St. Louis music icon Fontella Bass passed away last night at the age of 72.
Bass had suffered a series of health setbacks in recent years, but her passing was reportedly related to complications from a heart attack she suffered last December.
Bass was best known for her 1965 “Rescue Me.” She sang and co-wrote the single – which sold more than one million copies and spent a month at the top of R&B charts. The song remains a favorite selection among the Oldies radio format.
She resurfaced as a gospel singer 30 years after she made her mark on pop and R&B. Her release “No Ways Tired” earned Bass a Grammy Award nomination in 1995.
The daughter of gospel great Martha Bass, Fontella and her younger brother David Peaston went on to have successful music careers in their own right . Both started on the secular side before ultimately following their mother’s footsteps into faith based music.
Peaston passed away in February of this year.
Bass was inducted into the St. Louis Hall of Fame in 2000.
Funeral arrangements are pending.
Information from CBS St. Louis contributed to this report.
