Wilber Cornelius Rice, Jr. ( ), known by the stage name Willie Basse, was an American hard rock vocalist, bassist, music producer, engineer and songwriter. He was the frontman for Black Sheep, a 1980s metal band that featured a number of noteworthy musicians throughout its line-up changes. The last known line-up consisted of Basse on bass, Marshall Harrison and Brian Conroy on guitars, and

James Kottak James Kottak (born December 26, 1962) is an American drummer. Kottak is best known for his work with the German hard rock band Scorpions, which he joined in 1996. At the time of his firing from the band in 2016, he was their all-time longest-s ...

on drums. Other members included

Slash Slash may refer to: * Slash (punctuation), the "/" character Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Slash (Marvel Comics) * Slash (''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'') Music * Harry Slash & The Slashtones, an American rock band * Nash ...

, Paul Gilbert,

Randy Castillo Randolpho Francisco Castillo (December 18, 1950 – March 26, 2002) was an American musician. He was Ozzy Osbourne's drummer during the mid-1980s to the early 1990s, and later as drummer for Mötley Crüe, from 1999 to his death in 2002. Ea ...

Kurt James Steeler was an early 1980s American heavy metal band that featured Swedish guitar virtuoso Yngwie Malmsteen upon his arrival in the United States. The band was founded in 1981 in Nashville, Tennessee, by vocalist Ron Keel and released one al ...

, Ed DeGenaro and Mitch Perry. In 1985, the band released a full-length album, "Trouble In The Streets", on William and Wesley Hein's Enigma Records for which ''

Billboard Magazine ''Billboard'' (stylized as ''billboard'') is an American music and entertainment magazine published weekly by Penske Media Corporation. The magazine provides music charts, news, video, opinion, reviews, events, and style related to the music ...

'' noted Basse as the producer. Their EP "Sacrifice" was released on Quicksilver in 1999.

Early career

Basse says he began performing at the age of five. From the age of 10 to 15, he says he received classical training as a member of the

Texas Boys Choir The Texas Boys Choir is a mixed-voice boychoir located in Fort Worth, Texas. Since its founding in 1946 by George Washington Bragg, the Texas Boys Choir has grown from a mere twenty-six voices to a choral program consisting of close to eighty b ...

in Fort Worth, Texas. TBC performed with

Igor Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (6 April 1971) was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor, later of French (from 1934) and American (from 1945) citizenship. He is widely considered one of the most important and influential composers of the ...

, Greg Smith (choir director) and

Burl Ives Burl Icle Ivanhoe Ives (June 14, 1909 – April 14, 1995) was an American musician, actor, and author with a career that spanned more than six decades. Ives began his career as an itinerant singer and guitarist, eventually launching his own rad ...

who were both on the Columbia label. TBC's performances with Smith and Ives received Grammy Awards in 1966 and 1968. "A Time Of Waking", an award-winning documentary about the choir's principles and work ethic, premiered in 1969. The choir performed at

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhatta ...

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and

Radio City Music Hall Radio City Music Hall is an entertainment venue and Theater (structure), theater at 1260 Sixth Avenue (Manhattan), Avenue of the Americas, within Rockefeller Center, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Nicknamed "The Showplac ...

. By 1976, Basse had moved from Fort Worth to Los Angeles where he is said to have met Record Plant founder, Gary Kellgren. According to his bio, Basse toured and recorded with

Buddy Miles George Allen "Buddy" Miles Jr. (September 5, 1947February 26, 2008) was an American composer, drummer, guitarist, vocalist and producer. He was a founding member of the Electric Flag (1967), a member of Jimi Hendrix's Band of Gypsys (1969–197 ...

and later worked with

Andy Johns Jeremy Andrew "Andy" Johns (20 May 1950 – 7 April 2013) was a British sound engineer and record producer who worked on several well-known rock albums, including the Rolling Stones' '' Exile on Main St.'' (1972), Television's '' Marquee Moon'' ...

, whom he met through Kellgren. Known for hosting wild parties at his North Hollywood rehearsal studio, he labeled his rock and roll lifestyle the "Sunset Strip Era". Many of those stories are recounted in the "Tales From The Sunset Strip" podcasts. According to Basse, his office and printing press even supplied flyers to

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, Warrant,

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during that time.

Other projects

Basse has worn many hats during his career. He has worked as an audio engineer & producer, a corporate C.E.O, studio owner, and actor who played the part of a studio engineer in "The One Where Eddie Moves In" episode of ''

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'', also known as the "Smelly Cat" episode. As an officer and member of the Jimi Hendrix Foundation, a charitable organization, Basse has a three-fold task. In March 2015, he became the Resource Committee's VP of Marketing and Celebrity Spokesperson and for several years has played with The Gypsy Experience, a legacy band sponsored by the foundation. Other charity work includes Cruefest and The Skylar Neil Foundation, as well as Feed America – Now and Rock For Recovery. Basse is a past member of Snew and he has worked with George Lynch,

Stephen Stills Stephen Arthur Stills (born January 3, 1945) is an American musician, singer and songwriter best known for his work with Buffalo Springfield and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. As both a solo act and member of two successful bands, Stills has com ...

, Paul Gilbert, Rob Grill, JK Northrup, Jeff Pilson,

Vinnie Appice Vincent Samson Appice (born September 13, 1957) is an American rock drummer best known for his work with the bands Dio (band), Dio, Black Sabbath, and Heaven & Hell (band), Heaven & Hell. Of Italian descent, he is the younger brother of drummer ...

Carmine Appice Carmine Appice ( , born December 15, 1946) is an American rock drummer. He is best known for his associations with Vanilla Fudge; Cactus; the power trio Beck, Bogert & Appice; Rod Stewart; King Kobra; and Blue Murder. He is also Vinny Appice's ...

and

Canned Heat Canned Heat is an American band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1965. The group is noted for its efforts to promote interest in blues music and its original artists and rock music. It was founded by two blues enthusiasts Alan Wilson and Bob ...

Discography

* 1968 Texas Boys Choir, "The Glory of Gabrieli", Columbia Sony/BMG (#78762), 1st, 2nd Alto * 1985 Black Sheep, "Trouble" in the Streets", Enigma (#72071), Artist * 1997 Terry Ilous, "Cage", Fyco Records, Engineer * 1998

Finis Tasby Finis Tasby (February 1, 1939 – November 2, 2014) was a Los Angeles based blues singer and frontman for the group The Mannish Boys. Background and career There is some confusion over his birth details, depending on which source is referenced. ...

, "Jump Children", Evidence Music/Delta Groove, Engineer * 1999 Black Sheep, "II Sacrifice", Rock's Cool Records (#07772), Artist/Producer/Engineer * 1999 Canned Heat, "Boogie 2000", Ruf Records (#45327), Engineer * Canned Heat, "Let’s Work Together", Target TV Commercial, Engineer * 2001 Frank Goldwasser, "Bluju", Delta Groove Productions, Engineer * 2007 Terry Ilous, "Here and Gone", Fyco Records, Engineer * 2008 Willie Basse, "The Money Grind", New Empire Media, Inc (#67026), Artist/Engineer * 2010 Willie Basse, "Break Away", Rock's Cool Music Publishing, New Empire Media, Inc. Artist/Engineer/Co-Producer with

* 2010 Willie Basse, "Which Side R/U On?", New Empire Media, Inc., Artist/Engineer/Producer * 2012 Willie Basse, "Someone Like U", New Empire Media, Inc. , Artist/Engineer/Producer * 2012 Snew, "What's It To Ya", Hydrant Records Japan, Bass * 2013 Willie Basse, "Stop! (In the Name of Love)", New Empire Media, Inc. , Artist * 2013 Willie Basse, "Tears Are Falling", Rock's Cool Records, Artist/Producer

References

External links

Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Basse, Willie American rock musicians 2018 deaths 1956 births