigger commercial failure.

Soon afterwards, Bass quit performing and stayed home to raise the four kids she had with Bowie. And that was that, except.....it wasn't.

In the 90s Bass made her comeback as a gospel singer, with the albums "No Ways Tired" and "Travellin'". Her voice is a little more reined-in than you might expect, but the songs are wonderful, and so is she. Others noticed, and she got to do the occasional guest spot, like this memorable one, where she first appears just over 50 seconds in:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0F1RVXfiWEE

Oh, and, those royalties? After over 30 years and countless lawsuits, Bass finally started collecting them. Sometimes, things DO turn out right.