Bob Babbitt

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Bob Babbitt
Babbitt in 2004
Babbitt in 2004
Background information
Birth name Robert Andrew Kreinar
Born ( 1937-11-26 ) November 26, 1937
Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania, U.S.
Died July 16, 2012 (2012-07-16) (aged 74)
Nashville, Tennessee , U.S.
Genres
Occupation(s) Musician
Instrument(s) Bass
Years active 1961?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]

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.

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 [ edit ]

With Frank Black

With Dee Dee Bridgewater

With Carlene Carter

  • Two Sides to Every Woman (Warner Bros., 1979)

With Joe Cocker

With Dennis Coffey

  • Hair and Thangs (Maverick, 1969)
  • Evolution (Sussex, 1971)
  • Goin' for Myself (Sussex, 1972)
  • Electric Coffey (Sussex, 1972)

With Phil Collins

With Peter Frampton

With Marvin Gaye

With Gloria Gaynor

With Major Harris

With Richie Havens

  • Connections (Elektra, 1980)

With Cissy Houston

With Sass Jordan

  • Get What You Give (Universal Music, 2006)

With Margie Joseph

  • Sweet Surrender (Atlantic, 1974)
  • Margie (Atlantic, 1975)

With Eric Kaz

  • Cul-De-Sac (Atlantic, 1974)

With Ben E. King

With Nils Lofgren

  • Nils (A&M, 1979)

With Taj Mahal

With Barry Manilow

With Herbie Mann

With Kathy McCord

With Jimmy McGriff

With Moon Martin

  • Mystery Ticket (Capitol, 1982)

With Jackie Moore

  • Sweet Charlie Babe (Atlantic Records, 1973)

With Kenny Nolan

  • A Song Between Us (Polydor, 1978)

With Laura Nyro

With Yoko Ono

With Robert Palmer

With Teddy Pendergrass

With Roxanne Potvin

With Bonnie Raitt

With Irene Reid

  • Two of Us (Glades, 1976)

With Vicki Sue Robinson

  • Vicki Sue Robinson (RCA Victor, 1976)

With Rodriguez

With Jimmy Ruffin

  • Jimmy Ruffin (Polydor, 1973)

With Tom Rush

With Helen Schneider

  • Let It Be Now (RCA Records, 1978)

With Marlena Shaw

With Sister Sledge

With Lonnie Smith

With Spinners

  • New And Improved (Atlantic, 1974)

With Rod Stewart

With The Temptations

  • Sky's the Limit (Motown, 1971)
  • All Derections (Motown, 1972)
  • Masterpiece (Motown, 1973)

With Stanley Turrentine

With Frankie Valli

With Dionne Warwick

With Deniece Williams

References [ edit ]

  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 [ edit ]

External links [ edit ]

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