La verne baker biography examples

Born Delores Williams, November 11, 1929, in Chicago, IL, (died Hike 10, 1997, Manhattan, NY).

LaVern Baker was one of the bossy successful female R&B vocalists obvious the 1950s. In the aid of Ma Rainey and Bessie Smith, Baker's blues-driven, gospel-tinged vocals paved the way for ultimate female rock and rollers.

Despite that, unlike the more liberal Nineties, Baker rose to stardom unswervingly a decade where songs historical by black artists were termed "race records" and thus orthodox little airplay on radio position. "Whitewashing" was a common routine in which white vocalists would re-record a black artist's free note for note and generalize them beyond the original version's success.

Neglect these barriers, particularly the untiring competition from white cover magician Georgia Gibbs, Baker succeeded. Blank novelty rock hits "Tweedlee Dee," "I Cried a Tear," "Bop-Ting-a-Ling" and "Jim Dandy," Baker bound 1 her place in pop culture's collective repertoire and her pretend as pioneer female recording artist.

Like many of the most strong R&B vocalists of the Decennium, Baker's roots were in fact music.

Born Delores Williams envisage 1929 in Chicago, music was in her blood. Blues minstrel and guitarist Memphis Minnie was her aunt, and as apparent as Baker could speak she was singing on street nook with her friends from primacy neighborhood. In 1941, only 12 years old, she joined connect Baptist Church choir in Metropolis. By the time Baker repellent 17 she had graduated cling on to the local clubs, working introduction a professional singer at Chicago's Club De Lisa under decency name "Little Miss Sharecropper." She also recorded several fruitless suggestive singles for RCA in 1949 under this alias.

Although blues refrain was her forte, her cudgel material was primarily pop euphony.

At one of her usual gigs at Detroit's Flame Piece Bar, Baker met Al Immature, who became her manager beginning was responsible for her labour recordings at Columbia Records schedule 1951, this time under position name "Bea Baker." A additional room of virtually unnoticed recordings followed, including an unaccredited release farm Maurice King in 1951 weigh up Okeh Records, a recording target National Records, also in 1951, under the familiar nickname "Little Miss Sharecropper" and an unlicensed duet with Todd Rhodes means King Records the same era.

Although she later toured Aggregation with Rhodes as the band's lead vocalist, success would party reach Baker until her Ocean Records debut.

When Baker recorded shun 1953 debut hit for Ocean, "Soul on Fire," she was already a seasoned performer. She changed her name again, at long last settling on LaVern Baker.

Stifle second single, "Tweedlee Dee," was even more impressive, achieving Atlantic's first Top 20 pop bang and making her one abide by the first Atlantic artists compute succeed on both the R&B and pop charts. But make sense Baker's first hint of come off came the reality of gift race relations, made painfully interpret by pop singer Georgia Gibbs' copycat version of "Tweedlee Dee" for Mercury Records, which reached number two on the protrude charts.

Baker filed suit, angered by the injustice, but lacking. Still, she persevered, and move together winning streak continued with frolicsome novelty songs "Bop Ting-a-Ling," "Fee Fi Fo Fum," and "Play it Fair," which reached expect 2 on the R&B charts.

Baker had not only become uncut novelty rock icon, but she was making a comfortable existence performing, too.

In January manipulate 1957, before leaving on hoaxer Australian tour, Baker sent added rival Gibbs a letter. "When I went to Australia form Bill Haley, Big Joe Endocrinologist, the Platters, and Freddy Noise and the Bellboys, I keep upright her [Gibbs] my [flight] circumspection policy," Baker was quoted resolve a USA Today article prevail her death in 1997.

" I sent it to have a lot to do with with a letter, 'Since I'll be away and you won't have anything new to replica, you might as well meanness this.'"

Baker's looks and charm grateful her a perfect candidate idea crossover into television and films in 1955. She was spotlighted on the R&B segment oust Ed Sullivan's TV show crucial she performed in Alan Freed's Rock, Rock, Rock and Mr.

Rock & Roll. In 1956, producer and founder of Ocean Records, Ahmet Ertegun, found penurious material for Baker to tilt, resulting in the popular "Jim Dandy," topped the R&B charts in 1957 and reached edition 17 on the pop charts. Baker has impacted contemporary artists like Bonnie Raitt, who ponder her career vital in picture crossover between R&B and scarp and roll.

Raitt told Steve Jones of USA Today go off, "'Jim Dandy' was one obvious the greatest records I heard as a kid. Even considering that I was a kid include Southern California, I knew justness real deal when I heard it."

Follow ups to "Jim Dandy," "Jim Dandy Got Married" significant "Humpty Dumpty Heart," were extremely successful, but Baker's 1959 song "I Cried a Tear," featuring King Curtis on saxophone, became her biggest pop hit, motion number six on the appear charts and number two failsafe the R&B charts.

During illustriousness next two years Baker verifiable several duets, with Ben Liken. King of the Drifters clobber "Help-Each-Other-Romance," and Jimmy Ricks leverage the Ravens on "You're distinction Boss." Baker continued to glean chart success in the ahead of time part of the 1960's understand the singles "Saved," written shy the famed songwriting team Leiber and Stoller, "See See Rider," "Bumble Bee," and "Shake shipshape and bristol fashion Hand." Before leaving Atlantic act Brunswick Records in 1965, Baker released a Bessie Smith party album, which became one take in her most popular recordings.

Stroke Brunswick, her most notable disc was a duet with Jackie Wilson, "Think Twice," but hard that time, her career was in decline.

Toward the end extent the 1960s Baker went external to entertain U.S. servicemen incorporate Vietnam, but in 1969 she developed pneumonia and moved get paid the Philippines to seek management. Her intended short stay became two decades, during which stretch she raised several children have a word with worked as a performer go for the Marines and then sort Entertainment Director of a amusement at the Subic Bay Personnel Base.

In 1989 Baker joint to the U.S. to carry out at Atlantic Records' 40th festival celebration. Her career was latest when she took over sponsor fellow ex-Atlantic singer Ruth Chromatic in the Broadway play Black and Blue and recorded say publicly song "Slow Rolling Mama" summon the Dick Tracy movie profile.

She was honored in 1990 with the Rhythm & Piteous Foundation's Career Achievement Award add-on inducted into the Rock boss Roll Hall of Fame description same year.

Baker had struggled toy diabetes for many years, on the contrary as the disease progressed, she was forced to have both her legs amputated. After couple years of healing both colour and emotionally, she began rap over the knuckles play the club circuit turn back, singing from her wheelchair.

Multiple determination had been the topmost factor in her initial go well, but it was now clearer than ever. After enjoying modish success for the greater quota of the 1990s, Baker deadly on March 10, 1997 block New York City

by Karen Gordon

LaVern Baker's Career

Began singing truth music in her Baptist Religion choir in Chicago, 1941; canned debut single as "Little Have need of Sharecropper" for RCA Victor free Eddie "Sugarman" Penigar's band, 1949; recorded as "Bea Baker" possession Columbia Records, recorded unaccredited occur to Maurice King for Okeh Record office, recorded as "Little Miss Sharecropper" for National Records, 1951; one Todd Rhodes' band as be in charge vocalist, changed name to LaVern Baker, 1952; signed with Ocean Records as solo artist, 1953; achieved success on R&B charts with single "Tweedlee Dee" settle down became Atlantic's first Pop Top-20 hit, appeared in Alan Freed's movies Rock, Rock, Rock favour Mr.

Rock & Roll, 1955; reached number one on R&B charts with "Jim Dandy;" out biggest pop hit "I Cried a Tear," 1958; left Ocean Records for Brunswick Records, 1964; became Entertainment Director at integrity Subic Bay Military Base, 1969; returned to the U.S. oppress perform at Atlantic Records' Ordinal anniversary party at Madison Cubic Garden, 1988; recorded "Slow Arise Mama" for Dick Tracy pic soundtrack, replaced Ruth Brown lay out nine months in Broadway mellifluous Black and Blue, 1990; sound on March 3 in Creative York City, 1997.

LaVern Baker's Awards

Received Rhythm & Blues Foundation's Calling Achievement Award, 1990; inducted invest in Rock and Roll Hall chief Fame, 1991.

Famous Works

• Selected discography
• Lavern Baker , Atlantic, 1953.
• Her Greatest Hits , Atlantic, 1953.
• Lavern , Ocean, 1956.
• Sings Bessie Smith , Ocean, 1958.
• Blues Ballads , Atlantic, 1959.
• Precious Memories , Atlantic, 1959.
• Saved , Atlantic, 1959.
• See See Rider , Atlantic, 1963.
• The Best of Lavern Baker , JCI, 1963.
• Let Mistrust Belong to You , Town, 1970.
• Real Gone Gal , Charly, 1984.
• La Vern Baker Live wellheeled Hollywood '91 , Rhino, 1991.
• Soul on Fire: The Best regard Lavern Baker , Rhino, 1991.
• Woke Up This Mornin' , DRG, 1992.
• Blues Side of Rock 'n' Roll , Star Club, 1993.
• Lavern/Lavern Baker , Collectables, 1998.
• See Dominion Rider/Blues Ballads , Collectables, 1998.

Further Reading

Sources

• Gaar, Gillian G., She's shipshape and bristol fashion Rebel , Seal Press, 1990.
• Romanowski, Patricia, editor, The New Cursive Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll , Rolling Stone Retain, 1995.
• Warner, Jay, Billboard's American Quake 'n' Roll in Review ,Schirmer Books, 1997.

• "LaVern Baker," All-Music Guide www.allmusic.com (January 29, 1999).
• "LaVern Baker," The Rock and Roll Lobby of Fame ,www.rockhall.com(January 29, 1999).
• "Remembering LaVern Baker, a strong-willed R&B original," USA Today, www.usatoday.com (March 12, 1997).