Ralph Bass (1911–1997), born Ralph Basso Jr., was an American record producer, talent scout, and A&R executive whose career spanned more than five decades. Born in the Bronx, New York, Bass studied violin as a child and developed an early interest in jazz. He entered the recording business in the 1940s, working as a producer and talent scout for Black & White Records in Los Angeles.
At Black & White, Bass worked with artists including T-Bone Walker, Lena Horne, Roosevelt Sykes, and Jack McVea. He produced McVea’s 1947 hit “Open the Door, Richard!” and was involved in recording Walker’s influential “Call It Stormy Monday.” Bass subsequently established the short-lived Bop! Records before joining Savoy Records in 1948, where he recorded artists including Brownie McGhee, Johnny Otis, Little Esther Phillips, and Big Jay McNeely.
In 1951, Bass joined King Records and became closely associated with its Federal Records subsidiary. He produced recordings by the Dominoes and Hank Ballard and the Midnighters, and in 1956 signed James Brown to Federal and produced “Please, Please, Please.” He joined Chess Records in 1958, working with artists including Etta James, Howlin’ Wolf, Muddy Waters, and Sonny Boy Williamson.
Bass was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991 as a nonperformer. He died in New York City in 1997.
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[…] Records was a short-lived American independent record label founded in Los Angeles in 1947 by Ralph Bass, shortly after he left Black & White Records. Bass established the label to record and promote […]