Encyclopedia Of Detroit
Baker, Anita
Anita Baker is a Soul and R&B artist celebrated for her three-octave vocal range, powerful voice, and emotional delivery. Baker was born on January 23, 1958 in Toledo, Ohio. Her mother was a young teenager who gave her up for adoption to a Detroit couple, Mary and Grandville Lewis. Later, she was adopted by her aunt and uncle, Lois and Walter Landry.
Baker first began singing with her church’s gospel choir in Detroit, and the music she performed there uncovered her love and talent for music. The gospel sound would later influence her singing career. Baker’s other musical influences include jazz singers Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughn.
In 1975, Baker decided to pursue a signing career after being invited to audition for a popular Detroit funk band called Chapter 8. Baker joined the group and they released an album with Ariola Records in 1979. Soon after the album’s release, however, Ariola Records was bought by Arista Records, who decided to drop Chapter 8 because they were unimpressed with Baker’s vocals and believed she lacked star-quality. Discouraged, Baker left the music business and took a job working in a Detroit law office. In 1983, she was contacted by 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 soon released. The album caught the attention of Elektra Records, giving Baker her first major record deal.
With Elektra Records, Baker released the album Rapture. The album and its second single, “Sweet Love,” earned Baker her first Grammy wins for Best R&B Female Vocalist and Best R&B Song. In 1988, she released her third album, Giving You the Best I Got. The album earned Baker three more Grammy awards and cemented her stardom. Two years later, Baker released an album titled Compositions. The album was personal to Baker because she had greater control over the songwriting and production processes. Even though Compositions reached the top five on the Pop and Soul Chart, it did not win the critical acclaim of her previous albums.
Baker released her fourth studio album, Rhythm of Love, in 1994, but declined to go on tour so she could concentrate on her family, husband Walter Bridgforth and two sons.
In 2000, Baker signed with Atlantic Records and began recording again. However, the entire album was recorded on faulty tapes and was never released. In 2004, Baker signed with Blue Note Records and released her first studio album in 10 years, entitled My Everything. The album reached the top ten on the Pop and Soul Chart and earned Baker another Grammy nomination.
In total, Anita Baker has won eight Grammy Awards, four American Music Awards, and numerous other awards, including a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. With four Platinum Albums and two Gold Albums, Baker has been credited for popularizing the Urban Adult Contemporary music genre.
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