LaVern Baker

You're The Boss - UK LONDON, USA Atlantic (with Jimmy Ricks)

Tweedlee Dee 1955 USA Atlantic / UK Columbia (covered by lots of subsequent artists, including the Jackson five

Game of Love - London 1957 -(covered by Wayne Fontana in the early sixties)

See See Rider - London 1963

La Verne Baker made a large number of very soulful recordings often overlooked these days. You're the Boss was one often played at the original Twisted Wheel. LaVern was Born Delores Williams on  November 11, 1929 in  Chicago.

LaVern started out singing at the Club DeLisa on Chicago's south side when only seventeen. She was costumed in raggedy clothes and billed as Little Miss Sharecropper. The name LaVern  was used for recording Trying on King Records.
In 1953 LaVern joined Atlantic and had her first hit Soul on Fire. Tweedlee Dee was a smash hit in 1955. It was covered by Georgia Gibbs a white singer, for Mercury.  LaVern sued and lost! Bop-Ting-A-Ling, Play It Fair, Still and Jim Dandy were all R n B hits in the following years.

She co-starred on the R & B revue segment on Ed Sullivan's TV program in November of 1955 also in Alan Freed's rock movies Rock, Rock, Rock and Mr. Rock & Roll. Leiber & Stoller-wrote a gospel send up for her called Saved in 1960 and her  Bessie Smith tribute album was released just before she left Atlantic records.

At Brunswick Records she did a duet with Jackie Wilson on  Think Twice.
She entertained the troops in Vietnam but was made seriously ill after the trip and settled in the Philippines.

1988, and Lavern starred in Atlantic's 40th anniversary night at New York's Madison Square Garden.

It led to a soundtrack appearance in the film Dick Tracy.

 

Then she was the star in the Broadway musical Black & Blue replacing Ruth Brown.