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
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Discografía
8 álbum(es) • Ordenado por Mejores ventas
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Jazz Rock Guitar of Mickey Baker
Funk - Editado por Stefan Grossman's Guitar Workshop el 28 feb. 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Wildest Guitar
R&B - Editado por Rhino Atlantic el 24 ene. 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Legendary Mickey Baker: Blues, Jazz & Rock Guitar
Blues - Editado por Shanachie el 1 ene. 1991
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Blues & Jazz Guitar of Mickey Baker
Blues - Editado por Stefan Grossman's Guitar Workshop el 1 dic. 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Presenting Mickey Baker
R&B - Editado por Universal Digital Enterprises el 10 dic. 1957
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Blues And Me (1973-1976)
Blues - Editado por Disques Black & Blue el 1 ene. 1974
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
His Golden Years (Remastered)
R&B - Editado por Master Tape Records el 3 oct. 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -