Lavern Baker
LaVern Baker was one of the most distinctive divas gracing the mid-'50s rock & roll circuit, with a brashly seductive vocal delivery tailor-made for belting the catchy novelties "Tweedlee Dee," "Bop-Ting-a-Ling," and "Tra La La" for Atlantic Records during rock's first wave of prominence.
Born Delores Williams, she was singing at the Club DeLisa on Chicago's south side at age 17, decked out in raggedy attire and billed as "Little Miss Sharecropper" (the same handle that she made her recording debut under for RCA Victor with Eddie "Sugarman" Penigar's band in 1949). She changed her name briefly to Bea Baker when recording for OKeh in 1951 with Maurice King's Wolverines, then settled on the first name of LaVern when she joined Todd Rhodes' band as featured vocalist in 1952 (she fronted Rhodes' aggregation on the impassioned ballad "Trying" for Cincinnati's King Records).
LaVern signed with Atlantic as a solo in 1953, debuting with the incendiary "Soul on Fire." The coy, Latin tempo'ed "Tweedlee Dee" was a smash in 1955 on both the R&B and pop charts, although her impact on the latter was blunted when Georgia Gibbs covered it for Mercury. An infuriated Baker filed suit over the whitewashing, but she lost. By that time, though, her star had ascended: Baker's "Bop-Ting-A-Ling," "Play It Fair," "Still," and the rocking "Jim Dandy" all vaulted into the R&B Top Ten over the next couple of years.
Baker's charismatic persona made her a natural for TV and movies. She co-starred on the historic R&B revue segment on Ed Sullivan's TV program in November of 1955 and sang memorable numbers in Alan Freed's rock movies Rock, Rock, Rock and Mr. Rock & Roll. Her Atlantic records remained popular throughout the decade: she hit big in 1958 with the ballad "I Cried a Tear," adopted a pseudo-sanctified bellow for the rousing Leiber & Stoller-penned gospel sendup "Saved" in 1960, and cut a Bessie Smith tribute album before leaving Atlantic in 1964. A brief stop at Brunswick Records (where she did a sassy duet with Jackie Wilson, "Think Twice") preceded a late-'60s jaunt to entertain the troops in Vietnam. She became seriously ill after the trip and was hospitalized, eventually settling far out of the limelight in the Philippines. She remained there for 22 years, running an NCO club on Subic Bay for the U.S. government.
Finally, in 1988, Baker returned stateside to star in Atlantic's 40th anniversary bash at New York's Madison Square Garden. That led to a soundtrack appearance in the film Dick Tracy, a starring role in the Broadway musical Black & Blue (replacing her ex-Atlantic labelmate Ruth Brown), a nice comeback disc for DRG (Woke Up This Mornin'), and a memorable appearance at the Chicago Blues Festival. Baker died on March 10, 1997.
© Bill Dahl /TiVo
Artistes similaires
-
Jim Dandy - All the Hits!
Soul - Paru chez Ap music le 4 mars 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Four Classic Albums (Lavern / Lavern Baker / Sings Bessie Smith / Blues Ballads) [Remastered]
R&B - Paru chez Avid Entertainment le 21 juil. 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Lavern Baker Sings Bessie Smith
R&B - Paru chez Poppydisc le 18 mai 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
-
The Best of the Rest (Studio)
Soul - Paru chez Jasmine Records le 11 mai 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Live In Hollywood '91 (Live in Hollywood '91)
R&B - Paru chez Rhino le 1 janv. 1991
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
There He Is (Rhythm 'n' Blues Legends)
Martha Reeves, The Vandellas, Lavern Baker, Mickey & Sylvia
R&B - Paru chez Rabbit Musik le 6 janv. 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
-
It's So Fine - The Complete singles As & Bs 1953-59
Soul - Paru chez Jasmine Records le 11 juin 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Wild, Wild Women
Blues - Paru chez Cherry Red Records le 27 mars 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
-
-
-
Blues Ballads (Original Album Plus Bonus Tracks 1958)
Pop - Paru chez Soul Story le 1 janv. 1959
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
LaVern Baker Sings Bessie Smith (Original Album Plus Bonus Tracks 1959)
Pop - Paru chez Soul Story le 1 janv. 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
-
See See Rider (Billboard Hot 100 - No. 34)
Soul - Paru chez Music Manager le 19 déc. 2018
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
I Waited Too Long (Billboard Hot 100 - No. 33)
Soul - Paru chez Music Manager le 19 déc. 2018
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
If You Love Me (Billboard Hot 100 - No 79)
R&B - Paru chez Music Manager le 13 nov. 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Wheel of Fortune (Billboard Hot 100 - No 83)
R&B - Paru chez Music Manager le 13 nov. 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -