Spike Lee’s father, Bill Lee, a jazz bassist who played with Bob Dylan and Aretha Franklin, died at home in Brooklyn on Wednesday morning. He was 94.
Bill Lee, a jazz bassist who played with Bob Dylan, Simon & Garfunkel, Aretha Franklin and Duke Ellington, who was also the father of filmmaker Spike Lee, died at his Brooklyn home Wednesday morning. He was 94.
Spike Lee confirmed his father’s death via Instagram, sharing a series of black-and-white portraits taken by younger brother David Charles Lee.
Bill Lee composed scores for several of Spike Lee’s early films, including “She’s Gotta Have It” (1986), “School Daze” (1988), “Do The Right Thing” (1989) and “Mo’ Better Blues” (1990).
Born William James Edwards Lee III in Snow Hill, Ala., on July 23, 1928, Bill Lee was the son of two musicians. “My learning in music started with my mother and father,” he said during a 2012 interview with jazz bassist Jonah Jonathan. He instilled the same love of music in some of his own children: David played piano, Joy practiced bass, Cinqué played drums, Chris took up trumpet and Spike played cello.
