| Anita
Baker, with her classy, refined
brand of romantic soul, was one of the
definitive quiet storm singers of the
'80s. Gifted with a strong, supple alto,
Baker was influenced not only by R&B,
but jazz, gospel, and traditional pop,
which gave her music a distinctly adult
sophistication. Smooth and mellow, but
hardly lifeless, it made her one of the
most popular romantic singers of her
time.
Baker was born January 26, 1958, in
Toledo, OH, and raised in nearby
Detroit, where she grew up listening to
female jazz singers like Sarah Vaughan,
Nancy Wilson, and Ella Fitzgerald. At
age 12, she began singing a gospel
choir, and by age 16 she was performing
with several local bands. In 1975, she
successfully auditioned for Chapter 8,
one of Detroit's most popular acts at
the time; the group eventually signed
with Ariola and released an album in
1979, but were immediately dropped when
the label was acquired by Arista (which
didn't care for Baker's vocals).
Chastened, Baker worked low-paying jobs
in Detroit and eventually found steady
work as a receptionist at a law firm. In
1982, Otis Smith -- an executive who'd
worked with Chapter 8 -- contacted Baker
about recording for his new label
Beverly Glen. Happy with her employment
benefits and skittish over the
experience with Arista, Baker was
reluctant at first, but eventually flew
out to the West Coast to record her
debut album, The Songstress, in 1983.
Though it didn't gain quite enough
exposure to become a hit, it did help
Baker build a strong fan base through
word-of-mouth and she was signed by
Elektra in 1985.
Working with producer Michael J.
Powell (an old Chapter 8 cohort), Baker
released her major-label debut Rapture
in 1986. It was a platinum, Grammy
winning smash, appealing to both urban
and adult contemporary listeners and
producing two all-time quiet storm
classics in "Caught Up in the Rapture"
and "Sweet Love." Baker toured the world
in 1987 and her guest appearance on the
Winans track "Ain't Got No Need to
Worry" won a Grammy. Her equally stylish
follow-up album, Giving You the Best
That I Got, appeared in 1988, spawning
more staples in the title track and
"Just Because." "Giving You the Best
That I Got" also won Baker two more
Grammys, for Best Female R&B Vocal and
Best R&B Song. For her third Elektra
album, Baker decided to handle a greater
share of the songwriting, hence the
title Compositions, which was released
in 1990 and featured even stronger jazz
inflections than Baker's previous work
(not to mention all live instruments).
Following Compositions, Baker took a
break from recording and touring; after
having her first son in 1993, she
returned to the studio to craft Rhythm
of Love, which was released in 1994. In
the years that followed, Baker was
mostly silent, despite her fans'
clamoring for a jazz album; instead, she
raised her family and became embroiled
in contract disputes with Elektra, which
eventually led her to move to Atlantic.
She began working on a new album in
2000, but had to start over from scratch
due to defective recording equipment
that made the original tracks
unsalvageable. In 2004 it was announced
that she had signed with Blue Note and
still working on her new album. In the
meantime, the Atlantic imprint Rhino
released Night of Rapture: Live, a 1987
concert originally available on video.
Baker fnally returned to the studio in
2003 and issued My Everything, her first
album in 10 years. |
