BERNADETTE BASCOM - I DON'T WANNA LOSE YOUR LOVE . SOLD OUT!

A donation from sales of this record will be made to The Music Project www.musicprojectnorthshore.org This is a charitable organisation, founded and headed up by Bernadette, which helps underprovided and vulnerable youth find a voice literally and figuratively.

Though associated with her adopted hometown of Seattle, Bernadette Bascom was born and raised in Baltimore. Her father, the Rev. Marion Bascom, was a noted civil rights leader and Baptist minister with a Theology doctorate from Howard University; her mother, Lutherine, a music teacher. Her dad, by all
accounts a serious man, so strongly emphasised education over musical
pursuits Lutherine had to sneak a teenaged Bernadette into local gigs and band
rehearsals. Marion insisted Bernadette enrol at Florida Memorial University, but
she endured college for just a month before returning home, where the result of
those clandestine musical forays with her mother finally won out. Bascom’s
burgeoning vocal talent was obvious and uncontainable and, remarkably, she
scored her big break almost immediately. Aged just 18, she was invited to join
The People’s Choice on tour while their 1975 Philadelphia International single,
Do It Any Way You Wanna, was number one in the charts. During a show layover
in Seattle, Bascom fell hard for the city and decided immediately to stay. She
quickly ensconcing herself in Seattle’s storied R&B scene, as a vocalist with
Robbie Hill's Family Affair, Acapulco Gold and, eventually, Epicentre. Throughout
the late 70s word of her remarkable talent radiated beyond the Pacific Northwest
and she would go on to record and share stages with huge stars such as Frankie
Valli, Ashford & Simpson, Al Green and Elton John (appearing on his 1977
Thom Bell Sessions).
In 1979, her childhood friend, Stevie Wonder, made a serendipitous trip from
Los Angeles to Seattle. After surprising her onstage during an Epicentre show at
the Aquarius Tavern, where the pair harmonised before an awestruck crowd of
700, Wonder signed her to his publishing company and label-to-be, Black Bull.
Though disappointed that the songs she cut for him in L.A. never physically
materialised, the sessions did introduce her to Motown staff writer, Bill Miller,
who she married in 1980. With Miller as her writer, producer and manager,
Bascom’s solo career struck new ground. The pair put out five excellent single
releases during the 80s, the first and now most sought-after of which has been
faithfully reproduced here (though with the A and B-sides reversed).
After 15 years in Seattle, Bernadette relocated to Las Vegas with Bill, where they
had a daughter, Chokise. Under Bill's expert guidance, Bernadette soon enjoyed
star status, notably in the hit show, Divine Divas. She would also tour globally
with Sonny Turner of The Platters and perform as a member of The Supremes in
the Motown Café revue at the New York, New York Hotel & Casino. Sadly, her
show and marriage ultimately petered out. In the early 2000s, after 17 years in
Vegas (an epic length of time to maintain in that city) she moved back to Seattle
in search of much-needed spiritual rejuvenation.
Back in her favourite American city once more, she thrived, creating and
headlining PRAISE! A Sunday Gospel Supper, a popular, long-running stage
show at the Triple Door. But for all such personal accomplishments, Bascom’s
lasting legacy has been her commitment to improving the lives of young people
through music. For over a decade now, Bascom has been a pivotal figure in The
Music Project, a charitable organisation that helps underprovided and at-risk
youth find a voice; literally and figuratively. Having also taught previously as a
vocal coach at Northwest University, the literal part has been her forté.
The program was established by Jim Geiszler as part of the Secondary Academy
for Success (SAS) at McMenamins Anderson, an alternative High School in
Bothell, WA. Though launched initially for musicians, Geiszler recongnised
greater potential in expanding the life-skills program and saw in Bernadette the
perfect talent to focus on singing. The project was a remarkable success from
the get-go, and Bascom herself has become known to all as a beacon; a teacher
who cares intensely and instils a sense of assurance in her students.
“Confidence has been the bottom line,” she says. “It’s about music, but it’s not.
You know? Music is just the vehicle to drive to the destination, which is
self-esteem, which is confidence.”
They all moved on to life,” Bascom says, of the hundreds of Music Project
students she has aided, “and their lives. And they’re all thriving. They’re all
thriving.”
Bascom’s selfless dedication and resolve were officially recognised in 2013
when she won an Emmy Award for the Bernadette’s Touch documentary, which
focused on her work with young people with speech impairments. As she
teaches them to sing, they discover the joy and confidence that comes from
having their voices heard. It is that kind of giving for which Bascom will always
be remembered and loved. Her light shines in Bothell, in Seattle, through the
Pacific Northwest and beyond.

BERNADETTE BASCOMB DISCOGRAPHY
ACAPULCO GOLD
You and Me* / Funky Feeling
Available in the 2011 Wheedle’s Groove 10 x 7” box set (Light In The Attic LITA 077)
* Lead vocal on this side only.
EPICENTRE
Get Off The Phone
Featured on the 1978 KYYX-FM Seattle Grown LP compliation (KYYX PROMO 1)
Available on the 2014 Wheedle's Groove: Seattle Funk, Modern Soul And Boogie
Volume II 1972-1987 2LP/CD compliation (Light In The Attic LITA 108)
BERNADETTE BASCOM
Seattle Sunshine / I Don’t Wanna Lose Your Love 7” (Solidarity 111 46)
I Got To Get Paid / I Don’t Wanna Lose Your Love 7” (Solidarity 111 46)
Body Freaks / Seattle Sunshine 7” (Solidarity 111 46A)
It Gets Me Through The Night / Baby Shake Your Shaker 7” (Solidarity 111 46A)
Sweet Thang / Take Me Back 12” (Penguin P124351)