{{short description|American jazz musician}}
[[File:(Portrait of Wesley Prince, Oscar Moore, and Nat King Cole, Zanzibar, New York, N.Y., ca. July 1946) (LOC) (4931764613).jpg|thumb|Nat Cole with Oscar Moore and Wesley Prince (right) 1946. Photo: William P. Gottlieb]] '''Clarence Wesley Prince''' (April 8, 1907 - 30 October 1980<ref name = "eagle">Bob L. Eagle, Eric S. LeBlanc:. '' Blues: A Regional Experience '', 2013, p 408</ref>) was an American jazz and R&B musician. He played the double bass.
== Life and work == Prince was born in Pasadena, California. His father was a preacher;<ref>Klaus Teubig; '' Straighten Up and Fly Right: A Chronology and Discography ''. 1994</ref> his brother was the jazz musician Henry Prince (who played in Les Hite's band), and he was a cousin of the R&B musician Peppy Prince.
Between 1938 and 1941, he played in a trio with pianist and singer Nat King Cole and guitarist Oscar Moore. In addition, he participated in recordings by Louis Armstrong (1936) and King Perry (1946). Under his own name, he played on several tracks for Excelsior Records.<ref name="eagle"/> He participated in 29 recording sessions from 1936 to 1946.<ref name="lord">Tom Lord ''The Jazz Discography'' (online, accessed August 10, 2015)</ref>
For Nat Cole in 1940, he wrote the song "Gone with the Draft" (the title is a play on the popular Hollywood film Gone with the Wind as well as an allusion to the fact that Cole escaped military service because of his flat feet). In August 1942, Prince was drafted for military service <ref>Guido van Rijn:. ''Roosevelt's Blues: African-American Blues and Gospel'' 1995 page 147</ref> In later years, he worked in the aviation industry.<ref>Jazz Times in December 1994</ref> Prince never recorded as a session leader.
== References == <references />
== External links == *{{AllMusic|artist|ID=mn0002285838|Linktext=Wesley Prince}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Prince, Wesley}} Category:1907 births Category:1980 deaths Category:American jazz double-bassists Category:American male double-bassists Category:20th-century American guitarists Category:20th-century American double-bassists Category:20th-century American male musicians Category:American male jazz musicians Category:King Cole Trio members