Obit: Bill Lee, bassist (1928-2023)

Subject: Bill Lee, bassist
From: GUEST,R.D. Eno
Date: 19 Feb 14 - 02:51 PM

It's my recollection that bassist Bill Lee (in addition to backing many folk artists) appeared with the Weavers at their 1955 reunion, at their Carnegie Hall concert in 1960 and at both the 1963 Carnegie Hall reunions. His propulsive bass lines gave the group much of its onstage drive, but I don't think he was ever credited. Can anyone explain this neglect? It seems uncharacteristic of the Weavers, certainly of Pete Seeger, who went out of his way to see that Solomon Linda's family received the royalties from Wimoweh.

Subject: RE: Bill Lee, bassist
From: GUEST
Date: 19 Feb 14 - 03:58 PM

Check out "The Great Animal Orchestra..." by Krause. Lee is credited as being at the 1963 Carnegie Hall concert.

Subject: RE: Bill Lee, bassist
From: Stringsinger
Date: 19 Feb 14 - 07:00 PM

Bill, Spike Lee's father, was a mainstay bass player in the Chicago folk club, "The Gate of Horn" and performed with Odetta, The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem and other acts that went through the time period of 1957 through 1961. I worked with him playing five-string banjo on the Clancy's and Tommy's recording taken at the Gate of Horn, "Hearty and Hellish" along with Bruce Langhorne on guitar.

Subject: RE: Bill Lee, bassist
From: GUEST
Date: 19 Feb 14 - 07:44 PM

Can you answer the question?

Subject: RE: Bill Lee, bassist
From: PHJim
Date: 19 Feb 14 - 08:49 PM

Many side men/women appeared on albums and movie sound tracks without receiving credits.
Tommy Tedesco was perhaps the most recorded guitarist, but seldom received credits in the liner notes or movie credits.
Barney Kessel played on many early rock records, but most people know him only as a jazz guitarist.
Glen Campbell did a lot of session work, but is known mainly for his vocal work.

Subject: RE: Bill Lee, bassist
From: Stringsinger
Date: 20 Feb 14 - 08:04 PM

Sometimes they were on the liner notes and other times not. Glen did receive some credit for his session work. He had an album out called "The Folkswingers" with Billy Strange and others.

Barney played on early Presley records. He had a funny story, he went back to Oklahoma, his home state and the people he knew there said to him, "When are you gonna' learn to pick the gee tar?" Roy Clark was more their model.

Tommy Tedesco could read anything put in front of him. He was originally an accountant.
He worked at Capitol often around the clock packing a lunch sack with him and found a place to nap.

No musicians got credit for sound tracks in the movies except for the composer of the score and the musical administrator. The credits went to those musicians on outside recordings that were used in the movie.

Subject: Obit: Bill Lee
From: GUEST,Wally Macnow
Date: 29 May 23 - 05:42 PM

I spotted this in Wikipedia today. Really surprised it hasn't hit the NY Times yet. I saw Bill Lee play with a number of folk performers in the 1960s. He was always spot on.

William James Edwards Lee (July 23, 1928 – May 24, 2023) was an American musician. He was the father of Spike Lee and Joie Lee. He composed original music for many of his son's films, including She's Gotta Have It (1986), School Daze (1988), Do the Right Thing (1989), and Mo' Better Blues (1990). Lee was involved in many releases from the Strata-East jazz record label, including directing the 1980 album The New York Bass Violin Choir.

Lee played the bass for many artists, including Chris Anderson, Cat Stevens, Harry Belafonte, Chad Mitchell Trio, Gordon Lightfoot, Aretha Franklin, Odetta, Simon and Garfunkel, Ian & Sylvia, Tom Rush, Burt Bacharach, Peter, Paul and Mary, Arlo Guthrie, Tom Paxton, Carolyn Hester, John Lee Hooker, Josh White, Duke Ellington, Malvina Reynolds, Eric Bibb, The Clancy Brothers, and Bob Dylan. On the original release of Dylan's classic song "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue," Lee, on bass guitar, is the only musician performing other than Dylan himself. On Gordon Lightfoot's song Oh, Linda (recorded 1964), Lee is also the only musician other than Lightfoot's voice.

Subject: RE: Info: Bill Lee, bassist (1928-2023)
From: GUEST,Guest
Date: 29 May 23 - 05:51 PM

The NY Times ran an obit five days ago, the day he died. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/24/arts/music/bill-lee-dead.html