LaVern Baker

Delores LaVern Baker was one of the great R&B vocalists of the 1950s, whose recordings for Atlantic Records ('Tweedlee Dee,' 'Jim Dandy,' 'I Cried a Tear,' 'See See Rider') helped define the sound of early rock and roll. Her powerful, flexible voice could handle blues ballads, uptempo rockers, and sophisticated pop arrangements with equal conviction. She spent over two decades living and performing in the Philippines before returning to the United States in the 1990s. She was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991.