RIP
Willie Basse of Black Sheep loses his battle with cancer at 62
HOLLYWOOD, California — The music industry has lost another, Willie Basse has died.
Basse has lost his long time battle with cancer at the age of 62.
The Texas born musician has lived in the greater Los Angeles since the mid-70’s.
Basse has played with a who’s-who list of name entertainers for decades. And has a discography that dates back 50 years, to 1968.
Most notable – Slash was his former guitarist in the rock band Black Sheep.
Over time others who had worked closely with the singer/bassist include: Paul Gilbert, George Lynch, Mitch Perry, Randy Castillo and James Kottak.
RIP Willie Basse … you were a great one.
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Willie Basse on WikiPedia
Wilber Cornelius Rice, Jr., who goes by the stage name Willie Basse, (born August 6, 1956), is 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 on drums. Other members include, Slash, Paul Gilbert, Randy Castillo, Kurt James 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 noted Basse as the producer. Their EP “Sacrifice” was released on Quicksilver in 1999.
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 Friends,[13] also known as the “Smelly Cat” episode. As an officer and member of the Jimi Hendrix Foundation, a 501(c)(3) 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, Slash, Stephen Stills, James Kottak, Paul Gilbert, Rob Grill, JK Northrup, Jeff Pilson, Vinnie Appice, Carmine Appice and Canned Heat.
