LaVern BAKER - Saved 1961

LaVern BAKER - Saved 1961

Blues

She was born Delores LaVern Baker in ChicagoChicagoChicago is the largest city in the U.S. state of Illinois, and with more than 2.8 million people, the 3rd largest city in the United States.
She is occasionally referred to as Delores Williams because of an early marriage to Eugene Williams; in the late 1940s he was identified in RCA Victor record company files as "D. L. McMurley." She was the niece of blues singer Merline JohnsonMerline JohnsonMerline Johnson was an African American blues singer in the 1930s and 1940s, billed as The Yas Yas Girl.Little is known of her life, but she is thought to have been born in Mississippi. She was the aunt of rhythm and blues singer LaVern Baker. She first recorded in Chicago in 1937, on songs...
 and was also related to Memphis MinnieMemphis MinnieMemphis Minnie was an American blues guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter. She was the only female blues artist who matched her male contemporaries as both a singer and an instrumentalist.
She began singing in Chicago clubs such as the The Club DeLisa, also written Delisa or De Lisa, at State Street and Garfield Avenue, on the South Side, was an important nightclub and music venue in Chicago.
Around 1946, often billed as Little Miss Sharecropper, and first recorded under that name in 1949.
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A1. Saved 
A2. For Love of You 
A3. Manana 
A4. That's When My Time Will Come  
A5. Shadows of Love 
A6. Must I Cry Again 
B1. Bumble Bee 
B2. Shake a Hand 
B3. Don Juan 
B4. Wheels of Fortune 
B5. Senor Big and Fine 
B6. Eternally
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LaVern BAKER - Blues Side Of Rock 'n' Roll 1993

LaVern BAKER - Blues Side Of Rock 'n' Roll 1993

Blues

Born Delores Williams, November 11, 1929, in Chicago, IL, (died March 10, 1997, Manhattan, NY).
Began singing gospel music in her Baptist Church choir in Chicago, 1941; recorded debut single as “Little Miss Sharecropper” for RCA Victor with Eddie “Sugarman” Penigar’s band, 1949; recorded as “Bea Baker” for Columbia Records, recorded unaccredited with Maurice King for Okeh Records, recorded as “Little Miss Sharecropper” for National Records, 1951; joined Todd Rhodes’ band as lead vocalist, changed name to LaVern Baker, 1952; signed with Atlantic Records as solo artist, 1953; achieved success on R&Bchartswith single “Tweedlee Dee” and became Atlantic’s first Pop Top-20 hit, appeared in Alan Freed’s movies Rock, Rock, Rock and Mr. Rock & Roll, 1955; reached number one on R&B charts with “Jim Dandy;” released biggest pop hit “I Cried a Tear,” 1958; left Atlantic Records for Brunswick Records, 1964; became Entertainment Director at the Subic Bay Military Base, 1969; returned to the U.S. to perform at Atlantic Records’ 40th anniversary party at Madison Square Garden, 1988; recorded “Slow Rolling Mama” for Dick Tracy movie soundtrack, replaced Ruth Brown for nine months in Broadway musical Black and Blue, 1990; died on March 3 in New York City, 1997.
Awards: Received Rhythm & Blues Foundation’s Career Achievement Award, 1990; inducted into Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, 1991.
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LaVern Baker, the great early rock & roll singer's second LP -- not to be confused with her first and very similarly titled LP, which was called just LaVern -- gathers both sides of seven of her nine first singles, all issued in 1953-1956. (The singles not included from this sequence are the 1954 45 "I Can't Hold Out Any Longer"/"I'm Living My Life for You" and the 1956 45 "Fee Fee Fi Fo Fum"/"I'll Do the Same for You.") In this respect, it's a much more typical album of the early rock & roll era than LaVern, which opted for material that hadn't yet appeared on singles. The most famous, and the best, songs on LaVern Baker are the hits "Tweedle Dee" and "Jim Dandy." Much of the other material comes off as energetic but less interesting variations on the general upbeat "R&B turning into rock & roll" formula of those numbers, though she does get into somewhat different bags on the heavily calypso-flavored "I Can't Love You Enough" and a few ballads. Since no less than 11 of these 14 tracks also appear on the best Baker compilation (Soul on Fire: The Best of LaVern Baker), this has to be considered something for completists, despite its generally decent quality.
By Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide.
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This import may be of slightly dubious origins (sounds like everything was dubbed from vinyl, though the sound quality is quite acceptable), but it delves a lot deeper into Lavern Baker's Atlantic discography (26 cuts) and picks up a few essential sides ignored by Atlantic's own CD: "Tra La La," "Voodoo Voodoo," "Hey Memphis" (Baker's sequel to Elvis' "Little Sister"), and a hellacious version of "He's a Real Gone Guy" sporting a vicious King Curtis sax break.
By Bill Dahl, All Music Guide.
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01. Hey Memphis - 1961
02. Voodoo Voodoo - 1958
03. Tweedlee Dee - 1954
04. Jim Dandy - 1955
05. Tra-La-La - 1956
06. St. Louis Blues - 1957
07. Still - 1956
08. Jim Dandy Got Married - 1957
09. Whipper Snapper - 1957
10. Substitute - 1957
11. Bop-Ting-A-Ling - 1955
12. Humpty Dumpty Heart - 1957
13. Saved - 1960
14. Dix-A-Billy - 1958
15. That's All I Need - 1955
16. He's A Real Gone Guy - 1958
17. I Can't Love You Enough - 1956
18. Itty Bitty Girl - 1962
19. Oh, Johnny Oh, Johnny - 1962
20. See See Rider - 1962
21. So High So Low - 1959
22. Shake A Hand - 1959
23. I Cried A Tear - 1958
24. Bumble Bee - 1960
25. You Said - 1960
26. I Waited Too Long - 1959
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LaVern BAKER - Best of Lavern Baker 1991

LaVern BAKER - Best of Lavern Baker 1991
Label: Atlantic / Wea

Blues

One of the great advantages to having become a teenager in the early 1950s is the fact that, by having lived through the birth of R&R, you can look back and give an honest, unbiased opinion as to who constituted the wheat and who made up the chaff.

Let's face it, the early days of R&R were male dominated, and when you get right down to it, only three women were able to consistently hold their own on the charts in those days with the likes of Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Fats Domino, Elvis, Pat Boone, Jerry Lee Lewis, and The Everly Brothers. They were Connie Francis, Brenda Lee, and LaVern Baker.

Born Delores Williams on November 11, 1929 in Chicago, her first record releases came in 1951 on Columbia's Okeh subsidiary when she was billed as Bea Baker and, later that same year, as "Little Miss Sharecropper" on the National label. In 1952 she took the name LaVern Baker while performing with Todd Rhodes & His Orchestra, and her success there led to a contract with the fledgling Atlantic Records. Her first release, Soul On Fire - fittingly the title for this CD - was written by the label's legendary founder Ahmet Ertegun, and while it didn't chart in either the R&B or pop Top 40 when released in late 1953, that would change in 1955.

In January that year, with her back-up group The Gliders, she released the bouncy Tweedlee Dee which, b/w the soulful Tomorrow Night [an Elvis favorite] went to # 4 R&B and # 14 pop. And although it was outsold in the latter market by a rushed-out Georgia Gibbs cover, the buying public would not let that happen again. From there to her last big charted hit in 1966, no one dared cover her again.

Of her 21 charted R&B and pop hits, 15 are included here, with the only missing gems being Tra La La (1956), It's So Fine (1958), So High So Low and Tiny Tim from 1959, 1965's Fly Me To The Moon and, from 1966 while with Brunswick Records, the duet with Jackie Wilson, Think Twice.

LaVern, who sadly passed away at age 67 in 1997, did get to see her name enshrined in the R&R Hall of Fame in 1991, thereby correcting a five year oversight [she should have been selected with the first inductees in 1986]. In any event, this is one CD you MUST have if you want an appreciation of one of the top three most influential female artists of Rock's early days. And while you're at it, search out the fabulous LP LaVern Baker Sings Bessie Smith.
By  AvidOldiesCollector.
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01 Soul On Fire 3:05.mp3
02 Tomorrow Night 3:16.mp3
03 Tweedle Dee 3:11.mp3
04 That's All I Need 2:35.mp3
05 Bop-Ting-A-Ling 3:05.mp3
06 Play It Fair 3:00.mp3
07 Jim Dandy 2:15.mp3
08 My Happiness Forever 2:48.mp3c
09 Get Up, Get Up 2:24.mp3
10 Still 2:25.mp3
11 I Can't Love You Enough 2:40.mp3
12 Jim Dandy Got Married 2:11.mp3
13 I Cried A Tear 2:38.mp3
14 Whipper Snapper 2:13.mp3
15 I Waited Too Long 2:33.mp3
16 Shake A Hand 2:51.mp3
17 How Often 2:38.mp3
18 You Said 2:18.mp3
19 Saved 2:58.flac
20 See See Rider 2:28.mp3
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