Mickey Baker
Of all the guitarists who helped transform rhythm & blues into rock & roll, Mickey Baker was one of the very most important, ranking almost on the level of Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley. The reason he wasn't nearly as well known as those legends is that a great deal of his work wasn't issued under his own name, but as a backing guitarist for many R&B and rock & roll musicians. Baker originally aspired to be a jazz musician, but turned to calypso, mambo, and then R&B, where the most work could be found.
In the early and mid-'50s, he did countless sessions for Atlantic, King, RCA, Decca, and OKeh, playing on such classics as the Drifters' "Money Honey" and "Such a Night," Joe Turner's "Shake, Rattle & Roll," Ruth Brown's "Mama, He Treats Your Daughter Mean," and Big Maybelle's "Whole Lot of Shakin' Going On." He also released a few singles under his own name, and made a Latin jazz-tinged solo album, Guitar Mambo.
Baker's best work, though, was recorded as half of the duo Mickey & Sylvia. Their hit "Love Is Strange," as well as several other unknown but nearly equally strong tracks, featured Baker's keening, bluesy guitar riffs, which were gutsier and more piercing than most anything else around in the late '50s. Mickey & Sylvia split in the late '50s (though they recorded off and on until the middle of the next decade), and Baker recorded his best solo album, the all-instrumental The Wildest Guitar. In 1961, he took the male spoken part (usually assumed to be Ike Turner) on Ike & Tina Turner's first hit, "It's Gonna Work Out Fine." Shortly afterwards he moved to France, making a few hard-to-find solo records and working with a lot of French pop and rock performers, including Ronnie Bird, the best '60s French rock singer. He recorded only sporadically after the mid-'60s. Mickey Baker died at his home in Montastruc-la-Conseillère, France on November 27, 2012, at the age of 87.
© Richie Unterberger /TiVo
Artistes similaires
-
Jazz Rock Guitar of Mickey Baker
Funk - Paru chez Stefan Grossman's Guitar Workshop le 28 févr. 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Return of the Wildest Guitar
Blues - Paru chez Jasmine Records le 1 janv. 1999
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Wildest Guitar
R&B - Paru chez Rhino Atlantic le 24 janv. 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Legendary Mickey Baker: Blues, Jazz & Rock Guitar
Blues - Paru chez Shanachie le 1 janv. 1991
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Blues & Jazz Guitar of Mickey Baker
Blues - Paru chez Stefan Grossman's Guitar Workshop le 1 déc. 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Wildest Guitar (Original Album Plus Bonus Tracks 1959)
Pop - Paru chez Weird Music - Spage Age Pop le 1 janv. 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Presenting Mickey Baker
R&B - Paru chez Universal Digital Enterprises le 10 déc. 1957
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Essential Blues Masters
Blues - Paru chez Nifty Music, Inc. le 1 avr. 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Blues And Me (1973-1976)
Blues - Paru chez Disques Black & Blue le 1 janv. 1974
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Hit, Git, And Split: Mickey Baker in The '50s
Blues - Paru chez Poppydisc le 26 nov. 2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mickey Baker in Session: Ain't No Strain (1952-1961)
Blues - Paru chez Jasmine Records le 23 avr. 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bossa Nova (Mono Version)
Divers - Paru chez BNF Collection le 1 janv. 1963
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
His Golden Years (Remastered)
R&B - Paru chez Master Tape Records le 3 oct. 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Guitare pour fleurter (Mono Version)
Pop - Paru chez BNF Collection le 1 janv. 1960
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Mickey et Monique chantent Noël avec les petits lutins (Mono Version)
Musiques de Noël - Paru chez BNF Collection le 1 janv. 1963
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Nightingale
Blues - Paru chez oldies and hits for future le 30 mai 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
-
Guitare Pour Flirter Avec Mickey Baker
Jazz - Paru chez akantesso le 27 nov. 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
-
Essential Collection
Blues - Paru chez Essential Collection le 10 oct. 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -