Eldee Young, 71; bassist with Ramsey Lewis Trio and others
Eldee Young, 71, a onetime bassist for the Ramsey Lewis Trio, died Monday in Thailand, where he was performing. The cause of death was thought to be a heart attack, his family told the Chicago Tribune.
A native of Chicago, Young first played guitar, then switched to bass. After graduating from high school, Young went on the road as a jazz musician, sometimes playing with blues singers Joe Turner and Joe Williams.
It was his tenure in the Ramsey Lewis Trio, with Lewis on piano and Redd Holt on drums, in the 1950s and ‘60s that made him a widely recognized figure.
The trio disbanded in the mid-1960s, and Young and Holt played together in the soul band Young-Holt Unlimited.
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