09-17-13 Sky Young Groove U

Ralph Bass: Reaching Success

!You ever wake up in the morning, jump out of bed and say “I feel good I knew that I would” the famous lyrics. Well, little known fact James Brown was founded by a pioneer of the music business, . He also, directly contributed to the merge of black music with the American mainstream music. From the Bronx to L.A. Ralph founded some of the most successful record labels such. Along the way breaking the segregation barrier one hit at a time. His success traveled coast to coast starting in New York City. !The Bronx, New York City is where this story all began. Little Ralph just six year of age began his music journey with the violin. As a young man Ralph took frequent trips to go travel the South. He found that what he saw made him feel so emotionally attached to the Southern style of living. He loved the food, the culture, the people, and most of all he loved the music. “Black Music” a term which many of us now know to be rhythm and and . Ralph attended Colgate University and New York University. Not long after he left for the west coast chasing the music. ! L.A. is where his story picks up. Ralph was working for a manufacturing company and part time in a liquor store. One day, he got asked to DJ for a company event. It was then he decided that he was tired of seeing the audiences so segregated. Not long after Bass found himself a job with Black and White Records and started making records. While at Black and White he made hits with many names, most notably Storm Monday by T Bone Walker and a comedy act Open the Door Richard. Ralph left Black and White Records and later admitted that he left because he learned what not to do rather then what to do. After leaving Black and White he created Bop Records. With just a couple recordings, one being a two part saxophone battle, he was not getting where he wanted to be. After Bop Records he founded Portrait Records. At Portrait it was much of the same, he recorded an amazing jazz pianist Errol Garner. In 1948 Bass began a new career with . This was fortunate for both Savoy and Ralph Bass, because many say these were Ralph’s golden years. !Savoy is now known as one of the biggest jazz labels with names like John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, and a Ralph Bass discovery, . After three years Ralph moved on to King Records. King Records hired Ralph to run a new branch called . Bass being the R&B king at this point went straight to work. was the owner of King Records and was following an artist by the name of James Brown. Little did he know that Ralph also had his eye on James. Syd decided that he did not want to pursue James anymore, and sure enough Ralph swooped in to do the job. This is was huge not only for King Records but for Federal Records as well. It soon made Federal Records a household name. Producing hits such as “Kansas CIty” for seven years at Federal and Ralph switched things up again. This time to . Here Ralph spent 18 years producing r&b, soul, blues, sensations. Chess and Ralph would produce names like Sonny Boy, , and . Ralph had a long a successful run and help integrate music as we know it. !With a passion for music Ralph Bass was unstoppable. He had a dream and he chased it and never looked back. American music today consist of many r&b, Jazz, or Blues tunes, and can be considered a music revolution. Not only did he bring audiences together with a common interest for music; but he founded some of the most successful independent labels. Ralph Bass was inducted into the music Hall of Fame as a non performer in 1991. Ralph passed away March 5th, 1977, he was 66 years of age. “They call it Stormy Monday, But Tuesdays just as bad’!!