Anita Baker
Anita Baker was born in Toledo, Ohio, United States on January 26th, 1958 and is the R&B Singer. At the age of 66, Anita Baker biography, profession, age, height, weight, eye color, hair color, build, measurements, education, career, dating/affair, family, news updates, songs, and networth are available.
At 66 years old, Anita Baker has this physical status:
Anita Denise Baker (born January 26, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter.
Starting her career in the late 1970s with the funk band Chapter 8, Baker released her first solo album, The Songstress, in 1983.
In 1986, she rose to stardom following the release of her platinum-selling second album, Rapture, which included the Grammy-winning single "Sweet Love".
She is regarded as one of the most popular singers of soulful romantic ballads during the height of the quiet storm period of contemporary R&B in the 1980s.
As of 2017, Baker has won eight Grammy Awards and has five platinum albums and one gold album.
Her vocal range is contralto.
Personal life
Baker married Walter Bridgforth, Jr. on December 24, 1988. The couple separated in 2005 and finalized their divorce two years later. They have two sons, Walter Baker Bridgforth (born January 1993) and Edward Carlton Bridgforth (born May 1994). Baker currently lives in Grosse Pointe Park, Michigan.
More than five years after her divorce, Baker filed for a legal name change from Bridgforth to Baker in her private life.
Baker publicly endorsed presidential candidate Andrew Yang in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary.
Life and music career
Anita Baker was born in Toledo, Ohio, on January 26, 1958. Baker was raised in Detroit, Michigan by a foster family when she was two. When Baker was 12, her foster parents died and her foster sister raised her afterwards. By the time Baker was 16, she was performing R&B at Detroit nightclubs. After one appearance, she was discovered by bandleader David Washington, who gave her a card to audition for the funk band, Chapter 8.
Baker joined Chapter 8 in 1975 and the group toured until securing a contract with Ariola Records in 1979. The group's first album, Chapter 8, was released this year and featured the singles "Read for Your Love," a duet between Baker and bandmate Gerald Lyles, and "I Just Want to Be Your Girl." Ariola was purchased out by Arista Records in 1979, and the company's lead singer, Baker, was dropped from Chapter 8. Baker returned to Detroit, first as a waitress and a receptionist, until Otis Smith, a former Ariola associate, convinced Baker to begin a solo career under his Beverly Glen name in 1982.
In May 1983, Baker's debut solo album, The Songstress, was released. "No More Tears" and its B-side's "Will You Be Mine," "Angel," and "You're the Greatest Thing Ever" were three singles on the album. "Angel" became Baker's first top ten single, debuting on the R&B charts in late 1983. Early in the year, "You're the Greatest Thing Ever" followed it in the R&B top 40.
Baker later stated that she had no royalties from her work despite this early success. In addition, Baker's sequel to The Songstress put off work. Baker wanted to leave the brand by 1984, after two years, but Smith was sued by Smith for breach of contract in 1985. After months of debating the issue in court, Baker was found that it should continue to perform on other labels, winning the case against Beverly Glen label owner Otis Smith. Baker debuted on her first album in 1985 and started working on her new album when she was associated with the Warner Music Group. The singer's Elektra deal allowed her to have creative influence and create her own music.
Baker's first Elektra album featured her older Chapter 8 bandmate, songwriter, and producer Michael J. Powell, but label executives were initially dissatisfied with Powell's choice over more established producers.
Baker's second album, Rapture, was released in March 1986. Although initial sales were slow following the debut of the album's debut single, "Watch Your Step," Elektra's first pop hit, "Sweet Love," which debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 and also landed in the top 20. "Caught Up in the Rapture," "No One in the World," and "Same Ole Love" were among the album's "365 Days a Year).
Baker promoted the album throughout 1986 and 1987 by touring, headlining her first tour, The Rapture Tour, which was later released on home video as A Night of Rapture. The album had sold over 8 million copies worldwide by 1988, five million of which were sold in the United States alone. Baker's first two Grammy Awards at the 1987 ceremony were credited to the album.
Baker collaborated with The Winans on their album "Ain't Need to Worry," which earned Baker his third Grammy Award, this time in the Best Soul Gospel Performance by a Duo or Group, Choir, or Chorus category.
In October 1988, Baker's sequel to Giving You the Best That I Got was released and immediately became a hit, topping the Billboard 200 and selling 5 million copies worldwide, 3 million of which sold alone in the United States. The title track debuted at number three on the Billboard Hot 100 and topped the R&B and adult contemporary charts, becoming the first charted single on the billboard Hot 100. "Just Because" the sequel to "Just Because," became a top-ten R&B chart-topping, while "Lead Me Into Love," the third single from the R&B Top 20 hit, while "Lead Me Into Love" reached the top of the pop charts, while a R&B chart-topper. The album received three more Grammy Awards for the singer.
Baker released Compositions, which saw Baker more involved in the songwriting and production process and the first in which she began using more jazz elements than in previous albums. The album, "Talk to Me," "Soul Inspiration," and "Fairy Tales," were among its titles that eventually sold over a million copies.
Baker took a break from work to settle down with her husband at the time, later having two children with him after the album's touring and promotion schedule in 1991. Elektra also bought the rights to and reissued her first album, The Songstress. It has since been outselling more than 300,000 copies.
Baker returned to the charts with Rhythm of Love in 1994 after appearing on Frank Sinatra's Duets album. "Body and Soul" was her first top 40 pop hit since 1989, according to the album. Baker's eighth Grammy Award went to his second single, the mid-tempo "I Apologize." The album's fourth straight platinum-selling album followed her fourth in a row. Baker participated in the Rhythm of Love World Tour from December 14, 1994 to November 14, 1995. In 1996, Baker was transferred to Atlantic Records, a Warner Music Group company.
Baker returned to the studio in 2000 after being away from the Rhythm of Love Tour to care for her two sons. She filed a lawsuit against Zomba Recording and its Dreamhire division in May 2001 for alleged harm to her recordings by a new 24-track tape machine. Baker was allowed to leave Atlantic before November because of a brand change, but not without releasing any information about the company. During this intermission, Rhino Records released The Best of Anita Baker (named Sweet Love: The Very Best of Anita Baker in the United Kingdom) in June 2002. The album was eventually rated platinum by the RIAA, denoting sales in excess of 1,000,000 units in the United States.
Baker returned to live performance in March 2004, signing with Blue Note Records. My Everything, Baker's album was released in September. The album debuted at number four on the Billboard 200 and number one on the R&B charts, before being designated gold.
Baker's Christmas Fantasy debuted in 2005, winning a Grammy Award for the song "Christmas Time Is Here." Baker was given an Honorary Doctorate of Music from Berklee College of Music in May 2005. Baker began with an Evening with Anita Baker in 2007. She has performed the American national anthem at sporting events on occasion. "I met Anita at the Grammy Awards in 2007," Mary J. Blige said. "I told [her] how much she loved me." "I'm glad you picked up the ball where I left off," She said. That was a lot."
Since 2010, Baker had been working on a new album titled "Only Forever." Baker's version of Tyrese's hit, "Litely" appeared in August 2012. Since the song was on the hour on urban adult contemporary radio, it became her first artist to make this sort of debut. Baker, though Blue Note set out release dates for the album in October and December 2012, decided she still needed to work on the album, which caused delays. The album never appeared.
Baker appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live in February 2013 as "Lately" and "Same Ole Love" respectively. She appeared at the Grammy Awards for Best R&B Performance in the same month. Baker announced in January 2017 that she had resigned. In 2018, she came out of retirement.
Baker entered a dispute with Elektra Records over rights to her master recordings in March 2021, which she said were supposed to return to her after her deal came to an end, according to a copyright violation. Before her music was released, she begged fans to avoid buying and streaming her songs until she was granted the rights to her music. She announced that the conflict had been settled and that she had the masters in September 2021.