[3/27/2012
Steppers Song Of The Day] Talk To Me by Anita Baker #stepperssongoftheday Anita
Baker (born January 26, 1958 in Toledo, Ohio and raised in Detroit,
Michigan) is an American R&B/soul jazz singer-songwriter. To date, Baker
has won eight Grammy Awards, and has four platinum albums and two gold
albums to her credit.
With her classy, refined brand of romantic soul, Anita Baker 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 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).
More Below
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 finally returned to the
studio in 2003 and issued My Everything, her first album in 10
years. Two years later she released her first holiday album,
Christmas Fantasy.
Baker was scheduled to release her seventh studio album in 2010,
entitled 21st Century Love, on Blue Note Records/EMI. However,
the album has yet to surface.
Baker was scheduled to perform at VH1 Divas Celebrates Soul taped
December 18 2011: she was to sing "Sweet Love" during a salute to
Detroit R&B music. However Baker dropped out of the show at the last
minute: rumors claimed there had been friction between Baker and Divas
2011 performer Jill Scott but Baker attributed her leaving the
show to its producers refusing to allow her to properly rehearse her
number with the other Divas performers who'd be singing with her -
presumably Marsha Ambrosius and Ledisi who performed "Sweet
Love" on the finalized Divas 2011 broadcast.
Anita Baker - Angel
Anita Baker - Been So Long
Anita Baker - Caught Up In The Rapture
Anita Baker - Christmas Fantasy
Anita Baker - Just Because
Anita Baker - Mystery
Anita Baker - Sweet Love
Anita Baker - Talk To Me
Anita Baker - Will You Be Mine
Anita Baker - You Belong To Me
Anita Baker - You're The Best Thing Yet
Chapter 8 w/Anita Baker - I Just Wanna Be Your Girl
Howard Hewitt and Anita Baker - When Will It Be?
Sources: Steppers Music Group, Freebase, Wikipedia,
(Steve Huey)
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