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
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Discografía
89 álbum(es) • Ordenado por Mejores ventas
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The Platinum Collection
R&B - Editado por Rhino Atlantic el 22 mar. 2005
Disponible en16-Bit/44.1 kHz Estéreo -
Soul On Fire: The Best Of LaVern Baker
R&B - Editado por Rhino Atlantic el 22 mar. 2005
Disponible en16-Bit/44.1 kHz Estéreo -
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Sings Bessie Smith
R&B - Editado por ATLANTIC RECORDS el 1 ene. 2000
Disponible en16-Bit/44.1 kHz Estéreo -
Sings Bessie Smith (Remastered)
R&B - Editado por Avid Entertainment el 30 jul. 2019
Disponible en16-Bit/44.1 kHz Estéreo -
See See Rider
R&B - Editado por Rhino Atlantic el 11 jul. 2019
Disponible en16-Bit/44.1 kHz Estéreo -
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Presenting LaVern Baker
R&B - Editado por Universal Digital Enterprises el 24 dic. 1953
Disponible en16-Bit/44.1 kHz Estéreo -
Live In Hollywood '91 (Live in Hollywood '91)
R&B - Editado por Rhino el 1 ene. 1991
Disponible en16-Bit/44.1 kHz Estéreo -
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Precious Memories: LaVern Baker Sings Gospel
R&B - Editado por Rhino Atlantic el 4 jun. 1959
Disponible en16-Bit/44.1 kHz Estéreo -
See See Rider
Varios - Editado por Warner Music Group - X5 Music Group el 6 jul. 2018
Disponible en16-Bit/44.1 kHz Estéreo -
Bumble Bee / Think Twice
Soul - Editado por Fryers el 3 mar. 2014
Disponible en16-Bit/44.1 kHz Estéreo -
Jim Dandy - All the Hits!
Soul - Editado por AP Music el 4 mar. 2013
Disponible en16-Bit/44.1 kHz Estéreo -
Learning to Love - Road Trip Classics
Pop - Editado por Mang Pito Products Co. el 2 ago. 2024
Disponible en16-Bit/44.1 kHz Estéreo -
Four Classic Albums (Lavern / Lavern Baker / Sings Bessie Smith / Blues Ballads) [Remastered]
R&B - Editado por Avid Entertainment el 21 jul. 2017
Disponible en16-Bit/44.1 kHz Estéreo -
There He Is (Rhythm 'n' Blues Legends)
Martha Reeves, The Vandellas, Lavern Baker, Mickey & Sylvia
R&B - Editado por Rabbit Musik el 6 ene. 2023
Disponible en16-Bit/44.1 kHz Estéreo -
Essential Classics, Vol. 351: Lavern Baker
Soul - Editado por Essential Classics el 19 dic. 2024
Disponible en16-Bit/44.1 kHz Estéreo -
I'm Leaving It All Up to You
Rock - Editado por Warner Music Group - X5 Music Group el 15 sep. 2023
Disponible en16-Bit/44.1 kHz Estéreo