Fontella Bass & Jack Klugman

[danthered]

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Fontella Bass is dead at 72. Being black and female, as usual she got super double extra badly screwed by those running the record labels. Unlike many of her contemporaries, she successfully fought back-in 1990 Ogilvy & Mather blithely used "Rescue Me" in an American Express TV commercial without Bass' required permission. In 1993 Bass sued and won

Comments

[dhpbear]

Fontella's estate should now make arrangements to compensate the listening audience for the sheer over-playing of "Rescue Me" :)

[teddyb]

Thanks for this reminder of the great Fontella Bass and the additional history. I very much remember the American Express ad, and how brilliant the choice of her song was. I had no idea of the back story about her lawsuit, and I am delighted she won.

By the way, have you seen the clips on YouTube of some of her later work with the Cinematic Orchestra?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EoC-g85aeFw

[danthered]

H'mm. the linked track is not really to my taste. But yeah, hell of a voice, eh!

[teddyb]

Here's a link to another great recording by Fontella Bass:

Talking About Freedom

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4p0zDYHRk0g