Anita Baker is 65 today. This year is also the 40th anniversary of the release
of her debut album "The Songstress", so to celebrate this landmark she is touring the states this year with "The Songstress Tour", and is set to release her first new material for 19 years since "My Everything" (if you discount the live album in 2004 and a Christmas album in
2005).
Baker, along with Luther Vandross, was one of the biggest soul artist
to emerge in the 80s with her iconic 1986, 5 time Platinum selling US
(8m worldwide), album "Rapture" but soul connoisseurs were already on the case from her highly
regarded debut solo album "The Songstress" prior to that in 1983 and also from her work with
Chapter 8 in the late 70s featuring in their debut,
eponymous album in 1979.
From numerous nominations, Baker has now won eight Grammys, seven Soul
Train Awards, four American Music Awards and a Canadian Smooth Jazz
International Artist of the Year award and has four Platinum albums,
along with two Gold albums from her seven studio albums (which includes
her 2004 Christmas album which is the only one that hasn't gone at least
Gold).In 2005 she was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Music from
Berklee College of Music.
Baker was born in Toldeo, OH, on 26 Jan 1958 (a vintage year which also
saw the births of Michael Jackson and Prince) and was raised by a foster
family in Detroit after being abandoned by her mother. When 16 she began
singing in nightclubs in Detroit and was given an audition for Chapter 8
by group founder David Washington who'd seen her perform. She joined the
group in 1975 and the group toured until they secured a recording
contract with Ariola in 1979 releasing a self-titled album. I'm sure
I've written this on the blog on a previous post but, amazingly, when
Ariola was acquired by Arista the group was dropped as some hair-brained
executive considered that Baker didn't have 'star potential'. How wrong
was he, I wonder if he retained his job? Baker then took work as a
waitress and receptionist until she was approached by Otis Smith to
record for his Beverly Glen label.
Smith had already secured Bobby Womack who released one of his best
albums for the label, "The Poet", in 1981 and went on to release "Poet
II" and "Someday We'll All Be Free" (often referred to a The Poet III).
Johnnie Taylor also recorded for the label. Baker recorded her debut
album "The Songstress" which was released in 1983. The label only lasted
a short time, closing in 1985 and, apart from the three previously mentioned, only
had another two artists on the roster, Chapter 8 and Kevin Wells.
Perhaps the downfall of the label was due to Smith allegedly not paying
artists their royalties, as Baker asserts.
The album produced four R&B charting singles "No More Tears" (#49), its B-side "Will You Be Mine" (#87), "Angel" (#5), "You're the Best Thing Yet" (#28) and "Feel The Need" (#67) but none crossed over to the Hot 100.
Baker left Beverly Glen acrimoniously over unpaid royalties and Smith
delaying the release of a follow up album. Smith in turn sued her for breach of contract but the court ruled in Baker's favour. She signed to
Warner's Elektra subsidiary in 1985 and released "Rapture" in March 1986. Sales, whilst initially slow following the release of
the lead single "Watch You Step", soared after the release of the next single "Sweet Love" which made #2 R&B, #8 Hot 100 and #13 UK pop chart. Three further
singles came from the album, "Caught Up in the Rapture" (#6/#37), "Same Ole Love (365 Days a Year)" (#8#44) and "No One in the World" (#5/#44).
Her follow up album "Giving you The Best The I Got" topped the albums
chart (selling over 5m copies) and produced another three singles, two
topped the R&B chart and made the Hot 100. Whilst "Sweet Love" is probably regarded as her signature song, it was not her highest
charting single, that privilege goes to "Giving You The Best That I Got" (#1 R&B/ #3 Hot 100) and its follow up "Just Because" also topped the R&B chart and reached #14 Hot 100. The third
single from the album "Lead Me Into Love" did well R&B, reaching #4, but did not crossover.
Two albums were released in the 90s, "Compositions" (1990), a more jazz oriented album, which sold over a million and
spawned three singles "Talk to Me", "Soul Inspiration" and "Fairy Tales" and her fourth consecutive million selling album "Rhythm of Love" (1994), which fared better than her last selling over 2m copies, and
featured the Top 40 single "Body and Soul", the Grammy winning song "I Apologize" along with "It's Been You".
Baker took a hiatus to raise her family between 1994 and 2004 when
her next album "My Everything" released on Blue Note. Three singles came from
it, "You're My Everything", "How Does It Feel" and "Serious".
This was her last album of original, contemporary, material as she
released a live album in 2004 and a Christmas album in 2005, but in 1995
she released a forgettable bland ballad duet single, "When You Love Someone", with James Ingram from the movie 'Forget Paris' which was a lowly hit
reaching #71 R&B and #111 Hot 100.
In 2012 she released a cover of Tyrese's "Lately" which was from a proposed album "Only Forever" which was
cancelled.
Baker has so far achieved twelve top 10 R&B hits and all but three
of her sixteen R&B charting singles since the release of "Rapture"
have made the Top 20.
The playlist below cherry picks some of the not so obvious tracks, most
not released as singles and avoids the singles that crossed over as I'm
sure most are already familiar with them (although there are a few
videos of the classics), if not so much some of the album tracks. Note
"My Everything" is the only studio album not available on Spotify so
there are no tracks from it in playlist.
Album Discography
1983 -
The Songstress
1986 -
Rapture
1990 -
Compositions
1994 -
Rhythm of Love
2004 - My Everything
2005 - A Night Of Rapture - Live
2005 -
Christmas Fantasy
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