Sara Lee (musician)

Last updated

Sara Lee
Sara Lee 2010 photo by Susan Alzner.jpg
Lee at the O+ Festival in Woodstock, New York, in 2010
Background information
Genres Alternative rock, art rock, pop rock, post-punk
Occupation(s)Musician, vocalist, songwriter
Instrument(s)Vocals, bass, keyboards
Years active1975–present

Sara Lee is an English-American bassist and singer-songwriter, who came to prominence when replacing Dave Allen on bass guitar in the post-punk band Gang of Four, of which she was a member from 1982 to 1984. She was also a member of Robert Fripp's short-lived band The League of Gentlemen and is also notable for work with the B-52s, Ani DiFranco, and Indigo Girls. As of October 2021, Lee rejoined Gang of Four with founding members Hugo Burnham and Jon King as well as David Pajo, to tour in 2022. [1] [2]

Contents

Biography

Lee confirmed in an interview on Rundgrenradio.com that Sara Lee is her birth name. Born in the West Midlands of England, Lee's entire family was musical. Both parents were music teachers (her father was latterly a bass song man in the choir of York Minster), her sister a cellist, and her brother a trombone player. Music formed an important part of her childhood. She played tympani and double bass in school and local orchestras as a teenager, until the day she discovered the electric bass guitar. [3]

After playing with a couple of local bands, she moved to London and worked as a secretary at Polydor Records. Here she was discovered by King Crimson leader Robert Fripp, who was encouraged to stay at a show to see "a girl who works in the office". [4] Fripp invited her to join his band, The League of Gentlemen.

Lee went on to work with Robyn Hitchcock on his album Groovy Decay , [5] and recorded two albums with the Gang of Four in England. Later she moved to the United States. Lee became a sought-after session, concert and recording artist, playing with the Thompson Twins, before she crossed paths with The B-52's during the recording of their Cosmic Thing album, and can be seen in the "Love Shack" and the "Roam" videos. Following a stint on the Cosmic tour, Lee formed the Raging Hormones with B-52 session drummer Charley Drayton. She then started a seven-year run with the Indigo Girls, contributing "sterling performances". [6] In 1996 and 1997, she accompanied singer-songwriter Ani DiFranco on tours of Europe and North America, as documented on the double-live album Living in Clip .

Lee has played with many other artists, including Joan Osborne, Ryuichi Sakamoto and Fiona Apple, and is a close friend of former David Bowie bassist Gail Ann Dorsey. [7] Lee re-joined the B-52's as a touring member in 1999. On 12 September 2000, she released her debut solo album Make It Beautiful on Difranco's Righteous Babe records. [8] Lee recorded instrumental tracks, which were sent to musicians with whom she had previously worked to provide lyrics, including Ani DiFranco, Emily Saliers of the Indigo Girls, Pal Shazar, Barbara Gogan of The Passions and Kristen Hall. [9] She replaced Rachel Haden for the final dates of Todd Rundgren's 2009 Arena tour.

Lee was also a judge for the fifth annual Independent Music Awards to support independent artists' careers. [10]

Lee rejoined Gang of Four with founding members Hugo Burnham and Jon King as well as David Pajo, to tour in 2022. [1] [2] In January 2023, a US show was announced, where the band played at the Cruel World Festival in Pasadena, California, on May 20, 2023. [11]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ani DiFranco</span> American musician (born 1970)

Angela Maria "Ani" DiFranco is an American-Canadian singer-songwriter. She has released more than 20 albums. DiFranco's music has been classified as folk rock and alternative rock, although it has additional influences from punk, funk, hip hop and jazz. She has released all her albums on her own record label, Righteous Babe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gang of Four (band)</span> English rock band

Gang of Four are an English post-punk band, formed in 1976 in Leeds. The original members were singer Jon King, guitarist Andy Gill, bass guitarist Dave Allen and drummer Hugo Burnham. There have been many different line-ups including, among other notable musicians, Sara Lee, Gail Ann Dorsey, and Mark Heaney. After a brief lull in the 1980s, different constellations of the band recorded two studio albums in the 1990s. Between 2004 and 2006 the original line-up was reunited; Gill toured using the name between 2012 and his death in 2020. In 2021, the band announced that King, Burnham, and Lee would be reuniting for a US tour in 2022 with David Pajo on guitar and Sara Lee returning to the band. They continue to perform live, including at the Cruel World festival in Pasadena, CA; headlining Luna Fest in Coimbra, Portugal, a UK Tour in October '23, and will be in Australia and beyond in 2024.

<i>Not a Pretty Girl</i> 1995 studio album by Ani DiFranco

Not a Pretty Girl is the sixth studio album released by singer-songwriter Ani DiFranco on her own record label, Righteous Babe Records. It was released July 18, 1995. The album extended the folk singer's early formula of acoustic guitar and drums. On subsequent records, DiFranco would add electric guitar, horns, band members and guest musicians, but on Not a Pretty Girl she was accompanied by Andy Stochansky's percussion alone.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tony Levin</span> American bassist

Anthony Frederick Levin is an American musician and composer specializing in electric bass guitars, Chapman Stick and upright bass. He also sings and plays synthesizer. Levin is best known for his work with King Crimson (1981–2021) and Peter Gabriel. He is also a member of Liquid Tension Experiment, Bruford Levin Upper Extremities (1998–2000) and HoBoLeMa (2008–2010). He has led his own band, Stick Men, since 2010.

<i>Little Plastic Castle</i> 1998 studio album by Ani DiFranco

Little Plastic Castle is the eighth studio album by singer-songwriter Ani DiFranco, released in 1998. It is her highest charting album on the Billboard charts, reaching number 22 on the Top 200 list.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ferron</span> Canadian musician and singer-songwriter

Ferron Foisy, who has mostly been known professionally as Ferron is a Canadian-born singer-songwriter and poet. In addition to gaining fame as one of Canada's most respected songwriters, Ferron, who is openly lesbian, became one of the earliest and most influential lyrical songwriters of the women's music circuit, and an important influence on later musicians such as Ani DiFranco, Mary Gauthier and the Indigo Girls. From the mid-eighties on, Ferron's songwriting talents have been recognized and appreciated by music critics and broader audiences, with comparisons being made to the writing talents of Van Morrison, Bob Dylan, and Leonard Cohen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paz Lenchantin</span> Argentine-American musician (born 1973)

Paz Lenchantin is an Argentine-American musician, best known as the current bass guitarist and backing vocalist of the alternative rock band Pixies. Lenchantin joined the band in 2014, following the departure of founding member Kim Deal, and has recorded three studio albums with the band to date.

The League of Gentlemen were a band active during March–December 1980 that featured King Crimson guitarist Robert Fripp.

<i>Rites of Passage</i> (Indigo Girls album) 1992 studio album by Indigo Girls

Rites of Passage is the fourth studio album by American folk rock duo the Indigo Girls, released on May 12, 1992, by Epic Records.

Hugo Hamilton Mark Burnham is an English musician, and drummer for the rock group Gang of Four.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rachel Haden</span> American musician

Rachel Haden is an American musician and one of the triplet daughters of jazz bassist Charlie Haden.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gail Ann Dorsey</span> American singer and bassist

Gail Ann Dorsey is an American musician. With a long career as a session musician mainly on bass guitar, she performed regularly in David Bowie's band, from 1995 to Bowie's death in 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kasim Sulton</span> American musician

Kasim Sulton is an American bass guitarist, keyboardist and vocalist. Best known for his work with Utopia, Sulton sang lead on 1980's "Set Me Free," Utopia's only top 40 hit in the United States. As a solo artist, Sulton hit the Canadian top 40 in 1982 with "Don't Break My Heart".

<i>Songs of the Free</i> 1982 studio album by Gang of Four

Songs of the Free is the third studio album by Gang of Four, released in 1982.

<i>Hard</i> (Gang of Four album) 1983 studio album by Gang of Four

Hard is the fourth studio album by the English post-punk group Gang of Four. It was originally released in 1983 on Warner Bros. Records and was the first album to not feature original member Hugo Burnham, while Dave Allen had already left before the previous album, Songs of the Free.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eva Gardner</span> American bassist

Eva Catherine Gardner is an American bassist from Los Angeles. A founding member of The Mars Volta, she has been a studio and touring musician in bands for Cher, Gwen Stefani, P!NK, Veruca Salt and Tegan and Sara.

<i>Along the Red Ledge</i> 1978 studio album by Hall & Oates

Along the Red Ledge is the seventh studio album by American pop music duo Hall & Oates. The album was released on August 21, 1978, by RCA Records. The biggest hit from the album was "It's a Laugh". The follow-up single was "I Don't Wanna Lose You".

<i>Canon</i> (album) 2007 compilation album by Ani DiFranco

Canon is a retrospective album by Ani DiFranco which was released on September 11, 2007. It contains songs covering her career to date. DiFranco re-recorded five songs that had been previously released: "Both Hands", "Overlap", "Napoleon", "Shameless" and "Your Next Bold Move".

<i>Binary</i> (Ani DiFranco album) 2017 studio album by Ani DiFranco

Binary is the 19th studio album by singer-songwriter Ani DiFranco, released on June 9, 2017. On this album she was supported by Todd Sickafoose, the upright bass player who has toured with her since 2004. Drummer Terence Higgins, who has been touring with DiFranco since 2012, also accompanied her on most of the tracks on the album. Jenny Scheinman and Ivan Neville join the band for more than half of the record. Other musicians showing up on the album include Maceo Parker, Bon Iver's Justin Vernon, and Gail Ann Dorsey. The album was mixed by Tchad Blake.

References

  1. 1 2 Pearis, Bill (17 October 2021). "Gang of Four teasing something, share picture ft Jon King, Hugo Burnham, Sara Lee, & David Pajo". Brooklyn Vegan . Retrieved 18 October 2021.
  2. 1 2 Owen, Matt (18 October 2021). "Three classic-era Gang Of Four members to reunite for 2022 North American tour". Guitar World . Retrieved 18 October 2021.
  3. ↑ Kort, Michele (21 November 2000). "Free to be Sara Lee". The Advocate. Retrieved 14 March 2010.
  4. ↑ "Record company bio". Righteous Babe records. Archived from the original on 8 July 2009. Retrieved 17 November 2009.
  5. ↑ Gimarc, George (1997). Post punk diary, 1980–1982 . New York: St. Martin's Griffin. p.  257. ISBN   978-0-312-16968-8. Sara Lee bass.
  6. ↑ photographs by Ben Browton (2003). Peter Buckley (ed.). The Rough guide to rock: the definitive guide to more than 1200 artists and bands (3rd ed.). London: Rough Guides. ISBN   978-1-84353-105-0 . Retrieved 16 August 2011. ...sterling guest performance by Sara Lee
  7. ↑ Dorsey, Gail Ann. "I'm From Rolling Stone". Rolling Stone.
  8. ↑ Bassist Sara Lee Cooks Up Solo Debut. Billboard. 23 September 2000. Retrieved 17 November 2009.
  9. ↑ "Sara Lee Collabs With Ani DiFranco on Solo LP". MTV.com. Retrieved 17 November 2009.
  10. ↑ "Past Judges". Independent Music Awards. Archived from the original on 13 July 2011. Retrieved 19 February 2012.
  11. ↑ Jones, Damien (23 January 2023). "Siouxsie Sioux and Iggy Pop lead Cruel World Festival 2023 line-up with other acts including the Human League". NME. Retrieved 26 January 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.