 Bass was born and grew up in Philadelphia, one of six children (Henry Jr., Claude, Harvey, Marcellus, and sister, Willie Belle).His father, Henry Bass, was a Pullman porter, and his mother, Nancy Weston Bass was a housewife who had both emigrated to West Philadelphia from Bennettsville, South Carolina.He volunteered for the US Army during World War II, trained in Alabama and Florida, and served in the 183rd Engineer Combat Battalion, a segregated unit.