Fontella Bass, the singer who topped the R&B charts with "Rescue Me" in 1965, has died, reports the Associated Press. She was 72.

"Bass had a few other modest hits but by her own accounts developed a reputation as a troublemaker because she demanded more artistic control, and more money for her songs," the story notes.

She sued American Express over the use of "Rescue Me" in a commercial, settling in 1993 for an undisclosed sum, according to the story.

The song has been covered by other top artists, including Cher and Pat Benatar. Aretha Franklin sang a cover of it, which was called "Deliver Me" and was used in a 1991 Pizza Hut television ad, the story notes.

Fontella Bass