Anita Baker

Artist Image: Anita Baker
Attribution
Image Credit: Kingkongphoto & www.celebrity-photos.com from Laurel Maryland, USA (Anita Baker), CC BY-SA 2.0

Biography

Anita Denise Baker (born January 26, 1958)is an American singer-songwriter. Starting her career in the late-1970s with the funk band, Chapter 8, Baker eventually released her first solo album, The Songstress, in 1983. Baker rose to stardom following the release of her sophomore 1986 album, Rapture, which included the Grammy-winning single, "Sweet Love". To date, Baker has won eight Grammy Awards and has four platinum albums and two gold albums to her credit. Baker has an alto vocal style.

Details

Item Name Item Details
Year Formed 1978
Number of Albums 9
Record Label
Website
Wikipedia Anita Baker on Wikipedia
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Trivia

What kind of vocal range does Baker have?

threeoctave

...Anita Baker is a Soul and R&B artist celebrated for her threeoctave vocal range, powerful voice, and emotional delivery. Her mother was a young teenag...
How many octaves is Baker's voice?

three

...Anita Baker is a Soul and R&B artist celebrated for her three octave vocal range, powerful voice, and emotional delivery. Her mother was a young teenag...
Who adopted Baker?

Lois and Walter Landry

...Grandville Lewis. Later, she was adopted by her aunt and uncle, Lois and Walter Landry . The gospel sound would later influence her singing career. Bak...
Who were Lois and Walter Landry?

aunt and uncle

...it couple, Mary and Grandville Lewis. Later, she was adopted by her aunt and uncle , Lois and Walter Landry. The gospel sound would later influence her...
What popular Detroit funk band did Baker audition for?

Chapter 8

...after being invited to audition for a popular Detroit funk band called Chapter 8 . Soon after the albums release, however, Ariola Records was bought by...
Who bought Ariola Records?

Arista Records

...oon after the albums release, however, Ariola Records was bought by Arista Records , who decided to drop Chapter 8 because they were unimpressed with B...
What was the name of the label Baker recorded for?

Beverly Glen

...an old colleague from Chapter 8 and asked to record an album for his Beverly Glen record label. A roughly arranged album titled The Songstress was soo...
What type of alto did Baker have?

strong, supple

...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 adul...
What genres of music influenced Baker?

jazz, gospel, and traditional pop

...ng, supple alto, Baker was influenced not only by R&B, but jazz, gospel, and traditional pop , which gave her music a distinctly adult sophistication. ...
When was Baker born?

Toledo, Ohio

...ar romantic singers of her time. Baker was born January 26, 1958, in Toledo, Ohio , and raised in nearby Detroit, where she grew up listening to female...
Where was Baker raised?

Detroit

... Baker was born January 26, 1958, in Toledo, Ohio, and raised in nearby Detroit , where she grew up listening to female jazz singers like Sarah Vaughan...
When did Baker begin singing in a gospel choir?

12

...azz singers like Sarah Vaughan, Nancy Wilson, and Ella Fitzgerald. At age 12 , she began singing in a gospel choir, and by age 16 she was performing wi...
Who contacted Baker in 1982?

Otis Smith

...ventually 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 record...
What was Baker's debut album called?

The Songstress

...ut 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 h...
When was The Songstress released?

1983

...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 hel...
What was the name of Baker's 1986 release?

Rapture

... Powell (an old Chapter 8 cohort), Baker released her majorlabel debut, Rapture , in 1986. It was a platinum, Grammywinning smash, appealing to both ur...
Who produced the 1986 release of Rapture?

Michael J. Powell

...outh, and she was signed by Elektra in 1985. Working with producer Michael J. Powell (an old Chapter 8 cohort), Baker released her majorlabel debut, R...
In what two classics are Caught Up in the Rapture and Sweet Love?

alltime quiet storm

...h, appealing to both urban and adult contemporary listeners and producing two alltime quiet storm classics in Caught Up in the Rapture and Sweet Love....
When did Baker cut back on her activities?

1994

...battle to take control of her career and realize her artistic vision. In 1994 , with her stardom assured, Baker cut back her activities to focus on hom...
What did Baker focus on in 1994?

home and motherhood

...th her stardom assured, Baker cut back her activities to focus on home and motherhood in the process revealing something of the intense difficulties sh...
How long did she take a hiatus from the music business?

tenyear

... the intense difficulties she faced during her own youth. Then, after a tenyear hiatus from the business, she made a triumphal return with a new album...
Where did Baker grow up?

Detroit's inner city

...ledo, Ohio, perhaps on January 26 or December 20, and grew up in Detroit's inner city . Her birth mother, who was only 16 when Anita was born, abandone...
How old was her birth mother when she was born?

16

...r 20, and grew up in Detroit's inner city. Her birth mother, who was only 16 when Anita was born, abandoned her, leaving her in the care of a woman wh...
Who raised anita?

Lois Landry

...family told her the truth about her past. This older adoptive sister, Lois Landry , raised Anita. Combated Feelings of Abandonment Much later, in an in...
What was the name of the company that Ariola was bought out by?

Arista

... along with high school friends. However, when Ariola was bought out by Arista , the group's contract was not renewed. Anita returned to Detroit, final...
What album did Anita release in 1983?

Songstress

... the contract was approved legally, she accepted, releasing the album Songstress in 1983. In 1987, Anita began work on her followup album Giving You T...
What was the name of the follow-up to Songstress?

Giving You The Best That I Got

...ss in 1983. In 1987, Anita began work on her followup album Giving You The Best That I Got in between a busy performance schedule. This album was also...
When was the Grammie awarded for Giving You The Best that I Got?

1990

...arded three Grammies: one in1989 for Best R&B Female Performance, one in 1990 for Best R&B Song (Giving You The Best That I Got) and one for Best R&B ...
Who won the Grammy for Just Because?

Best R&B Song

... 1990 for Best R&B Song (Giving You The Best That I Got) and one for Best R&B Song (Just Because). She took a more involved role in the songwriting fo...
What was her third album called?

Compositions

...he took a more involved role in the songwriting for her third album, Compositions , also moving towards experimenting with jazz. The album contained 7 ...
How many selfpenned songs did Compositions contain?

7

...ositions, also moving towards experimenting with jazz. The album contained 7 selfpenned songs and was mostly cut live. On Christmas Eve 1988, she marr...
What was the name of the son of Walter Bridgforth, Jr.?

Walter Baker Bridgforth

...ed Walter Bridgforth, Jr, whom she had met two years earlier in her home of Detroit and in January 1993, gave birth to a son, Walter Baker Bridgforth ....
What did Baker identify with?

Mahalia Jackson

... a church choir and identified with the deep voice of gospel singer Mahalia Jackson . She began to sing secular music with her friends as well, and she...
In what year did Baker release her second album, Rapture?

1986

...pter 8, Baker released her first solo album, The Songstress, in 1983. In 1986 , she rose to stardom following the release of her Platinum selling secon...
How many Grammy Awards has Baker won as of 2017?

eight

... included the Grammywinning single Sweet Love. As of 2017, Baker has won eight Grammy Awards and has four Platinum albums, along with two Gold albums....
How many Gold albums has Baker had?

two

...aker has won eight Grammy Awards and has four Platinum albums, along with two Gold albums. Baker is an alto, with a vocal range that extends her regis...
What is Baker's vocal range?

at least three octaves

...ker is an alto, with a vocal range that extends her register to at least three octaves . When she was two, her mother abandoned her and Baker was raise...
When did she begin singing R&B?

Detroit nightclubs

...er afterwards. By the time Baker was 16, she began singing R&B at Detroit nightclubs . After one performance, she was discovered by bandleader David Wa...
What was the name of the duet between Baker and his bandmate Gerald Lyles?

Ready for Your Love

...album, Chapter 8, was released that year and featured the singles Ready for Your Love , a duet between Baker and bandmate Gerald Lyles, and the Bakerle...
Who are two notable jazz figures of her generation?

Sarah Vaughan and Nancy Wilson

...ry pop to include mention of such legendary jazz figures as Sarah Vaughan and Nancy Wilson . One of the leading performers in the field of sophisticate...
Who told Anita the truth about her past?

an older sister

... care of friend named Mary Lewis. Lewis died when Anita was 13, and an older sister in her adoptive family told her the truth about her past. Baker ma...