LaVern Baker
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Year:
1991
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Inducted by:
Chaka Khan
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Category:
Performers
Introduction
A rock and roll diva with an irresistible belt and sultry R&B edge.
Her fiery fusion of blues, jazz and R&B showcased her alluring vocals and set the stage for the rock and roll surge of the Fifties. A versatile vocalist, LaVern Baker proved capable of melding blues, jazz and R&B styles in a way that made possible the emergence of a new idiom: rock and roll.
Hall of Fame Essay
1991
LaVern Baker down in her chesty contralto for the phrase that made her fabulous fill on “Tweedlee Dee” so memorable in 1954: “Hompy-om-bom-bom!”
That warmth of spirit, nurtured by the Baptist church, brought out the best in the robust Baker— one of the first women to capture the essence of rock & roll and, as the kids would say, a real gone gal.
we can hear the soul, the spirit, and the sense of humor in her art
