LaVern Baker

rhythm and blues singer

Personal Information

Born Delores Williams on November 11, 1929, in Chicago, IL; early in career used stage names Little Miss Sharecropper and Bea Baker; died on March 10, 1997, in New York, NY.

Career

Rhythm-and-blues recording artist. Recorded debut single as Little Miss Sharecropper, 1949; signed to Atlantic label and began to record as LaVern Baker, 1953; reached pop top 20 with "Tweedlee Dee"; success diluted by white cover versions of "Tweedlee Dee" and other songs; reached pop top ten with "I Cried a Tear," 1959; left Atlantic for Brunswick Records, 1963; suffered attack of pneumonia in Vietnam, 1969, with extensive convalescence in Philippines; became entertainment director at U.S. military base at Subic Bay, Philippines, 1969; performed at Atlantic Records 40th anniversary party, New York, 1988; replaced Ruth Brown in Broadway musical Black and Blue, 1990; recorded and performed extensively, 1990s.

Life's Work

Her voice carried a fascinating mixture of sophistication and down-to-earth power that evoked Bessie Smith and the other vocalists of the classic era, and she did much to set in place the outlines of early rock and roll. LaVern Baker was one of the most original and significant African American vocalists of the 1950s and early 1960s. Yet she might have risen to an even greater level of renown had her career not peaked during an era in which the recordings of African American artists were routinely "covered" or copied by white vocalists, robbing African American creators of their full rewards in monetary compensation and social recognition.

Baker was born Delores Williams on November 11, 1929, in Chicago. Her aunt was the classic blues vocalist Memphis Minnie, and she began to sing with friends at an early age. The raw power in her voice, as it did for so many other African American singers, came from gospel; Baker joined the choir at her Baptist church at the age of 12. By her late teens, she was singing blues and pop in Chicago nightclubs. She had a separate alias for each of the two images she wanted to project; for the down-home crowds recently arrived in Chicago, she took the name of Little Miss Sharecropper, while for other club dates she used the name Bea Baker. The name might have been derived from Memphis Minnie's real name, Merline Baker.

Recorded as "Little Miss Sharecropper"

One of the musicians who recognized Baker's talent early on was swing bandleader Fletcher Henderson, who heard her in a nightclub in 1947. Baker made some blues recordings under the Little Miss Sharecropper name in 1949, and while these vanished without a trace, her reputation in Midwestern clubs continued to rise. She toured extensively, both as a solo artist and with the Todd Rhodes Orchestra. Appearing at Detroit's legendary Flame Show Bar, she made another influential ally in future soul superstar Al Green, who managed Baker for a time and landed her a recording slot with the Columbia label. She also took vocals, not always credited, on recordings by Rhodes and bandleader Maurice King.

Baker rose to stardom when she was signed to the Atlantic label in 1953; it was there that she finally adopted the stage name of LaVern Baker. Atlantic, under the direction of producers and founders Ahmet Ertegun and Jerry Wexler, had pioneered a distinct rhythm-and-blues sound favoring sharp, precise arrangements that nevertheless kept in touch with the emerging rhythms of the streets. The material and sound that the label sent Baker's way showcased her skills perfectly. Baker's second recording session for Atlantic yielded the hit "Tweedlee Dee" in 1954. The recording rose to Number Fourteen on the pop charts and reached the one-million sales mark.

As was common practice at the time, however, white recording executives moved to minimize Baker's success by releasing a cover version of "Tweedlee Dee" by a white artist. Georgia Gibbs's version of "Tweedlee Dee" on the Mercury label reached the Number Two chart position, and copies of Baker's songs by Gibbs and other vocalists continued to appear during many of Baker's prime recording years in the late 1950s. Unlike many other African American artists, Baker protested this unfair practice. She filed suit, claiming that her own interpretation of "Tweedlee Dee" constituted a copyrightable arrangement, but her suit was unsuccessful. Baker also wrote a letter to a U.S. congressman describing the injustices that were being visited upon African American recording artists--but in return received only a publicity packet.

Hit Pop Charts

Baker pressed on, and recorded a tribute album to Bessie Smith in 1958. The following year, she reached the pop Top Ten charts with the sultry "I Cried a Tear." The song featured saxophone work by King Curtis, who offered a close instrumental counterpart for Baker's own style. At one point, embarking on an Australian tour with a group of early rock and roll acts, Baker mailed Gibbs a flight-insurance document she had purchased at the airport. She enclosed a letter saying Gibbs might need insurance against the possibility that, with Baker absent, she wouldn't have any more material to copy. Baker had another minor hit with "Saved," a quasi-gospel number penned by the masters of white rhythm-and-blues composition, Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller.

With her highly rhythmic vocals backed by Atlantic's zippy accompaniment tracks, Baker must be counted not only as a major rhythm-and-blues artist, but as one of the pioneers of rock and roll as well. However, as both African American and white music moved in new stylistic directions in the 1960s, Baker's popularity declined somewhat. She moved to the Brunswick label in 1963, but derived much of her income from live concert appearances during the 1960s. During the Vietnam War, she gave concerts to entertain U.S. troops.

Baker's later years would seem an ideal subject for cinematic treatment. In 1969, while on tour in Vietnam, she fell seriously ill with pneumonia. She survived, but faced a lengthy period of recuperation in the Philippines. After her recovery she decided to stay there, and landed a job as entertainment director at the U.S. military base at Subic Bay. She raised a family in the Philippines, and did not return to the U.S. mainland for nearly 20 years. The stay might have been permanent had not the American popular music industry finally begun to honor its legends--in particular its underappreciated African American legends.

Came Home for Atlantic Bash

In 1989, Baker came back to the United States to attend the 40th-anniversary celebration at Atlantic Records. Baker performed at the star-studded event, which was held at New York's Madison Square Garden. After that, new opportunities began to flow Baker's way. She made extended appearances on Broadway as a replacement for vocalist Ruth Brown in the rhythm-and-blues-themed musical Black and Blue, recorded two new albums and a song for the soundtrack of the film Dick Tracy, and performed club dates in New York. Baker was honored in 1990 with induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and with a Career Achievement Award from the Rhythm & Blues Foundation.

Tragically, illness cast a dark shadow upon Baker's life. Afflicted with diabetes for many years, she was finally forced to undergo a double amputation of her legs. As was typical of the determination she had shown throughout her career, Baker returned to performing. Down Beat magazine lauded the "heart-wrenching set" she performed in Newport, Rhode Island at the Rockport Rhythm & Blues Festival during the last year of her life. Baker died in New York City on March 10, 1997.

Awards

Rhythm & Blues Foundation Career Achievement Award, 1990; inducted into Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, 1991.

Works

Selected discography

• LaVern Baker, Atlantic, 1953.
• LaVern, Atlantic, 1956.
• Sings Bessie Smith, Atlantic, 1958.
• Blues Ballads, Atlantic, 1959.
• Saved, Atlantic, 1959.
• See See Rider, Atlantic, 1959.
• Soul on Fire: The Best of LaVern Baker, Rhino, 1991.
• Woke Up This Mornin', DRG, 1992.
• Blues Side of Rock 'n' Roll, Star Club, 1993.

Further Reading

Books

• Contemporary Musicians, volume 25, Gale, 1999.
• Larkin, Colin, ed., The Encyclopedia of Popular Music, Muze UK, 1998.
• Romanowski, Patricia, and Holly George-Warren, The New Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock and Roll, Fireside, 1995.

• Down Beat, July 1997, p. 12.
• New York Times, March 12, 1997.

• Additional information for this profile was obtained from http://www.allmusic.com.

— James M. Manheim