Anita Baker fans rapturous over the songstress’ new tour (and it has a stop in L.A.)
The late Anita Baker was on the front lines of the civil rights era, recording and performing with artists such as Marvin Gaye, The Temptations and Stevie Wonder. Her music remains important for generations of young African-Americans, because there was always something unique that made her unique.
Her voice is a mixture of sultry and soulful, a mixture that has only been equaled by some female vocalists. Her music can be compared to the work of artists such as Gladys Knight, Diana Ross, Aretha Franklin and Aretha, and in some ways she is the musical bridge between the civil rights movement and the funk music boom of the ’80s.
Baker passed away after a long illness in 2000, but her music lives on, and she will be remembered by those who have grown up in the ’90s.
That’s not to say that Baker’s influence didn’t have a lasting impact in her own right. “I’m from a long line of musicians,” Baker once said. “If you know anything about African-Americans, you know that musicians tend to be more creative with their music. I feel that that influence was just a little bit of a blessing.”
At the core of Baker’s sound is blues, soul, rock, R&B and funk. When she sings, she is a powerhouse who can hold her own with the best female vocalists.
This month, Baker returns with her first new album in three years, called “It Ain’t No Secret,” and her first show in more than 20 years in which she sang some of her own material.
“It was quite surreal,” Baker says about the upcoming tour. “It was like getting the call that I was going to be performing in the ’70s again. When I was a young person and I had this dream, and I was really excited about it, and it was all happening, I never imagined it would be. It was such a special moment in my life to