LaVern Baker

Baker was born Delores Evans in Chicago.[4] She was raised in Calumet City, Illinois. Under her mother's new surname, McMurley, Delores – on December 23, 1948, at age nineteen, in Cook County, Illinois – married Eugene Williams.[5][6]

A photo of Baker from 1954

Baker c. 1957

Baker began singing in Chicago clubs such as the Club DeLisa in 1946,[7] often billed as Little Miss Sharecropper,[8] and first recorded under that name in 1949, leading to a recording deal with that title for National Records in 1951, shortly before it folded.[9] She changed her name briefly to Bea Baker when recording for Okeh Records in 1951, switched to Delores Baker,[10] and then was billed as LaVern Baker when she sang with Todd Rhodes and his band in 1952.[5]

In 1953, she signed with Atlantic Records as a solo artist, her first release being "Soul on Fire". Her first hit came in early 1955, with the Latin-tempo "Tweedle Dee", which reached number 4 on the R&B chart and number 14 on the national US pop chart. Georgia Gibbs recorded a note-for-note cover of the song, which reached number 1; subsequently Baker made an unsuccessful attempt to sue her for $250,000[11] (equivalent to $2,731,056 in 2022) and petitioned Congress to consider such covers copyright violations,[12][13] citing Gibbs and Vickie Young as copying her arrangement and vocal style.[14][15] Her request spurred Charles Diggs to lead a Congressional investigation into song theft.[16]

In 1955, Baker was the second most-played female artist in the United States after Etta James[17] and she had a succession of hits on the R&B charts over the next couple of years with her backing group, the Gliders, including "Bop-Ting-a-Ling" (number 3 R&B), "Play It Fair" (number 2 R&B), and "Still" (number 4 R&B). She experienced success with both pop and R&B artists[18] and she was one of the key musicians creating cross-over success for R&B.[19] At the end of 1956, she had another hit with "Jim Dandy" (number 1 R&B, number 17 pop), which sold over 1 million copies and was certified as a gold disc.[20] More hits followed for Atlantic, including the follow-up "Jim Dandy Got Married" (number 7 R&B), "I Cried a Tear" (number 2 R&B, number 6 pop in 1958, with sax by King Curtis), "I Waited Too Long" (number 5 R&B, number 3 pop, written by Neil Sedaka), "Saved" (number 17 R&B, written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller), and "See See Rider" (number 9 R&B in 1963). In 1958, she was one of the best-selling artists for Atlantic, on a short list of musicians who never sold less than 50,000 units[21] and by 1961, she had three million-selling singles: "I Cried a Tear", "Tweedle Dee", and "Jim Dandy".[22] In addition to singing, she did some work with Ed Sullivan[23] and Alan Freed on TV and in films, including Rock, Rock, Rock and Mr. Rock & Roll. In 1964, she recorded the Bessie Smith tribute album LaVern Baker Sings Bessie Smith. She then left Atlantic for Brunswick Records, for which she recorded the album Let Me Belong to You.

Baker toured Australia in 1957 as part of Lee Gordon's Big Show, performing with a number of rock 'n' roll bands including Bill Haley and the Comets.[24] She also toured the West Indies,[25] raising her international profile and becoming one of the most popular musicians in Jamaica.[26]

In 1966, Baker recorded "Think Twice", a duet single with Jackie Wilson. The controversial song featured raunchy lyrics considered inappropriate for airplay at that time or even today. Three versions were recorded, one of which is the version with the raunchy lyrics.[27]

After divorcing Eugene Williams in the fall of 1958, Baker married the comedian Slappy White February 19, 1959 in Baltimore.[6] After the couple divorced in 1969, Baker signed on for a USO tour. She became seriously ill with bronchial pneumonia after a trip to Vietnam. While recovering at the U.S. naval base at Subic Bay in the Philippines, a friend recommended that she stay as the entertainment director at the Marine Corps Staff NCO club there. She remained there for 22 years, returning to the United States after the base was closed in 1988.[28]

In 1988, she performed at Madison Square Garden for Atlantic Records' 40th anniversary. She then worked on the soundtracks of the films Shag (1989), Dick Tracy (1990) and A Rage in Harlem (1991), all of which were issued on CD. She performed a song for Alan Parker's film Angel Heart (1987), which appeared on the original vinyl soundtrack album but was not included on the later CD issue for contractual reasons.

In 1990, she made her Broadway debut, replacing Ruth Brown as the star of the hit musical Black and Blue[28] at Brown's suggestion.[29] In 1991, Rhino Records released the album Live in Hollywood, recorded at the Hollywood Roosevelt Cinegrill as well as Soul on Fire, a compilation of her Atlantic hits. In 1992, she recorded the album Woke Up This Morning for DRG Records.[28] She continued performing after both legs were amputated because of complications due to diabetes in 1994.[28] Baker made "Jump into the Fire," her last recording, for the 1995 Harry Nilsson tribute CD For the Love of Harry on the Music Masters label.[30] She continued to perform live after the loss of her legs and in ailing health, she sang at a benefit concert honoring her in late 1996 that helped pay for her recent medical bills.[31]

In 1990, Baker was among the first group of eight recipients of the Pioneer Award from the Rhythm and Blues Foundation. In 1991, she became the second female solo artist inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, following Aretha Franklin in 1987.[32] Her song "Jim Dandy" was named one of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll and was ranked number 343 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. In 2020, Baker was inducted into the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame

Baker died of cardiovascular disease on March 10, 1997 at the age of 67. She was buried in an unmarked plot in Maple Grove Cemetery in Kew Gardens, New York. Local historians raised funds for a headstone, which was erected on May 4, 2008.[33]

• Black Diamond Queens: African American Women and Rock and Roll by Maureen Mahon (October 9, 2020), from Duke University Press (ISBN 9781478012771)

• LaVern Baker at AllMovie
• Biography of Lavern Baker Archived 2014-12-09 at the Wayback Machine
• LaVern Baker discography at Discogs
• LaVern Baker at IMDb
• LaVern Baker discography at MusicBrainz
• "LaVern Baker". Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.