LaVern Baker
LaVern Baker (born November 11, 1929 in Chicago , Illinois , † March 10, 1997 in New York City ; actually Delores Baker , but not Delores Williams , as is often wrongly stated (name by marriage)) was an American rhythm-and-blues - Singer .
life and career
She began in a Chicago gospel church choir, from which she moved to a Chicago nightspot, Club DeLisa , at the age of seventeen , where she could be booked under the name "Little Miss Sharecropper" and to a Detroit nightclub. The stage name referred to the Little Miss Cornshucks , who appeared in Chicago in the early 1940s and whose signature melody So Long was also sung by Baker. In Detroit she was discovered by the experienced jazz orchestra conductor Fletcher Henderson , who got her a recording contract with Okeh Records and wrote for her with Willmette Ward I'm in a Crying Mood . Together with the orchestra of Todd Rhodes she recorded her first singles for King Records in Cincinnati , which went completely unnoticed. She called herself LaVern Baker from now on.
In 1954 she received a recording contract with Atlantic Records . Her manager was Al Green (not the R&B singer of the same name, Al Green , but the former operator of the Detroit bar The Flame-Bar and manager of Jackie Wilson ), who continued her rhythm and blues recordings until his death 1957 took care of Baker. One of them was the classic Tweedlee Dee , which later became a huge hit for Georgia Gibbs . Baker then sued Gibbs' record company for damages for intellectual theft. This theft did not relate to the songwriter's royalties, but to the arrangement that was adopted note by note. The process, which was observed in the specialist industry at the time, decided to the disadvantage of Baker and Atlantic. With Tweedlee Dee, Baker made it to number 14 in the pop charts and number 4 in the R&B charts.
From 1956, however, their singles made the pop charts regularly. With the title Tra La La Baker had an appearance in 1956 in the musical film Rock, Rock, Rock . Their albums did not sell particularly well, LaVern Baker Sings Bessie Smith from 1958 is worth mentioning , on which Baker performs various of Smith's blues classics and is accompanied by jazz musicians. The hit wave lasted until 1960 (including their most famous song I Cried a Tear ), but then "Hitsville" Motown Baker pushed more and more into the background. Working with the composer and producer duo Leiber / Stoller , she had her last major single success in 1962 with See See Rider .
After a few duets with Jackie Wilson couldn't bring her a comeback, she emigrated to Japan, where she worked as an entertainer. In 1969 pneumonia thwarted another career in show business and she moved to the Philippines . There she lived with her husband and ran a night club.
It wasn't until 1988 that she returned to New York for Atlantic's 40th anniversary and succeeded Ruth Brown in the Broadway musical Black and Blue . In 1991 she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and she started a comeback. Although both legs below the knee had to be amputated as a result of diabetes in 1995, she continued to perform - now in a wheelchair. On March 10, 1997, LaVern Baker died of heart failure in a New York hospital.
Discography
Albums
- 1956: La Vern
- 1957: LaVern Baker
- 1958: Sings Bessie Smith
- 1959: Blues Ballads
- 1961: Saved
- 1962: See See Rider
- 1962: Richard Rodgers' No Strings. An After-Theater Version (with Chris Connor , Herbie Mann , Bobby Short )
- 1970: Let Me Belong to You
- 1991: Live in Hollywood '91
- 1992: Woke Up This Mornin '
- 2006: Jim Dandy
Compilations
- 1963: The Best of LaVern Baker
- 1971: Her Greatest Recordings
- 1984: Real Gone Gal
- 1987: I'm Gonna Get You (with Jackie Wilson )
- 1989: Hits and Rarities
- 1991: Soul on Fire
- 1993: Blues Side of Rock'n'Roll
- 1993: LaVern Baker
- 2006: Wild Wild Women ( split album , with Ruth Brown )
- 2007: The Platinum Collection
- 2008: Rock'n'Roll Legend
- 2009: Bop Ting a Ling
- 2010: Her Greatest Hits
Singles
| year | Title album |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | [↑]: treated together with the previous entry; [←]: placed in both charts |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 US
|
R&B
|
||||
| 1955 | Tweedlee Dee LaVern Baker |
US14 (? Where) US |
R&B4 (15 weeks) R&B |
First published: November 1954
with The Gliders Author: Winfield Scott |
|
| That's All I Need LaVern Baker |
- |
R&B6 (7 weeks) R&B |
B-side of Bop-Ting-a-Ling
with The Gliders Authors: Howard Biggs, LaVern Baker, Lincoln Chase |
||
| Bop-Ting-a-Ling LaVern Baker |
- |
R&B3 (11 weeks) R&B |
First published: April 1955
with The Gliders Author: Winfield Scott |
||
| Play It Fair LaVern Baker |
- |
R&B2 (16 weeks) R&B |
First published: October 1955
with The Gliders Author: Bill Campbell |
||
| 1956 | My Happiness Forever LaVern Baker |
- |
R&B13 (4 weeks) R&B |
||
| Get Up Get Up (You Sleepy Head) LaVern Baker |
- |
R&B15 (1 week) R&B |
First published: February 1956
with The Gliders Authors: Jim Breedlove, Joan White |
||
| I Can't Love You Enough LaVern Baker |
US48 (11 weeks) US |
R&B7 (10 weeks) R&B |
First published: September 1956
Authors: Dorian Burton, Howard Plummer, LaVern Baker |
||
| Still LaVern Baker |
US97 (1 week) US |
R&B4 (7 weeks) R&B |
B-side of I Can't Love You Enough
Authors: Dorian Burton, Howard Plummer |
||
| Jim Dandy LaVern Baker |
US22 (19 weeks) US |
R&B1 (20 weeks) R&B |
First published: November 2, 1956
with The Gliders Author: Lincoln Chase |
||
| Tra La La LaVern Baker |
US94 (1 week) US[R&B: ↑] |
B-side of Jim Dandy
with The Gliders from Rock, Rock, Rock! Author: Johnny Parker |
|||
| 1957 | Jim Dandy Got Married |
US76 (2 weeks) US |
R&B7 (6 weeks) R&B |
First published: April 1957
Authors: Lincoln Chase, Tyran Carlo, Tucker, Albert Green |
|
| Humpty Dumpty Heart Blues Ballads |
US71 (7 weeks) US |
- |
First published: September 1957
Author: Henry Boye |
||
| 1958 | It's So Fine Blues Ballads |
- |
R&B24 (4 weeks) R&B |
First publication: September 1958
Authors: Berry Gordy , Tyran Carlo |
|
| I Cried a Tear Blues Ballads |
US6 (21 weeks) US |
R&B2 (19 weeks) R&B |
First published: November 3, 1958
Authors: Al Julia, Fred Jay |
||
| 1959 | I Waited Too Long Blues Ballads |
US33 (11 weeks) US |
R&B5 (12 weeks) R&B |
||
| So High So Low Blues Ballads |
US52 (10 weeks) US |
R&B12 (10 weeks) R&B |
First published: June 1959
Author: LaVern Baker based on the folk song The Bosom of Abraham (Oh, Rock My Soul) |
||
| If You Love Me Blues Ballads |
US79 (2 weeks) US |
- |
B-side of So High So Low
Authors: Marguerite Monnot , Édith Piaf Original: Édith Piaf - Hymne à l'amour , 1950 |
||
| Tiny Tim |
US63 (9 weeks) US |
R&B18 (4 weeks) R&B |
|||
| 1960 | Shake a hand saved |
- |
R&B13 (4 weeks) R&B |
||
| Wheel of Fortune Saved |
US83 (4 weeks) US |
- |
First published: April 1960
Authors: Bennie Benjamin , George David Weiss Original: Johnny Hartman , 1951 |
||
| Shadows of Love Saved |
US83 (4 weeks) US |
- |
B-side of Wheel of Fortune
Author: Blackwell |
||
| Bumble Bee Saved |
US46 (11 weeks) US |
- |
First published: October 1960
Authors: LaVern Baker, Leroy Fullylove |
||
| 1961 | You're the boss |
US81 (3 weeks) US |
- | ||
| Saved Saved |
US37 (7 weeks) US |
R&B17 (5 weeks) R&B |
First published: April 1961
Authors: Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller |
||
| 1962 |
See See Rider See See Rider |
US34 (11 weeks) US |
R&B9 (8 weeks) R&B |
First published: November 1962
Authors: Ma Rainey , Lena Arrant Original: Ma Rainey, 1924; based on a folk song |
|
| 1964 | You'd Better Find Yourself Another Fool |
- |
R&B35 (4 weeks) R&B |
||
| 1965 |
Fly me to the moon |
US84 (2 weeks) US |
R&B31 (5 weeks) R&B |
||
| 1966 | Think Twice |
US93 (1 week) US |
R&B37 (3 weeks) R&B |
||
More singles
- 1953: Soul on Fire (as Laverne baker; release: August)
- 1954: I Can't Hold Out Any Longer (release: June)
- 1956: Fee Fee Fi Fo Fum (with The Gliders; release: May)
- 1957: St. Louis Blues (release: October)
- 1958: Substitute (release: February)
- 1958: Harbor Lights (released June)
- 1960: A Help-Each-Other Romance (with Ben E. King ; release: July)
- 1961: I Didn't Know I Was Crying (release: July)
- 1961: Hey, Memphis (released September)
- 1962: No Love So True (released February)
- 1962: See See Rider (release: November)
- 1963: Trouble in Mind (release: April)
- 1963: Itty Bitty Girl (released September)
- 1965: Let Me Belong to You (release: November)
- 1966: One Monkey (Don't Stop the Show) (released March)
- 1966: Batman to the Rescue (release: July)
- 1967: Wrapped, Tied and Tangled (released January)
- 1967: Born to Lose (release: August)
- 1969: I'm the One to Do It (release: April)
Awards
- 1991: Induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Web links
- LaVern Baker at Allmusic (English)
- LaVern Baker at Discogs (English)
- LaVern Baker biography and discography of Marvin Goldberg (English)
- Discography at 45cat.com
Remarks
- ^ Siegfried Schmidt-Joos , Barry Graves : Rock-Lexikon. Rowohlt, Reinbek bei Hamburg 1973, 2nd edition 1975, reprint 1978, ISBN 3-499-16177-X , p. 40.
- ↑ www.lyrics.com: I'm in a Crying Mood , accessed March 10, 2018.
- ↑ Trying , Pig Latin Blues, and Must I cry again .
- ↑ Stephanie Lewis-Lane: Sweet Nothings: Women in Rockabilly Music. LaVern Baker and Janis Martin. Musicology Master's Thesis, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee 2012, p. 27.
- ^ Galen Gart: Rhythm & Blues in Cleveland. 1955 edition. Big Nickel Publications, Winter Haven, Florida 2003, p. 82.
- ↑ Rock and Roll Hall of Fame LaVern Baker in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
- ↑ Chart sources: Singles
- ^ Joel Whitburn : Hot R&B Songs 1942–2010: 6th Edition, ISBN 978-0-89820-186-4 .
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Baker, LaVern |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Baker, Delores (maiden name); Williams, Delores (married); Baker, Bea (pseudonym); Little Miss Sharecropper (pseudonym) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American rhythm and blues singer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | November 11, 1929 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Chicago , Illinois |
| DATE OF DEATH | March 10, 1997 |
| Place of death | New York City |