March 10, 1997 LaVern Baker, rhythm and blues singer, died. Born Delores LaVern Baker on November 11, 1929 in Chicago, Illinois. She began singing in Chicago clubs under various names around 1946 before settling on LaVern Baker in 1952. Baker had her first hit, “Tweedlee Dee,” in 1955 and had a succession of hits over […]
Tag Archives | Pioneer Award
November 17th in African American History – Ruth Brown
November 17, 2006 Ruth Brown, R&B singer and actress, died. Brown was born Ruth Alston Weston on January 30, 1928 in Portsmouth, Virginia. She recorded her first hit, “So Long” in 1949 and from that time to 1955 she was on the R&B charts for 149 weeks with 16 top 10 blues records, including 5 […]
November 11th in African American History – Delores LaVern Baker
November 11, 1929 Delores LaVern Baker, rhythm and blues singer, was born in Chicago, Illinois. Baker began performing around Chicago under various names before settling on LaVern Baker in 1952. Her first hit recording came in 1955 with “Tweedlee Dee”, which reached number 4 on the R&B charts.
September 10th in African American History – Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown
September 10, 2005 Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown, blues musician, died. Brown was born April 18, 1924 in Vinton, Louisiana. He began his professional career in 1945 and had his recording debut in 1949 with “Mary is Fine” and “My Time is Expensive”. During the 1960s, Brown made several appearances on the television show “Hee Haw” and […]