Conference decwet::desperado

304.0. "LaVern Baker Memorial" by DECWET::CARRUTHERS (Life gets easier when you realize you can't have everything.) Tue Mar 11 1997 08:28

From:	DECPA::"[email protected]" "MAIL-11 Daemon" 11-MAR-1997 07:50:44.80
To:	[email protected]
CC:	
Subj:	desperado Re: LaVern Baker Died Today


LaVern Baker was a niece of titanic blues pioneer guitar player,
songwriter and singer Memphis Minnie.

In addition to her novelty numbers like "Jim Dandy", she had the hot
hand with a slow song as well.  Her rendition of the melancholy blues
ballad "Tomorrow Night" eclipses any other, including Lonnie
Johnson's, and he wrote the song.

She was a fantastic dancer before she lost her lower legs to diabetes.
In the 50s as a headliner she carried a dance partner as part of her
act, this towering, authoritative artist, not to mention a hot ticket
in a glittering green dress, working it out with a stumpy little
partner gazing up at her with admiration.

"LaVern Baker Sings Bessie Smith" is one of the greatest cover
albums of all time.  It's unfortunate that "Empty Bed Blues" was
omitted, but to hear LaVern rip into "Gimme a Pigfoot . . . Oh, man I
can hear it now.  

She was herself the victim/beneficiary of some of the most egregious
horrible cover assaults of all times by the puke-making Georgia Gibbs,
later famous as the trashy tramp panelist on the Gong Show.  It made
me ashamed to be white.

"Tweedlee-dee" and "Jim Dandy" were junk, but not when LaVern sang
them.  Ruth Brown had the better repertoire, but LaVern had the voice,
and the commitment to the voice.  

After her big-time career ended, she went into USO productions in the
Philippines, still in show business.  Recently she had begun to tour
again, singing from a wheelchair.  

:Content-Type: text/plain
:Mime-Version: 1.0 (NeXT Mail 3.3 v118.2)
:From: Peter Langston <[email protected]>
:Date: Mon, 10 Mar 97 23:11:12 -0800
:Reply-To: [email protected] (Peter S. Langston)
:
:From: Jef Jaisun <[email protected]>
:
:>Subject: LaVern Baker has died
:>Date: Mon, 10 Mar 1997 20:50:49 -0700
:>
:>Thought you all would want to know that LaVern Baker died this morning.
:>
:>Mary Katherine
:
:
:At Irma Thomas's birthday party in New Orleans last month, an older woman
:singer got up on stage and talked about how much Irma had inspired her over
:the years. Then she launched into an absolute killer version of "Shake A
:Hand." Not only was everyone in the place singing along on the chorus, but
:every woman in da house was waving at least one hand in time to the music.
:It was a truly inspirational moment. I, naturally, thought of LaVern.
:
:Jef

And Faye Adams.

:
:
:Jim Dandy in a submarine
:Got a message from a mermaid queen
:She was hangin' from a fishin' line
:Jim Dandy didn't waste no time
:Jim Dandy to the rescue
:Go, Jim Dandy!
:Go, Jim Dandy!
:
:
:[Do you remember it?  Here's a little more...  -psl]
:
:Jim Dandy wanted to go to Maine
:Got a ticket on a D.C. plane.
:Jim Dandy didn't need no suit,
:He was hip and ready to boot.
:Jim Dandy to the rescue.
:Go, Jim Dandy!
:Go, Jim Dandy!
:
:Go, go, go, Jim Dandy.  Go, go, go, ...
:

	Tomorrow night, will you remember what we said tonight?
	Tomorrow night, will all the thrill be gone?

I'm shivering as I type this, my eyes are filled with tears.

Tom

% ====== Internet headers and postmarks (see DECWRL::GATEWAY.DOC) ======
% Received: from mail1.digital.com by mts-gw.pa.dec.com (5.65/09May94) id
AA27079; Tue, 11 Mar 97 07:35:48 -0800
% Received: from europe.std.com by mail1.digital.com (5.65 EXP 4/12/95 for
V3.2/1.0/WV) id AA02031; Tue, 11 Mar 1997 07:27:58 -0800
% Received: by europe.std.com (8.7.6/BZS-8-1.0) id KAA01706; Tue, 11 Mar 1997
10:19:24 -0500 (EST)
% X-Authentication-Warning: europe.std.com: daemon set sender to
desperado-approval using -f
% Date: Tue, 11 Mar 1997 10:18:17 -0500
% From: [email protected] (Tom Parmenter)
% Message-Id: <[email protected]>
% To: [email protected]
% In-Reply-To: <[email protected]> (message from Peter Langston
on Mon, 10 Mar 97 23:11:12 -0800)
% Subject: desperado Re: LaVern Baker Died Today
% Sender: [email protected]
% Precedence: list
% Reply-To: [email protected]