Chuck Rainey Biography

Chuck Rainey, born Charles Walter Rainey III in Cleveland, Ohio, is a famous professional bass player. He is best known for playing with Steely Dan but has performed with other major artists since 1962.

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, recording or touring with many of the decade's greatest acts. During this time, he recorded or performed with legends like Quincy Jones, Aretha Franklin and The Supremes, among others. As a member of The King Curtis All-Stars, he toured with the Beatles on their second run across the U.S.

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. 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 into Gaucho and on their most famous album, Aja, on which he performs on every track except Deacon Blues (Walter Becker plays bass for that track).

The relationship with Steely Dan was a strained one. Rainey cites few problems with Walter Becker, but an unprofessional environment on Fagen's Nightfly project led to arguments between Rainey, Fagen, and Katz. Rainey left the project after only two days and as many tracks despite his strictly held belief that a professional musician tolerates any situation as long as he is being paid. Tensions continued indirectly. A highly educated musician, Chuck Rainey composed all his bass lines for his work with Steely Dan, but Becker and Fagen claimed credit for them. While writing for Bass Player Magazine, Rainey published an excerpt of the bass line he had composed for the tune Peg and publisher Hal Leonard claimed rights to the song and demanded payment.

While many famous bass players rival a lead guitarist with blazing licks, Chuck 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 like Jaco Pastorius, Rainey is by far more recorded than his more famous contemporaries.