Trivia

Had 19 R&B hits between 1955 and 1965, including "Tweedle Dee", "Bop-Ting-a-Ling", "Play It Fair", "Still", "Jim Dandy", "Jim Dandy Got Married", "I Cried a Tear", "I Waited Too Long", "Saved" and "See See Rider".

Became the second woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (1991), following Aretha Franklin in 1987.

Following her sudden death, she was interred in an unmarked grave at Maple Grove Cemetery in Queens, New York City. Local historians raised funds for a headstone, which was erected on May 4, 2008.

Inducted into the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame in 2020.

Daughter of Anna Evans.

After her divorce in 1969 Baker signed on for a USO tour. She became seriously ill with bronchial pneumonia after a trip to Vietnam. While recovering at the U.S. naval base at Subic Bay in the Philippines, a friend recommended that she stay as the entertainment director at the Marine Corps Staff NCO club there. She remained there for 22 years, returning to the United States after the base was closed in 1991.

Baker was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991. The Hall remarked that her "fiery fusion of blues, jazz and R&B showcased her alluring vocals and set the stage for the rock and roll surge of the Fifties".

Over the years, Elvis Presley recorded eight Baker songs.

From 1955 to 1965, 20 of her songs made the R&B charts.

La Vern Baker was an American rhythm and blues singer who had several hit records on the pop charts in the 1950s and early 1960s.

Her song "Jim Dandy" was named one of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll and was ranked number 343 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

In 1966, Baker recorded "Think Twice", a duet single with Jackie Wilson. The controversial song featured raunchy lyrics considered inappropriate for airplay at that time or even today. Three versions were recorded, one of which is the version with the raunchy lyrics.

Baker made "Jump into the Fire," her last recording, for the 1995 Harry Nilsson tribute CD 'For the Love of Harry' on the Music Masters label.

In 1955, Baker was the second most-played female artist in the United States after Etta James.

In 1953, she signed with Atlantic Records as a solo artist, her first release being "Soul on Fire". Her first hit came in early 1955, with the Latin-tempo "Tweedle Dee", which reached number 4 on the R&B chart and number 14 on the national US pop chart. It sold over one million copies.

Under her mother's new surname, McMurley, Delores - on December 23, 1948, at age nineteen, in Cook County, Illinois - married Eugene Williams.

In 2020, Baker was inducted into the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame.

In 1988, she performed at Madison Square Garden for Atlantic Records' 40th anniversary. She then worked on the soundtracks of the films Shag (1989), Dick Tracy (1990) and A Rage in Harlem (1991), all of which were issued on CD.

In 1990, Baker was among the first group of eight recipients of the Pioneer Award from the Rhythm and Blues Foundation.

Baker began singing in Chicago clubs such as the Club DeLisa in 1946, often billed as Little Miss Sharecropper.

She performed a song for Alan Parker's film Angel Heart (1987), which appeared on the original vinyl soundtrack album but was not included on the later CD issue for contractual reasons.

She continued performing after both legs were amputated because of complications due to diabetes in 1994.

As Little Miss Sharecropper, she first recorded in 1949, leading to a recording deal with that title for National Records in 1951, shortly before it folded.

She continued to perform live after the loss of her legs and in ailing health, she sang at a benefit concert honoring her in late 1996 that helped pay for her recent medical bills.

N 1990, she made her Broadway debut, replacing Ruth Brown as the star of the hit musical Black and Blue at Brown's suggestion.

She changed her name briefly to Bea Baker when recording for Okeh Records in 1951, switched to Delores Baker, and then was billed as LaVern Baker when she sang with Todd Rhodes and his band in 1952.

She also toured the West Indies, raising her international profile and becoming one of the most popular musicians in Jamaica.

In 1964, she recorded the Bessie Smith tribute album LaVern Baker Sings Bessie Smith.

Baker toured Australia in 1957 as part of Lee Gordon's Big Show, performing with a number of rock 'n' roll bands including Bill Haley and the Comets.

Georgia Gibbs recorded a note-for-note cover of the song "Tweedle Dee", which reached number 1; subsequently Baker made an unsuccessful attempt to sue her for $250,000 (equivalent to $2,843,478 in 2023) and petitioned Congress to consider such covers copyright violations,[13][14] citing Gibbs and Vickie Young as copying her arrangement and vocal style. Her request spurred Charles Diggs to lead a Congressional investigation into song theft.