__NOTOC__ Robert Andrew Kreinar (November 26, 1937 – July 16, 2012), known as Bob Babbitt, was a Hungarian-

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

bassist, most famous for his work as a member of Motown Records' studio band, the

Funk Brothers The Funk Brothers were a group of Detroit-based session musicians who performed the backing to most Motown recordings from 1959 until the company moved to Los Angeles in 1972. Its members are considered among the most successful groups of stud ...

, from 1966 to 1972, as well as his tenure as part of

MFSB MFSB, officially standing for "Mother Father Sister Brother", was a pool of more than 30 studio musicians based at Philadelphia's Sigma Sound Studios. They worked closely with the production team of Gamble and Huff and producer/arranger Thom ...

for

Philadelphia International Records Philadelphia International Records (PIR) was an American record label based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1971 by songwriting and production duo Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff along with their longtime collaborator Thom Bell. ...

afterwards. Also in 1968, with Mike Campbell,

Ray Monette Ray Monette is an American musician born on May 7, 1946. He started his career as a session musician with Motown. He was also a songwriter and, in 1967 Detroit started a band called The Abstract Reality, who released a 45 rpm single "Love Burns Li ...

and Andrew Smith he formed the band

Scorpion Scorpions are predatory arachnids of the order Scorpiones. They have eight legs, and are easily recognized by a pair of grasping pincers and a narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward curve over the back and always en ...

, which lasted until 1970. He is ranked number 59 on ''Bass Player'' magazine's list of "The 100 Greatest Bass Players of All Time". Babbitt traded off sessions with original Motown bassist

James Jamerson James Lee Jamerson (January 29, 1936 – August 2, 1983) was an American bass player. He was the uncredited bassist on most of the Motown Records hits in the 1960s and early 1970s (Motown did not list session musician credits on their releases ...

. When Motown moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

, Babbit went in the opposite direction and ended up in New York as well as making occasional trips to

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

. In this new city he worked on recordings for Frank Sinatra, Barry Manilow, Gloria Gaynor, Robert Palmer, and

Alice Cooper Alice Cooper (born Vincent Damon Furnier, February 4, 1948) is an American rock singer whose career spans over five decades. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusions, including pyrotechnics, guillot ...

. During this time his most notable successes were " Midnight Train to Georgia" by

Gladys Knight & the Pips Gladys Knight & the Pips were an American R&B, soul and funk family music group from Atlanta, Georgia, that remained active on the music charts and performing circuit for over three decades starting from the early 1950s. Starting out as simply ...

and "

The Rubberband Man "The Rubberband Man" is a song recorded by the American vocal group the Spinners. The song, written by producer Thom Bell and singer-songwriter Linda Creed, was about Bell's son, who was being teased by his classmates for being overweight. In ...

" by The Spinners. The

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...

-born Babbitt's most notable bass performances include "

Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours "Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I'm Yours)" is a soul song, by American musician Stevie Wonder, released in June 1970 as a single on Motown's Tamla label. It spent six weeks at number one on the U.S. R&B chart and peaked at number three on the U.S ...

" by Stevie Wonder; "

War War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

" by

Edwin Starr Charles Edwin Hatcher (January 21, 1942 – April 2, 2003), known by his stage name Edwin Starr, was an American singer and songwriter. Starr was famous for his Norman Whitfield-produced Motown singles of the 1970s, most notably the number-one ...

; "

The Tears of a Clown "The Tears of a Clown" is a song written by Hank Cosby, Smokey Robinson, and Stevie Wonder and originally recorded by Smokey Robinson & the Miracles for the Tamla Records label subsidiary of Motown, first appearing on the 1967 album '' Make It H ...

" by

Smokey Robinson & the Miracles The Miracles (also known as Smokey Robinson and the Miracles from 1965 to 1972) were an American vocal group that was the first successful recording act for Berry Gordy's Motown Records, and one of the most important and most influential group ...

; "

Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology) "Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)" is the second single from Marvin Gaye's 1971 album, '' What's Going On''. Following the breakthrough of the title track's success, the song, written solely by Gaye, became regarded as one of popular music's most poi ...

" and "

Inner City Blues "Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)", often shortened to "Inner City Blues", is a song by Marvin Gaye, released as the third and final single, and the climactic song from his 1971 landmark album, '' What's Going On''. Written by Gaye and Ja ...

" by Marvin Gaye; " Band Of Gold" by

Freda Payne Freda Charcilia Payne (born September 19, 1942Some sources give a birth year of 1945, but this appears to be an error as all sources agree that she is older than her sister Scherrie, born 1944.) is an American singer and actress. Payne is best ...

; "

Ball of Confusion (That's What the World Is Today) "Ball of Confusion (That's What the World Is Today)" is a 1970 hit single for The Temptations. It was released on the Gordy (Motown) label, and written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong. The song was used to anchor The Temptations' 1970 ' ...

" and "

Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me) "Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me)" is a song by American soul group The Temptations, written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong. Released on the Gordy (Motown) label, and produced by Norman Whitfield, it features on the group's 1 ...

" by

The Temptations The Temptations are an American vocal group from Detroit, Michigan, who released a series of successful singles and albums with Motown Records during the 1960s and 1970s. The group's work with producer Norman Whitfield, beginning with the Top ...

; "

Touch Me in the Morning "Touch Me in the Morning" is a song recorded by Diana Ross on the Motown label. It was written by Ron Miller and Michael Masser, and produced by the latter and Tom Baird. It was released on May 3, 1973 as the first single from her album of t ...

" by Diana Ross; and “ Just Don’t Want to Be Lonely” by

The Main Ingredient The Main Ingredient was an American soul and R&B group best known for their 1972 hit song "Everybody Plays the Fool". Early history The group was formed in Harlem, New York City in 1964 as a trio called the Poets, composed of lead singer Dona ...

. He participated in hundreds of other hits, including "

Little Town Flirt "Little Town Flirt" is a song by Del Shannon, which he released as a single in 1962 and on the album ''Little Town Flirt'' in 1963. It spent 14 weeks on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart, peaking at No. 12, while reaching No. 1 on the Irish Singles ...

" by

Del Shannon Charles Weedon Westover (December 30, 1934 – February 8, 1990), better known by his stage name Del Shannon, was an American musician, singer and songwriter, best known for his 1961 number-one ''Billboard'' hit "Runaway". In 1999, he was induc ...

and " Scorpio" by Dennis Coffey & the Detroit Guitar Band. He played on the Jimi Hendrix album ''

Crash Landing An emergency landing is a premature landing made by an aircraft in response to an emergency involving an imminent or ongoing threat to the safety and operation of the aircraft, or involving a sudden need for a passenger or crew on board to term ...

''. He also played bass on

Cindy Bullens Cidny Bullens (formerly Cindy Bullens; born March 21, 1950) is an American singer-songwriter, who is best known for serving as backup vocalist on tours and albums with Elton John and Rod Stewart, as well as providing vocals on the soundtrack of ...

' 1979 album ''

Desire Wire ''Desire Wire'' is the debut album by singer-songwriter and musician Cindy Bullens, released in 1978 on United Artists Records. It was produced by Tony Bongiovi and Lance Quinn. AllMusic's William Ruhlmann calls it "one of the great lost rock a ...

''. 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 ''American Idol'' is an American singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It aired on Fox from June 11, 2002, to Ap ...

'', backing up Jacob Lusk's performance of "

You're All I Need To Get By "You're All I Need to Get By" is a song recorded by the American R&B/soul duo Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell and released on Motown Records' Tamla label in 1968. It was the basis for the 1995 single "I'll Be There for You/You're All I Need to Ge ...

" for AI's Motown Week in March 2011. In 2003, Babbitt played on Marion James' album, ''Essence,'' on Soulfood Records, and amongst others playing on the record were

Beegie Adair Bobbe Gorin "Beegie" Adair ( Long, December 11, 1937 – January 23, 2022) was an American jazz pianist and bandleader. In a career that spanned 60 years, she played on more than 100 recordings. More than a third of her recordings were with the B ...

Reese Wynans Reese Wynans (born November 28, 1947) is an American keyboard player, who has done session work and has been a member of Double Trouble and progressive rock band Captain Beyond. In 2015, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a m ...

, Jack Pearson (

The Allman Brothers The Allman Brothers Band was an American rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida in 1969 by brothers Duane Allman (founder, slide guitar and lead guitar) and Gregg Allman (vocals, keyboards, songwriting), as well as Dickey Betts (lead guitar ...

), and drummer Chucki Burke. He was added to the Music City Walk of Fame on June 5, 201

Bob Babbitt died on July 16, 2012, aged 74, from Brain tumor, brain cancer.

Discography

with

Tom Rush Thomas Walker Rush (born February 8, 1941) is an American folk music, folk and blues music, blues singer, guitarist and songwriter who helped launch the careers of other singer-songwriters in the 1960s and has continued his own singing career f ...

*'' Ladies Love Outlaws'' (CBS, 1974) with

Herbie Mann Herbert Jay Solomon (April 16, 1930 – July 1, 2003), known by his stage name Herbie Mann, was an American jazz flute player and important early practitioner of world music. Early in his career, he also played tenor saxophone and clarinet (inclu ...

*'' Surprises'' (Atlantic, 1976) *with Alice Cooper *Go To Hell ( song only ) 1976 With

Jimmy McGriff James Harrell McGriff (April 3, 1936 – May 24, 2008) was an American hard bop and soul-jazz organist and organ trio bandleader. Biography Early years and influences Born in Germantown, Pennsylvania, United States, McGriff started playing pi ...

*''

Red Beans Red bean is a common name for several plants and may refer to: * Adzuki bean (''Vigna angularis''), commonly used in Japanese, Korean, and Chinese cuisine, particularly as red bean paste * Kidney bean, red variety of '' Phaseolus vulgaris'', c ...

'' (Groove Merchant, 1976) With Lonnie Smith *'' Keep on Lovin''' (Groove Merchant, 1976) With

Stanley Turrentine Stanley William Turrentine (April 5, 1934 – September 12, 2000) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. He began his career playing R&B for Earl Bostic and later soul jazz recording for the Blue Note label from 1960, touched on jazz fusion ...

*''

The Man with the Sad Face ''The Man with the Sad Face'' is an album by jazz saxophonist Stanley Turrentine recorded for the Fantasy Records, Fantasy label in 1976 and featuring performances by Turrentine with an orchestra arranged and conducted by David Van De Pitte.

'' (Fantasy, 1976) With Rodriguez *'' Cold Fact'' (Sussex, 1970)

References

Sources

External links

Official websiteBob Babbit Profile -Pittsburgh Music History
*Interview with Bob Babbit
Part 1Part 2Part 3
by Bass Frontiers Magazine, 2010 {{DEFAULTSORT:Babbit, Bob 1937 births 2012 deaths American rhythm and blues bass guitarists American male bass guitarists American session musicians American funk bass guitarists Musicians from Pittsburgh The Funk Brothers members Deaths from brain cancer in the United States American people of Hungarian descent Guitarists from Pennsylvania 20th-century American bass guitarists 20th-century American male musicians Motown artists MFSB members The Group with No Name members