Анита Бейкер: Путь к славе и музыкальная карьера

American singer songwriter (born 1958)

Anita Baker was born on January 26, 1958, in Toledo, Ohio. When she was two, her mother abandoned her and Baker was raised by a foster family in Detroit, Michigan. When Baker was 12, her foster parents died and her foster sister raised her afterwards. By the time Baker was 16, she began singing R&B at Detroit nightclubs. After one performance, 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 deal with Ariola Records in 1979. The group's first album, Chapter 8, was released that year and featured the singles "Ready for Your Love", a duet between Baker and bandmate Gerald Lyles, and the Baker led "I Just Want to Be Your Girl." After Ariola was bought out by Arista Records in 1979, Chapter 8 was dropped by the label who were convinced that Baker, as the group's lead singer, didn't have "star potential." Baker returned to Detroit, working as a waitress and a receptionist until, in 1982, Otis Smith, a former associate of Ariola, convinced Baker to start a solo career under his Beverly Glen label.

Baker released her debut solo album, The Songstress, in May 1983. The follow up, "Just Because", reached the top 20 on the pop chart while also becoming an R&B chart topper, while a third single, "Lead Me Into Love", became a top ten R&B hit. The album resulted in three more Grammy Awards for the singer.

In 1990, Baker released Compositions, which had Baker more involved in the songwriting and production process and the first in which she began incorporating more jazz elements than in previous albums. The album launched the singles "Talk to Me", "Soul Inspiration" and "Fairy Tales", and eventually sold over a million copies. After the end of the album's touring and promotion schedule in 1991, Baker took a break from the business to settle down with her husband at the time, later having two children with him. Meanwhile, Elektra bought the rights to, and reissued, her first album, The Songstress. It has since sold more than 300,000 copies. After appearing on Frank Sinatra's Duets album, Baker returned to the charts with Rhythm of Love in 1994. The album featured "Body and Soul", her first top 40 pop hit since 1989. The second single, the mid tempo "I Apologize", won Baker an eighth Grammy. The album eventually sold over two million copies: her fourth consecutive platinum selling album. Baker undertook the Rhythm of Love World Tour from December 14, 1994 to November 14, 1995. Baker was transferred to another label within the Warner Music Group, Atlantic Records, in 1996. Taking a hiatus after the end of the Rhythm of Love Tour to care for her two sons, Baker returned to the studio in 2000. In May 2001, she filed a lawsuit against Zomba Recording and its Dreamhire division for alleged damage to her recordings by a hired 24 track tape machine. Due to a label restructuring, Baker was let go from Atlantic that November without releasing any material with the company. During this hiatus, Rhino Records released the compilation, The Best of Anita Baker (named Sweet Love: The Very Best of Anita Baker in the UK) in June 2002. The album eventually was certified platinum by the RIAA, denoting sales in excess of 1,000,000 units in the US.

That year, Baker returned to live performing, signing with Blue Note Records in March 2004. That September, Baker released the album, My Everything. The album peaked at number four on the Billboard 200 and number one on the R&B charts, eventually being certified gold. In 2005, Baker released Christmas Fantasy, winning a Grammy nomination for the song, "Christmas Time Is Here". In May 2005, Baker was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Music from Berklee College of Music. Starting in 2007, Baker embarked on a two year concert tour titled An Evening with Anita Baker. She occasionally sang the American national anthem at sports events. "I met Anita at the Grammy Awards in 2007," said Mary J. Blige. "I told [her] how much she meant to me. She said, 'I'm glad that you picked up the ball where I left off.' That meant a lot."

Baker had been working on a new album featuring the single, "Only Forever", since 2010. In August 2012, Baker released her version of Tyrese's hit, "Lately". The song made headlines for Baker after the song was played every hour, on the hour, throughout the day on urban adult contemporary radio, making her the first artist to make this kind of debut. Though Blue Note set release dates for the album in October and December 2012, Baker decided she still needed to work on the album, causing delays. The album never materialized. In February 2013, Baker returned to the national spotlight, performing "Lately" and "Same Ole Love" on Jimmy Kimmel Live!. That same month, she appeared at the Grammys where "Lately" was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance. In January 2017, Baker confirmed she had retired. She emerged from retirement in 2018. In March 2021, Baker entered into a conflict with Elektra Records over rights to her master recordings, which she claimed were supposed to return to her after the expiration of her contract, according to copyright law. She asked fans to stop buying and streaming her music until the rights to her music were given to her. In September 2021, she announced that the dispute had been settled and that she owned her masters. Baker performed "The Star Spangled Banner" at Philadelphia's Lincoln Financial Field prior to the 2022 NFC Championship Game between the Eagles and San Francisco 49ers. In 2023, Rolling Stone ranked Baker at number 92 on its list of the 200 Greatest Singers of All Time.

Baker married Walter Bridgforth, Jr. on December 24, 1988 at their home in Detroit. In the following year, Baker had a miscarriage. 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 last name change from Bridgforth to her maiden name in her private life. Baker publicly endorsed presidential candidate Andrew Yang in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary.

In 2013, Anita Baker was inducted into the Michigan Rock and Roll Legends Hall of Fame.

Year Category Organization Result 1994 Hollywood Walk of Fame Star at 7021 Hollywood Blvd. 2005 International Artist of the Year Canadian Smooth Jazz Award