One of Her Best Performances

 

 

Anita Baker

(January 26th, 1958 ~ present)

 

 

Early Life

Anita Baker was born on January 26th, 1958, in Toledo, Ohio. She was abandoned early by her parents and raised by foster parents in Detroit, Michigan. Tragically, her foster parents passed away in 1970, leaving a 12 year old preteen’s foster sister to become her guardian. Baker had already experienced so much loss at such a young age, that it is probably the reason she pursued singing to begin with. She started to sing in clubs around Detroit to make money.  

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Career

Baker was spotted at one of the clubs by David Washington who was part of a band called Chapter 8, that played at the club. She auditioned for the group and started to tour with them in 1975.  Chapter 8 eventually received a recording contract from Ariola Records. They got chart listing hits and eventually got a new label, dropping Baker from the group. This definitely took a tole on Baker’s self-esteem and confidence. Baker needed a new source of income, so she became a waitress and part time law firm receptionist. Baker signed with the Beverly Glen label in 1982. The label was run by a former Ariola Records employee who had previously worked with Baker, recognizing her talent. Baker then launched her solo album, Songstress, which was not a huge hit at first, bbut eventually was very successful, selling over 300,000 records. She unfortunately did not attain any royalties from this album and she left the label, and signed with Elektra Records, where she had creative control over her work. It was then where she exploded and her fame and success emerged. 

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Personal Life

Baker married Walter Bridgeforth in 1988, and took an extremely long break from recording (not many artists do this). She had two children with Walter: Walter and Edward. In most celebrity cases, divorce is very common. Unfortunately, Walter and Anita divorced in 2007, after being separated for 2 years.