Just discovered Chuck Rainey

[Bass'd on a true story]

I've heard his name a few times around TB, but I never really paid it much heed.

Just listened to this song on a whim:


Now I need more of Rainey desperately. What are his best recordings? Where to even start? He has a massive discography.

I know I could have just done this myself with Google, but I also just wanted to pay my respects to this man and his incredible talent. If you haven't listened to him yet, you need to! Thanks for reading!

 

[jallenbass]

For me it's Steely Dan's Aja. He plays on 6 of the 7 songs.

 

[Jloch86]

Rock Steady



and the Sanford and Son theme of course:

 

[JimK]

For me it's Steely Dan's Aja. He plays on 6 of the 7 songs.

...and the other Steely Dan albums with Rainey-
Katy Lied
The Royal Scam

Some highlights from these 2 albums-
"Green Earrings"
"Kid Charlemagne"
"The Fez"
"Your Gold Teeth II"

 

[Bass'd on a true story]

Thanks so much! I'll check all of these out.

 

[okcrum]

Chuck plays EB on the first seven tracks - Cecil McBee is on DB on the fifth and eighth:

 

[StyleOverShow]

I read that recording Steely Dan they told him not to slap & he agreed but when they recorded he did, of course. Rainey said that everyone else was doing it and he wanted to work.

From people I know who knew him he was a good guy, friendly and willing to chat it up. I think he passed away in 2015-16

 

[Pbassmanca]

I've heard his name a few times around TB, but I never really paid it much heed.

Just listened to this song on a whim:


Now I need more of Rainey desperately. What are his best recordings? Where to even start? He has a massive discography.

I know I could have just done this myself with Google, but I also just wanted to pay my respects to this man and his incredible talent. If you haven't listened to him yet, you need to! Thanks for reading!

Welcome to Raineyville brother! I'm a veritable Chuck Rainey fanatic. Here's one to start you off! He plays the whole album. Very funky soul music!

 

[Pbassmanca]

I read that recording Steely Dan they told him not to slap & he agreed but when they recorded he did, of course. Rainey said that everyone else was doing it and he wanted to work.

From people I know who knew him he was a good guy, friendly and willing to chat it up. I think he passed away in 2015-16

He is alive and well man!

 

[jmlee]

He is alive and well man!

He was quite unwell for a stretch if memory serves. That behind him now?

 

[kesslari]

He was quite unwell for a stretch if memory serves. That behind him now?

Seems to be. He's back to playing.
Here's some Prime Chuck...

 

[slagheap]

he is a towering monster, a true master, one of the all-time, all-time, greats. his hero and idol is a dude named Jamerson.

 

[Bass'd on a true story]

he is a towering monster, a true master, one of the all-time, all-time, greats. his hero and idol is a dude named Jamerson.

He sounds a lot like Jamerson in that Aretha song I linked in the original post. That's what attracted me to his sound. His mastery of the fretboard is so awesome.

 

[BboogieXVII]

I know this is off the topic of Chuck, but Steely Dan sometimes sounds so new and fresh, not necessarily modern but interesting and really good!

 

[AztecViking]

Chuck's story about slapping on Steely Dan's Peg can be seen at about 1:10 in the video below. I met him personally in the mid 80's and he showed me how to fool people on a recording session into thinking you were using a pick without really using one. It's pretty simple. You just pretend like you're holding one and press your thumb and index finger nails together and voila, instant pick. He said that up to that point nobody had ever called him out for not using one when on the sessions they had explicitly asked him to use one.

 

[Pbassmanca]

He was quite unwell for a stretch if memory serves. That behind him now?

Yes last I heard he plays gigs and does clinics still!

 

[Fender_Bender]

I'm led to believe he played on "dancing machine " by the Jackson 5. If so,he likely played on many more J5 songs.

 

[Pbassmanca]

I'm led to believe he played on "dancing machine " by the Jackson 5. If so,he likely played on many more J5 songs.

Wilton Felder played a lot of Jackson 5.

 

[garp]

Along with the aforementioned Steely Dan stuff, also check out the second track – titled "Green Flower Street" – on Donald Fagen's 1982 solo album, The Nightfly. That's Chuck, too.

 

[BuckN4k3d]

This was my first exposure to Chuck Rainey