Chuck Rainey


Charles Walter Rainey III is an American bass guitarist who has performed and recorded with many well-known acts, including Aretha Franklin, Steely Dan, and Quincy Jones. Rainey is credited for playing bass on more than 1,000 albums, and is one of the most recorded bass players in the history of recorded music.

Early life

Rainey was born in Cleveland, Ohio, on June 17, 1940, and grew up in Youngstown. His parents were both amateur pianists. He learned viola, piano, and trumpet as a child and majored in brass instruments in college. He attended Lane College in Jackson, Tennessee. Rainey began playing guitar in the military.

Career

After college he played guitar in a local band but had difficulty with some of the guitar chords due to the large size of his hands. His drummer suggested that he might try playing a bass guitar instead. He was twenty-one years old when he first picked up a bass. His first big professional gig was playing with Big Jay McNeely. He then joined up with Sil Austin to tour Canada and New York. In 1962, Rainey joined King Curtis and his All-Star band; in 1965, they opened for The Beatles' 1965 US tour. He joined Quincy Jones's big band in 1972. By the 1970s he had played with Jerome Richardson, Grady Tate, Mose Allison, Gato Barbieri, Gene Ammons, as well as with Eddie Vinson at the 1971 Montreux Festival, and on five albums of Steely Dan.
Although much of his contributions was as a session player, Rainey recorded a solo album, The Chuck Rainey Coalition, in 1969. Other solo albums were Born Again, Hangin' Out Right, Sing & Dance, and Interpretations of a Groove.
Rainey wrote the five-volume Complete Electric Bass Player instructional books, and filmed instructional videos. The early bass curriculum at Musicians Institute and the Dick Grove School of Music were created by Rainey. He also wrote columns for Bass Player magazine from 1990–1992.
On November 5, 2011, Rainey had a stroke which paralyzed his left side. He spent four years receiving physical therapy and practicing meditation and Hatha yoga, and made a full recovery.
In 2014, Rainey and drummer John Anthony Martinez cofounded Rhythm Intensive, which provides clinics, workshops, and master classes for aspiring rhythm section musicians. Rainey and Martinez also co-authored The Tune of Success: Unmask Your Genius.
In an interview with Chris Jisi in April 2020, Rainey disclosed that he had retired as a bassist and turned his focus to writing his biography and leading Rhythm Intensive.
A Rainey signature line of bass guitars is produced by Alvarez Guitars and Ken Smith Basses.
Rainey received an honorary Doctor of Music degree from Berklee College of Music at a ceremony on May 7, 2022.

Discography

As leader

  • The Chuck Rainey Coalition
  • Albino Gorilla
  • Born Again
  • Coolin' 'N Groovin' with Bernard Purdie
  • Chuck Rainey/David T. Walker Band with David T. Walker
  • Hangin' Out Right
  • Sing & Dance
  • ''Interpretations of a Groove''

    As guest

With Alessi Brothers
  • Driftin
With Louis Armstrong
  • Louis Armstrong and His Friends
With Gato Barbieri
  • El Pampero
  • The Legend of Gato Barbieri
  • Bolivia
  • The Third World Revisited
With George Benson
  • Goodies
With Donald Byrd
  • Black Byrd
  • Street Lady
  • Places and Spaces
  • Stepping into Tomorrow
With David Castle
  • Castle in the Sky
  • Love You Forever
With Ray Charles
  • A Message from the People
With Joe Cocker
With Larry Coryell
With The Crusaders
  • Hollywood
  • Crusaders 1
  • The Golden Years
  • The Crusaders' Finest Hour
With King Curtis
  • Live at Small's Paradise
  • Get Ready
  • Everybody's Talkin
  • Instant Groove
With Delaney & Bonnie
  • D&B Together
With Cornell Dupree
  • Teasin'
With Aretha Franklin
  • Young, Gifted and Black
  • With Everything I Feel in Me
  • Let Me in Your Life
  • Sweet Passion
With Gene Harris
  • Astral Signal
  • Nexus
  • In a Special Way
  • Tone Tantrum
With Richard "Groove" Holmes
  • Comin' on Home
  • Six Million Dollar Man
With Bobbi Humphrey
  • Blacks and Blues
  • Satin Doll
  • Fancy Dancer
With Etta James
  • Etta James
  • Come a Little Closer
  • Etta Is Betta Than Evvah!
  • Deep in the Night
With Quincy Jones
  • Walking in Space
  • Smackwater Jack
  • You've Got It Bad Girl
  • Body Heat
  • Mellow Madness
  • I Heard That!!
  • Roots
With Ben E. King
  • What Is Soul
With Yusef Lateef
  • Yusef Lateef's Detroit
  • Suite 16
  • The Gentle Giant
With The McCrarys
  • Loving is Living
With David "Fathead" Newman
With The Rascals
  • Groovin
  • Once Upon a Dream
  • Freedom Suite
  • See
  • Peaceful World
  • Search and Nearness
With Steely Dan
  • Pretzel Logic
  • Katy Lied
  • The Royal Scam
  • Aja
  • Gaucho
With Sadao Watanabe
  • My Dear Life
  • California Shower
  • Nice Shot!
With Ernie Wilkins
  • Blood, Sweat & Brass
  • Hard Mother Blues
  • Screaming Mothers
With Bobby Womack
With others