MUMBAI: American soul singer, Fontella Bass has died of complications following a heart attack.
Bass 72, died in hospice care on the night of 26 December from complications of a heart attack she suffered three weeks ago, her daughter, Neuka Mitchell said. Bass had also suffered from strokes in recent years.
She first found success in a duet with Bobby McClure on Don’t Mess Up a Good Thing and You’ll Miss Me (When I’m Gone). She had topped the R&B chart in 1965 with her hit single ‘Rescue Me’.
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Bass was born into a singing family in St. Louis. Her mother, Martha Bass, was a singer in the Clara Ward Singers gospel group. Her brother, the late R&B singer David Peaston, scored a handful of hits in the 1980s and 1990s.
Bass began performing at a young age, singing in her church’s choir at age of 6. She was surrounded by music, often traveling on national tours with her mother and her gospel group.
Fontella Bass was married to the great jazz trumpeter, Lester Bowie, who died in 1999. She is survived by four children.
