Bob Babbitt

Last updated • 5 min readFrom Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia

Bob Babbitt
Bob-Babbitt-008.jpg
Babbitt in 2004
Background information
Birth nameRobert Andrew Kreinar
Born(1937-11-26)November 26, 1937
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
DiedJuly 16, 2012(2012-07-16) (aged 74)
Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.
Genres
Occupation(s)Musician
InstrumentBass
Years active1961–2012
Formerly of The Funk Brothers

Robert Andrew Kreinar (November 26, 1937 – July 16, 2012), known as Bob Babbitt, was an American bassist, most famous for his work as a member of Motown Records' studio band, the Funk Brothers, from 1966 to 1972, as well as his tenure as part of MFSB for Philadelphia International Records afterwards. Also in 1968, with Mike Campbell, Ray Monette and Andrew Smith, he formed the band Scorpion, which lasted until 1970. [1] He is ranked number 59 on Bass Player magazine's list of "The 100 Greatest Bass Players of All Time". [2]

Contents

Babbitt traded off sessions with original Motown bassist James Jamerson. When Motown moved to Los Angeles, Babbitt went in the opposite direction and ended up in New York as well as making occasional trips to Philadelphia. [3] In this new city, he worked on recordings for Frank Sinatra, Barry Manilow, Gloria Gaynor, Robert Palmer, and Alice Cooper. During this time, his most notable successes were "Midnight Train to Georgia"(1973) by Gladys Knight & the Pips and "The Rubberband Man" by The Spinners. [4]

The Pittsburgh-born Babbitt's most notable bass performances include "Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours" (1970) by Stevie Wonder; "War" (1970) by Edwin Starr; "The Tears of a Clown" (1970) by Smokey Robinson & the Miracles; "Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)" (1971) and "Inner City Blues" (1971) by Marvin Gaye; "Band of Gold" (1970) by Freda Payne; "Ball of Confusion (That's What the World Is Today)", "Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me)" (1971) and "Masterpiece" (1973) by The Temptations; "Scorpio" (1971) by Dennis Coffey; [5] and "Just Don't Want to Be Lonely" (1973) by The Main Ingredient.

He participated in hundreds of other hits, including "Little Town Flirt" by Del Shannon and "Scorpio" by Dennis Coffey & the Detroit Guitar Band. He played on the Jimi Hendrix album Crash Landing . He also played bass on Cindy Bullens' 1979 album Desire Wire . He accepted an offer from Phil Collins to perform on his album of Motown and 1960s soul classics, Going Back , and also appeared in Collins' Going Back – Live at Roseland Ballroom, NYC concert DVD. He appeared on stage in an episode of American Idol , backing up Jacob Lusk's performance of "You're All I Need to Get By" for AI's Motown Week in March 2011.

Bob Babbitt (2nd from left) as part of The Funk Brothers in 2006 The Funk Brothers.jpg
Bob Babbitt (2nd from left) as part of The Funk Brothers in 2006

In 2003, Babbitt played on Marion James' album Essence, and amongst others playing on the record were Beegie Adair, Reese Wynans, Jack Pearson (The Allman Brothers), and drummer Chucki Burke. [6]

He was added to the Music City Walk of Fame in June 2012. [7]

Babbitt died on July 16, 2012, aged 74, from brain cancer. [8] [9] [10]

Discography

With Frank Black

With Blue Magic

With Dee Dee Bridgewater

With Carlene Carter

With Joe Cocker

With Phil Collins

With Lou Courtney

With Peter Frampton

With Marvin Gaye

With Gloria Gaynor

With Major Harris

With Richie Havens

With Cissy Houston

With Sass Jordan

With Margie Joseph

With Eric Kaz

With Ben E. King

With Gladys Knight

With Nils Lofgren

With Taj Mahal

With Barry Manilow

With Herbie Mann

With Kathy McCord

With Jimmy McGriff

With Moon Martin

With Jackie Moore

With Kenny Nolan

With Laura Nyro

With The O'Jays

With Yoko Ono

With Robert Palmer

With Teddy Pendergrass

With Roxanne Potvin

With Bonnie Raitt

With Irene Reid

With Vicki Sue Robinson

With Rodriguez

With Jimmy Ruffin

With Tom Rush

With Harvey Scales

With Helen Schneider

With Marlena Shaw

With Sister Sledge

With Lonnie Smith

With The Spinners

With Rod Stewart

With The Temptations

With Stanley Turrentine

With Frankie Valli

With Dionne Warwick

With Deniece Williams

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fred Wesley</span> American jazz trombonist (born 1943)

Fred Wesley is an American trombonist who worked with James Brown in the 1960s and 1970s, and Parliament-Funkadelic in the second half of the 1970s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Hood</span> American bass player, Muscle Shoals session player

David Hood is an American musician, hailing from Muscle Shoals, Alabama, He is known for playing the bass guitar and trombone, and is a member of the Alabama Music Hall of Fame.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chuck Rainey</span> American bass guitarist (born 1940)

Charles Walter Rainey III is an American bass guitarist who has performed and recorded with many well-known acts, including Aretha Franklin, Steely Dan, and Quincy Jones. Rainey is credited for playing bass on more than 1,000 albums, and is one of the most recorded bass players in the history of recorded music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anthony Jackson (musician)</span> American bassist (born 1952)

Anthony Jackson is an American bassist. Described as "one of the masters of the instrument", he has performed as a session musician and live artist. He is also credited with the development of the modern six-string bass, which he refers to as a contrabass guitar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Victor Feldman</span> English jazz musician (1934–1987)

Victor Stanley Feldman was an English jazz musician who played mainly piano, vibraphone, and percussion. He began performing professionally during childhood, eventually earning acclaim in the UK jazz scene as an adult. Feldman emigrated to the United States in the mid-1950s, where he continued working in jazz and also as a session musician with a variety of pop and rock performers.

Will Lee is an American bassist known for his work on the Late Show with David Letterman as part of the CBS Orchestra, and “The World's Most Dangerous Band" during Letterman’s tenure as host of NBC’s "Late Night".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eddie Brown (musician)</span> American musician (1932–1984)

Edward James "Bongo" Brown was an American percussionist known for his work with The Funk Brothers, Detroit-based session musicians who performed the backing to most Motown recordings from 1959 to 1972.

Dennis James Coffey is an American guitarist. He was a studio musician for many soul and R&B recordings, and is well known for his 1971 Top 10 hit single "Scorpio".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ralph MacDonald</span> American musician (1944–2011)

Ralph Anthony MacDonald was an American percussionist, steelpan virtuoso, songwriter, musical arranger, and record producer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eric Gale</span> American jazz and R&B guitarist (1938–1994)

Eric Gale was an American jazz and jazz fusion guitarist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barry Rogers</span> American trombonist

Barron W. "Barry" Rogers was an American jazz and salsa trombonist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roger Hawkins (drummer)</span> American drummer (1945–2021)

Roger G. Hawkins was an American drummer best known for playing as part of the studio backing band known as the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section of Alabama. Rolling Stone ranked Hawkins number 31 on its list of greatest drummers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barry Beckett</span> American keyboardist, session musician, record producer, and studio founder

Barry Edward Beckett was an American keyboardist, session musician, record producer, and studio founder. He is best known for his work with David Hood, Jimmy Johnson, and Roger Hawkins, his bandmates in the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section, which performed with numerous notable artists on their studio albums and helped define the "Muscle Shoals sound".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chuck Domanico</span> American jazz bassist

Charles Louis Domanico was an American jazz bassist who played double bass and bass guitar on the West Coast jazz scene.

Wayne Andre was an American jazz trombonist, best known for his work as a session musician.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Griffin (musician)</span> American session musician and pianist (1937–2000)

Paul Griffin was an American pianist and session musician who recorded with hundreds of musicians from the 1950s to the 1990s.

James Edward Gadson is an American drummer and session musician. Beginning his career in the late 1960s, Gadson has since become one of the most-recorded drummers in the history of R&B. He is also a singer and songwriter.

Paul Riser is an American trombonist and Motown musical arranger who was responsible for co-writing and arranging dozens of top ten hit records. His legacy as one of the "Funk Brothers" is similar to that of most of the other "Brothers", as his career has been overlooked and overshadowed by the stars of Motown that became household names. Some of the Funk Brothers he worked with include: Earl Van Dyke, Johnny Griffith, Robert White, Eddie Willis, Joe Messina, Dennis Coffey, Wah Wah Watson, James Jamerson, Bob Babbitt, Eddie Watkins, Richard "Pistol" Allen, Uriel Jones, Andrew Smith, Jack Ashford, Valerie Simpson, Eddie "Bongo" Brown, Benny Benjamin, Cornelius Grant, Joe Hunter, Richard "Popcorn" Wylie, Marcus Belgrave, Teddy Buckner and Stevie Wonder.

John E. Gatchell was an American jazz trumpeter who was prolific in New York City recording studios from the 1970s to the mid-1980s. After serving in the U.S. Navy in the late 1960s, Gatchell became one of the founding members of the horn band Ten Wheel Drive, then Gotham. Gatchell was among the musicians hand-selected by Paul Simon, whom he considered to be the finest studio musicians for the 1981 Simon & Garfunkel Concert in Central Park

Dennis Matthew Budimir was an American jazz and rock guitarist. He was considered to be a member of The Wrecking Crew.

References

  1. "Scorpion (album, band)". BadCat Records, Reston, VA, USA. Archived from the original on September 29, 2018. Retrieved July 2, 2011.
  2. "The 100 Greatest Bass Players of All Time". bassplayer.com. NewBay Media. September 5, 2023.
  3. Jisi, Chris. "Bob Babbitt: 1937-2012." Bass Player October 2012: 16. General OneFile. Web. April 16, 2014.
  4. Jisi, Chris. "Phil Chen & Bob Glaub pay tribute to Bob Babbitt & Duck Dunn." Bass Player April 2013: 18+. General OneFile. Web. April 16, 2014.
  5. "Who Played on Scorpio by Dennis Coffey?". Dennis Coffey . Retrieved April 6, 2024.
  6. "Marion James". Music City Roots. Archived from the original on March 16, 2016. Retrieved January 2, 2016.
  7. "Bob Babbitt | Nashville Walk of Fame | VisitMusicCity.com". www.visitmusiccity.com. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
  8. Laing, Dave (July 18, 2012). "Bob Babbitt obituary". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved August 18, 2020.
  9. "Bob Babbitt – Obituary". obits.columbian.com. July 16, 2012. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
  10. "Bob Babbitt, Motown Bassist With Funk Brothers, Dies at 74". The New York Times . July 18, 2012. Retrieved November 26, 2017.

Sources