"Rescue Me" Singer Fontella Bass Dies At Age 72
"Rescue Me" Singer Fontella Bass Dies At Age 72
Fontella Bass has died. The singer, best known for the 1965 R&B hit "Rescue Me," passed away Wednesday night. She was 72. Bass' daughter tells the "St. Louis Post-Dispatch" her mother had suffered a heart attack three weeks earlier and had experienced several strokes in recent years. A native of St. Louis, Bass also found success with another 1965 hit, "Don't Mess With A Good Thing" with Bobby McClure. She continued to record throughout the 1970s, though she was unable to match the success she had with "Rescue Me." The song was also the subject of legal action in 1993. That's when Bass won a settlement against American Express for using "Rescue Me" in an ad without permission.
Bass' younger brother, gospel singer David Peaston, passed away in February of this year at the age of 54. She is survived by four children. Funeral arrangements are pending.
