Born Delores Baker, her sassy growl helped spark a musical revolution.
For a time she matched Connie Francis and Brenda Lee hit for hit---unheard of for a black female R&B artist.
Atlantic Records signed her in 1953, launching her glory years. “Soul On Fire” was a torrid start but things exploded with 1954’s “Tweedle Dee” which charted #14 nationally.
Incensed by Georgia Gibb’s white cover (it made #4), Lavern decided to sue over this for-note copy, but the courts ruled that copping an arrangement wasn’t illegal.
1956’s “Jim Dandy” was another classic performance, selected in 1989 by the Rock ‘n’
Roll Hall Of Fame--to which she was inducted in 1991--as one of the top 500 R&R songs of all-time.
It also catapulted Lavern into appearances on such Alan Freed 1950’s flicks as “Rock, Rock, Rock” and “Mr. Rock And Roll”.
Two other songs garnered significant national exposure. “I Cried A Tear” from 1958 was a bona fide blockbuster, while 1963’s blues-saturated “See See Rider” represented her last major hit.
The year 1965 would mark the end of an era as “Fly Me To The Moon” became the last of her 21 R&B chart entries.
Lavern Baker emerged from semi-retirement in 1989 to appear on Atlantic Records 40 th
anniversary celebration, and she brought down the house. She later lost both legs to diabetes, but continued performing right until she died in 1997 from a massive coronary.
