Anita Baker
On Tour
1,780,016 plays (253,973 listeners)
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 was born January 26, 1958, in Toledo, OH, and raised in nearby Detroit, where she 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.
Top Albums
-
Sweet Love: The Very Best of Anita Baker
Anita Baker
Buy- Download Album
- Amazon MP3 Search
- 7digital Search
- iTunes Search
- Buy Album
- Amazon Search
- eBay Search
-
A Night of Rapture Live
Anita Baker
Buy- Download Album
- Amazon MP3 Search
- 7digital Search
- iTunes Search
- Buy Album
- Amazon Search
- eBay Search
-
Giving You the Best That I Got
Anita Baker
Buy- Download Album
- Amazon MP3 $7.92
- 7digital $8.99
- iTunes $7.99
- Buy Album
- Amazon $5.99
- eBay Search
-
Rapture
Anita BakerBuy- Download Album
- Amazon MP3 $8.17
- 7digital $9.99
- iTunes $8.99
- Buy Album
- Amazon $5.28
- eBay Search
Videos
-
Play
Christmas Time Is Here
-
Play
Will You Be Mine
-
Play
Same Ole Love (Live) Rare Video
5 shouts
-
Play
Serious
2 shouts
Events
-
Aug
22
Anita Baker
Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles CA, United States
4 going
1 shout
- Jun 22 Anita Baker Emerald Queen Casino, Tacoma, Seattle WA, United States
-
Jun
1
Capital Jazzfest
Merriweather Post Pavilion, Columbia, MD, Baltimore, United States
1 going
1 shout
Listening Now
Top Listeners
-
Irishroses61
Top Listener
-
crucifymyenemy
Top Listener
-
negritah
Top Listener
-
bluef15h
Top Listener
More Information
- Links
- Labels
















