| Birth name | Charles Walter Rainey III |
|---|---|
| Born | (1940-06-17) June 17, 1940 Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. |
| Genres | Jazz fusion, R&B, rock, soul |
| Occupation(s) | Musician |
| Instruments | Bass |
| Associated acts | Donald Byrd, Steely Dan |
Charles Walter “Chuck” Rainey III (born June 17, 1940 in Cleveland, Ohio, United States) is an American bassist who has played with many well-known acts, including Donald Byrd, Steely Dan, Quincy Jones, Aretha Franklin, The Rascals, Frankie Valli, and Joe Walsh.
Rainey’s youthful pursuits included violin, piano and trumpet. Later, while attending Lane College in Tennessee, Rainey switched to baritone horn to join the school’s travelling brass ensemble. While on active military duty, Rainey learned rhythm guitar and began playing professionally with local bands. His lack of improvisational skills on guitar led him to pick up the bass, and soon Rainey found himself working steadily as a studio bassist in New York City, recording or touring with many of the greatest acts of that time.
By the 1970s he had played with Jerome Richardson, Grady Tate, Mose Allison, Gato Barbieri, and Gene Ammons, as well as with Eddie Vinson at the 1971 Montreux Festival
As a member of The King Curtis All-Stars, he toured with the Beatles on their second run across the United States. By the beginning of the 1970s, Rainey had firmly established his place as one of New York City’s first call session bass guitarists
In 1972, he released his first solo album The Chuck Rainey Coalition on Skye Records. The coalition consists of notable session musicians Richard Tee, Warren Smith, Specs Powell, Eric Gale, Bernard Purdie, Herb Lovelle, Cornell Dupree and Billy Butler.
Moving to Los Angeles in 1972, his work with Quincy Jones continued as a member of Jones’ big band, and Rainey continued to work as a studio musician on others albums like, Betty Davis’ famously shelved session from 1976 or Tim Buckley’s Greetings from L.A. About this time, he bumped into friend and Steely Dan producer Gary Katz, which led to performing on tracks for Pretzel Logic by Steely Dan. His relationship with Steely Dan continued through Katy Lied; The Royal Scam, Aja, where he performs on every track except “Deacon Blues” (Walter Becker played bass for that track); and Gaucho.
Rainey’s style has always been to provide a rhythmic and melodic bottom that works with the drummer for the benefit of the song. His books on bass study refer to a “sensitivity to music” and a dedication to studying the fundamentals of music theory. While his “sideman” philosophy of bass has not brought him the level of recognition of star players such as Jaco Pastorius, Rainey is by far more recorded than his more famous contemporaries.
Rainey credits the 16th-note pulse of New York City drummers as the ingredient that set him apart from his peers in other cities’ classic rhythm sections. That percussion perk led the Ohio native to forge one of the cornerstone R&B styles, making an indelible mark with King Curtis, Aretha Franklin (“Rock Steady”), and many others. His early-’70s move to Los Angeles at the behest of Quincy Jones resulted in more seminal sides with Steely Dan (Kid Charlemange, Aja), Marvin Gaye, and the Jackson 5.
Bass Stuff 