MacHouston Baker (October 15, 1925 – November 27, 2012),
known as Mickey Baker and Mickey "Guitar" Baker, was an American
guitarist. He is widely held to be a critical force in the
bridging of rhythm
and blues and rock and roll, along with Bo Diddley, Ike Turner, and Chuck
Berry.
Baker was born in Louisville, Kentucky. His mother was
black, and his father, whom he had never met, was believed to be white. In
1936, at the age of 11, Baker was put into an orphanage. He ran away
frequently, and had to be retrieved by the staff from St. Louis, New York City,
Chicago, and Pittsburgh. Eventually the orphanage quit looking for him, and at
the age of 16 he stayed in New York City. He found work as a labourer and then
a dishwasher. But after hanging out in the pool halls of 26th Street, he gave
up work to become a full-time pool shark.
At 19, Baker decided to make a change in his life. He went
back to dishwashing, and was determined to become a jazz musician. The trumpet
was his first choice for an instrument, but with only $14 saved up, he could
not find a pawnshop with anything but guitars for that price.
He enrolled at The New York School of Music, but found the
learning pace too slow. He dropped out and resolved to teach himself, but gave
up shortly afterwards. Six months later he met a street guitarist who inspired
him to start playing again. He continued taking private lessons from different
teachers over the next few years. His musical style was influenced by
saxophonist Charlie Parker.
By 1949, Baker had his own combo, and a few paying jobs. He
decided to move west, but found that audiences there were not receptive to
progressive jazz music. Baker was stranded without work in California when he
saw a show by blues guitarist Pee Wee Crayton. Baker said of the encounter: He
found a few jobs in Richmond, California, and made enough money to return to
New York.
After returning east, Baker began recording for Savoy, King
and Atlantic Records. He did sessions with Doc Pomus, The Drifters, Ray
Charles, Ivory Joe Hunter, Ruth Brown, Big Joe Turner, Louis Jordan, Coleman
Hawkins, and numerous other artists. During this time, Baker (along with either
Paramour Crampton or Connie Kay on drums, Sam "The Man" Taylor on
tenor, and Lloyd Trotman on bass) played on numerous hit records on the
Atlantic, Savoy, and King labels.
Inspired by the success of Les Paul & Mary Ford, he
formed the pop duo Mickey & Sylvia (with Sylvia Robinson, one of his guitar
students) in the mid-1950s. Together, they had a hit single with "Love Is
Strange" in 1956. The duo split up in the late 1950s, but sporadically
worked together on additional tracks until the mid-1960s.
Here's "Old Devil Moon" rec. 1959 from above EP
It was around this time that he moved to France, where he
worked with Ronnie Bird and Chantal Goya and made a few solo records. He would
remain in France for the rest of his life. Up until the end of his life, Baker
was rarely without work. Baker appeared at the 1975 version of the Roskilde
Festival.
Because Baker revealed very few details about his private
life, reasons for his move to France were never made completely clear. Some
media sources claimed that Baker had grown tired of the business aspects of the
commercial music industry in the United States, while others stated that the
bi-racial Baker was angered by the growing rate of hate crimes in the southern
United States during the burgeoning civil rights movement.
In 1999 Baker received a Pioneer Award from the Rhythm and
Blues Foundation. In 2003 he was listed at #53 on Rolling Stone's "100
Greatest Guitarists of All Time". His self-tuition method book series, the
Complete Course in Jazz Guitar is a mainstay for introducing students of guitar
to the world of jazz. They have remained in print for over 50 years.
Baker was married six times. Among his wives were Barbara
Castellano from the mid-1950s to the mid-70s, and Marie France-Drei, a singer
with whom he stayed from the early 1980s until his death.
Baker died on November 27, 2012 near Toulouse, France, aged
87. His wife, Marie, said he died of heart and kidney failure. (Info edited from
Wikipedia)
1 comment:
For “MICKEY BAKER - Session Man & Performer Vol. 1-5” go here:
CD1
http://www61.zippyshare.com/v/25391374/file.html
CD 2
http://www61.zippyshare.com/v/17511872/file.html
CD3
http://www61.zippyshare.com/v/11148148/file.html
CD4
http://www61.zippyshare.com/v/40788077/file.html
CD5
http://www21.zippyshare.com/v/8479437/file.html
A big thank you to Twilightzone for links to this great collection.
For an edited single album from above:
“The One And Only – Mickey Baker” go here:
http://www65.zippyshare.com/v/44354848/file.html
01 Blues After Hours - Mickey Baker, George Arvanitas, Coleman Hawkins
02 If It's New For You - Little Esther Phillips
03 Lawdy Miss Mary - Five Keys
04 My Lovin' Baby - Linda Hopkins
05 Shaking At Buttercups - Mickey Baker & The Midnighters
06 Caldonia - Champion Jack Dupree
07 Pack Up And Boogie - Sam Price
08 Real Humdinger - Five Pearls
09 Rockin' And Rollin' Again - Annie Laurie
10 Speed King - Du-Droppers
11 My Brand Of Lovin' - Annisteen Allen
12 Sylvia's Calling - Doc Bagby
13 Ever Since My Baby's Gone - Ruth Brown
14 Night Crawlin' - Mickey Baker
15 Sittin' In The Dark - Nappy Brown
16 Wanted - Annisteen Allen
17 Louise - Champion Jack Dupree
18 Git Around - Mickey Baker & The Midnighters
19 Thunderbird - Dossie Terry
20 Straighten Up Baby - Milt Trenier
21 Soul Taste - Mickey Baker
22 About Your Business - Annisteen Allen
23 When Things Go Wrong - Champion Jack Dupree
24 Funny But I Still Love You - Ray Charles
25 Prelude In C# Minor - Mickey Baker
A big thank you to Jake @ Jukebox City blog for link
Post a Comment