Biography

During a lengthy career as a producer and talent scout for the influential independent record labels Savoy, King/Federal and Chess, Bronx-born Ralph Bass recorded some of the greatest figures in black music. As a producer at Black & White Records in the Forties, Bass cut sides with the likes of Lena Horne and T-Bone Walker, including the latter’s landmark “"Call It Stormy Monday."” But it was his flukish recording of “"Open the Door, Richard"” an off-color comedy routine based on an old vaudeville skit, which Bass cut with jazzman Jack McVea and his band in 1947 that raised his profile in ...