I first heard this song to an instructor demo that Julie Brown and Shawn Hershey gave at Baltimore Blues. It quickly became my practice partner and my favorite song to dance to; one we would often end the practice session with.
The song itself I enjoy because of the brassy introduction and continued horns throughout. The textures change throughout the recording as well: quieter sections set the stage for her voices to pick up the lyrical story, muted trumpets punctuate the ends of phrases, and amid the driving feel of the song moments of stillness. Ultimately the song is also accessible. It's a song I like to use to introduce dancers to the jazzier side of blues movements and concepts.
It's also a cover off the album LaVern Baker Sings Bessie Smith released in 1958. I've included a link to Bessie Smith's original at the end of this post. It's interesting to compare the versions (setting aside the difference that 30 years of improvements in recording technology can make) for where the voices fall in the phrases, instrumentation, and what movements and ideas are supported.
Like many singers of the time Lavern Baker was a stage name for the woman born Delores Evans, in Chicago. In the mid to late 1940s she sang and recorded an album under the name 'Little Miss Sharecropper'. While recording for Okeh Records she changed her name to Bea Baker, and when she recorded with Todd Rhodes in 1952 she was billed under the familiar moniker of Lavern Baker. In 1953 she signed on to Atlantic Records and recorded 'Soul On Fire' (also one of my favorite songs she has done). She had a number 4 hit on the charts with 'Tweedle Dee' in 1954, which resulted in an attempted lawsuit against Georgia Gibbs who covered the song exactly and made it to number 1. This resulted in a suit to Congress to change the copyright laws. This is the third artist I've researched who has petitioned Congress with issues related to copyright law.
Baker had more success with Atlantic Records, with songs that reached into the top ten of the charts throughout the 50s and 60s. She later became the entertainment director of Marine Corps Staff NCO at a Phillipines naval base. She was recovering there from a bout of pneumonia after a USO tour in Vietnam. She ended up staying on as director for 22 years, returning to the United States after the base closed in 1988. Baker was among the first eight recipients of the Pioneer Award in 1990 from the Rhythm and Blues Foundation, and the second female artist to be inducted into the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame (the first being Aretha Franklin). She died in 1997 at the age of 67.
I tried to find additional covers of Baby Doll, but I could only find Lavern Baker's and Bessie Smith's original. If anyone has found other versions of this song I would love to check those out.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0FX1l7jdfk - Lavern Baker - 'Baby Doll'
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSSsPZG3UOc - Bessie Smith - 'Baby Doll'
Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LaVern_Baker
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1109573
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