The 28-Year Battle for Payment: Fontella Bass and the Struggle Behind Rescue Me
In 1965, Fontella Bass became the first female artist to sell over a million copies of her hit Rescue Me for the legendary Chess Records. At that time, only Chuck Berry had achieved such success for the label.
Chess, based in Chicago, was a direct rival to Berry Gordy’s Motown, which was located in Detroit. While Motown’s sound was rooted in soul and shaped by its house band, The Funk Brothers, Chess had its origins in blues. Both labels competed fiercely for the white radio audience.
Naturally, Fontella was thrilled that her song, for which she had been promised songwriting credit, had sold so many copies. But when it came time to collect her royalty check, the excitement quickly faded. “When I saw how little it was, I tore it up and threw it back across the desk,” she recalled.
Despite this shock, her manager assured her that everything would be sorted out. However, when that didn’t happen, Fontella’s attempts to follow up went unanswered. As time went on, she gained a reputation as a “troublemaker” for insisting on fair compensation.
Disillusioned with the music business, Fontella moved with her husband to Paris in 1969 to pursue a recording career in Europe. Throughout the ’70s and ’80s, she experienced little chart success with the albums she worked on.
Then, in 1993, Fontella heard Rescue Me in a TV ad for American Express. This was the tipping point. She sued American Express and won, receiving $50,000 for the use of her song.
It took Fontella Bass 28 years to finally get paid for the song that had defined her career.
Fontella Bass Tunes | Related Pages
Rescue Me | Chords + TAB
You can learn how to play Rescue Me by Fontella Bass using chords, lyrics, a chord chart, a backing track, and Spytunes video guitar lessons.
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Rescue me, take me in your arms…
Start learning with the full lesson series: Rescue Me – Guitar Lessons with TAB.
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