Tag Archives: Ralph Bass

Muddy Waters: Can’t Get No Grindin’

In August 1973, “Chess” label released “Can’t Get No Grindin’”, the eight Muddy Waters album. It was recorded in March 1972, at “Ter-Mar Recording Studios” in Chicago, Illinois, and was produced by Ralph Bass. In 1991, the album was inducted into the “Blues Hall of Fame” as a “Classic of Blues Recording”.

Personnel:

  • Muddy Waters (McKinley Morganfield) – vocals, guitar
  • James Cotton – harmonica
  • Pinetop Perkins – piano, harpsichord
  • Sam Lawhorn, Pee Wee Madison – guitar
  • Calvin Jones – bass
  • Willie Smith – drums

Track listing:

All tracks by McKinley Morganfield, except where noted.

  1. Can’t Get No Grindin’ (What’s the Matter with the Meal)
  2. Mother’s Bad Luck Child
  3. Funky Butt
  4. Sad Letter
  5. Someday I’m Gonna Ketch You
  6. Love Weapon
  7. Garbage Man – Willie Hammond
  8. After Hours – Avery Parrish
  9. Whiskey Ain’t No Good
  10. Muddy Waters’ Shuffle

Ruben And The Jets: For Real!

In March 1973, “Mercury” label released “For Real!”, the debut Ruben and the Jets (the debut Rubén Guevara Jr.’s new lineup, after the group name had previously been used as an alias of The Mothers of Invention in 1968.) It was recorded in 1972, and was produced by Frank Zappa.

Personnel:

  • Rubén Guevara Jr. – vocals, tambourine, keyboards
  • Tony Duran – vocals, guitar, keyboards
  • Robert “Frog” Camarena – vocals, rhythm guitar
  • John Martinez – vocals, Hammond organ
  • Bill Wild – bass guitar, tenor vocals
  • Bob Zamora – drums
  • Frank Zappa – guitar
  • Robert “Buffalo” Roberts – tenor saxophone
  • Jim Sherwood – baritone saxophone, tambourine

Track listing:

  1. If I Could Only Be Your Love Again – Frank Zappa
  2. Dedicated to the One I Love – Lowman Pauling, Ralph Bass
  3. Show Me the Way to Your Heart – Tony Duran, Leonard Duran
  4. Sparkie – Tony Duran, Ruben Guevara
  5. Wedding Bells – Robert “Frog” Camarena
  6. Almost Grown – Chuck Berry
  7. Charlena – Manuel Chavez, H. Chaney
  8. Mah Man Flash – Ruben Guevara
  9. Santa Kari – Ruben Guevara
  10. Spider Woman – Paul Hof, Lonnie Scott, Tony Duran, Ruben Guevara
  11. All Night Long – John Gray

Howlin’ Wolf: Same

On January 11, 1962, “Chess” label released the self-titled, second Howlin’ Wolf album. It is a collection of singles previously released from 1960 through 1962, and was produced by Ralph Bass.

Personnel:

  • Howlin’ Wolf – lead vocals, guitar, harmonica
  • William Johnson – guitar
  • Freddy Robinson – guitar
  • Jimmy Rogers – guitar
  • Otis “Big Smokey” Smothers – guitar
  • Hubert Sumlin – guitar
  • Jody Williams – guitar
  • Henry Gray – piano
  • Johnny Jones – piano
  • Hosea Lee Kennard – piano
  • Lafayette Leake – piano
  • Otis Spann – piano
  • Willie Dixon – vocals, bass
  • Buddy Guy – bass
  • Fred Below – drums
  • Junior Blackman – drums
  • Sam Lay – drums
  • S.P. Leary – drums
  • Sammy Lewis – drums
  • Earl Phillips – drums
  • J. T. Brown – saxophone
  • Donald Hankins – baritone saxophone
  • Arnold Rogers – tenor saxophone
  • Ron Malo – engineer
  • Don S. Bronstein – cover illustration, photography
  • Ralph Bass – sleeve notes

Track listing:

All tracks by Willie Dixon, except where noted.

  1. Shake for Me
  2. The Red Rooster
  3. You’ll Be Mine
  4. Who’s Been Talkin’ – Howlin’ Wolf
  5. Wang Dang Doodle
  6. Little Baby
  7. Spoonful
  8. Going Down Slow – St. Louis Jimmy Oden
  9. Down in the Bottom
  10. Back Door Man
  11. Howlin’ for My Darlin’
  12. Tell Me – Howlin’ Wolf

James Brown: Please Please Please

In December 1958, “King” label released “Please Please Please”, the debut James Brown and His Famous Flames studio album. It was recorded February 1956 – September 1958, and was produced by Ralph Bass.

Personnel:

  • James Brown – lead vocals
  • Bobby Byrd – piano, backing vocals
  • Nafloyd Scott – guitar
  • Johnny Terry – backing vocals
  • Sylvester Keels – backing vocals
  • Bill Hollings – backing vocals
  • Louis Madison – backing vocals
  • Kenny Burrell – guitar
  • John Faire – guitar
  • Eddie Freeman – guitar
  • Alvin “Fats” Gonder – piano
  • Ernie Hayes – piano
  • Clarence Mack – bass
  • Carl Pruitt – bass
  • Edwyn Conley – bass
  • David “Panama” Francis – drums
  • Reginald Hall – drums
  • Edison Gore – drums
  • George Dorsey – alto saxophone
  • Clifford Scott – tenor saxophone
  • Wilbert Smith – tenor saxophone
  • Ray Felder – tenor saxophone

Track listing:

All tracks by James Brown, except where noted.

  1. Please, Please, Please – James Brown, John Terry
  2. Chonnie-On-Chon – James Brown, Bobby Byrd, Nafloyd Scott, Wilbert Smith
  3. Hold My Baby’s Hand – James Brown, Trevor Smith
  4. I Feel That Old Feeling Coming On – Nashpendle Knox, Nafloyd Scott
  5. Just Won’t Do Right
  6. Baby Cries Over the Ocean
  7. I Don’t Know – James Brown, John Terry
  8. Tell Me What I Did Wrong
  9. Try Me
  10. That Dood It – Rudy Thomas, Rosie Marie McCoy
  11. Begging, Begging – Julius Dixson, Rudy Toombs
  12. I Walked Alone – Nashpendle Knox, Nafloyd Scott
  13. No, No, No, No
  14. That’s When I Lost My Heart
  15. Let’s make It
  16. Love or a Game

Etta James: Etta James Sings For Lovers

On August 24, 1962, “Argo” label released “Etta James Sings for Lovers”, the fourth Etta James studio album. It was recorded in June 1962, and was produced by Leonard Chess and Phil Chess.

Personnel:

  • Etta James – vocal
  • Riley Hampton – arrangements
  • Al Poskonka – arrangements
  • Ron Malo – engineer
  • Don Bronstein – cover
  • Ralph Bass – supervision

Track listing:

  1. Don’t Take Your Love from Me – Henry Nemo
  2. How Do You Speak to an Angel – Bob Hilliard, Jule Styne
  3. Fools Rush In – Johnny Mercer, Rube Bloom
  4. Don’t Blame Me – Jimmy McHugh, Dorothy Fields
  5. Someone to Watch Over Me – Ira Gershwin, George Gershwin
  6. Again – Dorcas Cochran, Lionel Newman
  7. I Want to Be Loved – Savannah Churchill
  8. It Could Happen to You – Jimmy Van Heusen, Johnny Burke
  9. These Foolish Things – Eric Maschwitz, Harry Link, Jack Strachey
  10. Prisoner of Love – Clarence Gaskill, Leo Robin, Russ Columbo

Muddy Waters: Unk in Funk

In March 1974, “Chess” label released “Unk in Funk”, the eleventh Muddy Waters album. It was recorded in January 1974, at “Ter Mar Recording Studios” in Chicago, IL, and was produced by Ralph Bass and Muddy Waters.

Personnel:

  • Muddy Waters – vocals, guitar
  • Bob Margolin, Luther Johnson – guitar
  • Pinetop Perkins – piano, harpsichord
  • Carey Bell Harrington, George Buford, Paul Oscher – harmonica
  • Calvin Jones – bass
  • Willie Smith – drums

Track listing:

All track by McKinley Morganfield (Muddy Waters), except where noted.

  1. Rollin’ and Tumblin’
  2. Just to Be with You – Berney Roth
  3. Electric Man – Amelia Cooper, Terry Abrahamson
  4. Trouble No More
  5. Unk in Funk – Amelia Cooper, Terry Abrahamson, Ted Kerland
  6. Drive My Blues Away
  7. Katie
  8. Waterboy Waterboy
  9. Everything Gonna Be Alright – Walter Jacobs

Laura Nyro: Walk The Dog And Light The Light

On August 17, 1993, “Columbia” label released “Walk the Dog and Light the Light”, the ninth Laura Nyro studio album. It was recorded in 1993, in New York City, and was produced by Laura Nyro and Gary Katz.

Personnel:

  • Laura Nyro – lead vocals, harmonies, keyboards, string arrangements
  • Elliott Randall, Michael Landau, Ira Siegal – guitar
  • Freddie Washington, Jerry Jemmott- bass guitar
  • Bernard Purdie- drums
  • Bashiri Johnson, Eric McKain – percussion
  • Juliet Haffner, Sue Pray, Julie Green, Jeanne Le Blanc, Marilyn Wright, Belinda Whitney Barat, Joyce Hammann, Beryl Diamond, Rani Vaz, Laura Seaton, Gene Orloff, Sanford Allen, Mindy Jostyn – strings
  • Lou Marini, Roger Rosenberg, Randy Brecker, Lawrence Feldman – horns
  • Michael Brecker- saxophone solo
  • Lou Marini – flute solo
  • Ellen Uryevick – harp
  • Carlos Franzetti – string arrangements
  • David Frank- horn and flute arrangements, additional production assistant

Track listing:

All tracks by Laura Nyro; except where noted.

  1. Oh Yeah Maybe Baby (The Heebie Jeebies) – Hank Hunter, Phil Spector
  2. A Woman of the World
  3. The Descent of Luna Rose
  4. Art of Love
  5. Lite a Flame (The Animal Rights Song)
  6. Louise’s Church
  7. Broken Rainbow
  8. Walk the Dog and Light the Light (Song of the Road)
  9. To a Child
  10. I’m So Proud/Dedicated to the One I Love – Curtis Mayfield, Ralph Bass, Lowman Pauling

The Mamas & The Papas: Deliver

On February  2, 1967, “Dunhill” label released “The Mamas & The Papas Deliver”, the third Mamas & the Papas album. It was recorded in 1966, and was produced by Lou Adler.

Personnel:

  • Denny Doherty- vocals
  • Cass Elliot- vocals
  • John Phillips- vocals, guitar
  • Michelle Phillips- vocals
  • “Doctor” Eric Hord – guitar
  • F. Sloan- guitar
  • Larry Knechtel- keyboards
  • Joe Osborn- bass guitar
  • Hal Blaine- drums, percussion
  • Gary Coleman – percussion, bells, marimba
  • Jim Horn- flute, saxophone

Track listing:

All tracks by John Phillips except where noted.

  1. Dedicated to the One I Love – Ralph Bass, Lowman Pauling
  2. My Girl – Smokey Robinson, Ronald White
  3. Creeque Alley – John Phillips, Michelle Phillips
  4. Sing for Your Supper – Lorenz Hart, Richard Rodgers
  5. Twist and Shout – Phil Medley, Bert Russell
  6. Free Advice – John Phillips, Michelle Phillips
  7. Look Through My Window
  8. Boys and Girls Together
  9. String Man – John Phillips, Michelle Phillips
  10. Frustration
  11. Did You Ever Want to Cry
  12. John’s Music Box

The Animals: Before We Were So Rudely Interrupted

In August 1977, “Barn Records” label released “Before We Were So Rudely Interrupted”, the eleventh Animals (The) album. It was a reunion album from The Animals, billed The Original Animals. It was recorded in 1977, at “Rolling Stones Mobile Studio” in Goulds Farm, and was produced by Chas Chandler.

Personnel:

  • Eric Burdon– vocals
  • Hilton Valentine– guitar
  • Alan Price– keyboards
  • Chas Chandler– bass
  • Alan O’Duffy – engineer
  • Paul Hardiman – mixing
  • Jo Mirowski – design
  • Terry O’Neill- photography

Track listing:

  1. Brother Bill (The Last Clean Shirt) – Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller, Clyde Otis
  2. It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue – Bob Dylan
  3. Fire on the Sun – Shaky Jake aka James D. Harris
  4. As the Crow Flies – Jimmy Reed
  5. Please Send Me Someone to Love – Percy Mayfield
  6. Many Rivers to Cross – Jimmy Cliff
  7. Just a Little Bit – John Thornton, Ralph Bass, Earl Washington, Piney Brown
  8. Riverside County – Eric Burdon, Alan Price, Hilton Valentine, Chas Chandler, John Steel
  9. Lonely Avenue – Doc Pomus
  10. The Fool – Lee Hazlewood