Celebrating Pop Moms: Anita Baker
As a countdown to Mother's Day May 14th, I will be celebrating a pop mom, a pop music artist who also happens to be a mom, each day this week. Today's pop mom is Anita Baker.
Anita Baker's first success as a recording artist came as a member of the r&b group Chapter 8. In 1983, 4 years after Chapter 8's first album, Baker released her first album The Songstress. It included r&b hit singles, but it was her second album and major label debut, 1986's Rapture, that made Anita Baker a household name. The single "Sweet Love" reached the pop top 10 and "Caught Up in the Rapture" reached the top 40. Her next album Giving You the Best That I Got hit #1 on the album chart and included the title song, a #3 hit single. Following 2 more albums reaching the pop top 5, Anita Baker put her career on hold in 1994.
On Christmas Eve 1988 Anita Baker married Detroit real estate developer Walter Bridgforth, Jr. In January, 1993, she gave birth to the couple's first child, a boy named Walter Baker Bridgforth. Just 16 months later, in May, 1994, the couple welcomed their second child, another boy, Edward Carlton Bridgforth. For the next 6 years Anita Baker took care of her family and avoided the record studio except for occasional guest appearances. Tragically, Anita Baker lost her birth mother in 1996 and her father in 1998.
Anita Baker, in speaking about the years of her hiatus, said "My kids started growing up. I tried to leave and go cut the record, and I was like, 'Dang, I can't leave ... I can't leave these babies,' " she says. "I didn't want to be in a situation where other people were raising my sons. We just settled into a very normal, suburban lifestyle, with two kids, a cat and a bird and a mommy and a daddy."
In 2000 Anita Baker went back to the studio to begin work on a new album. After some delays the next Anita Baker album My Everything appeared in 2004. In many ways it was like she never left. The album hit #1 on the R&B chart and #4 on the pop chart. Anita Baker was back.
Please join me in celebrating pop mom Anita Baker.
More pop moms:
Album cover © Blue Note Records.
Comments
I hope that you have a great mother’s day with your family because you deserve it and you are worthy
LOVE STEPHANIE
happy mothers day Anita. hope to see her in LA, Las Vegas, Philly.
Anita was happy when she became a mom. On the ROL tour, she had little Walter backstage with her. Now, they are big boys and get to see their mom on stage. Anita please come to Toronto? Your only 4hrs away in Detroit.
So far,
LA, Philly,Boston,Atlanta,Vegas,are lucky to see Anita live,
HAPPY MOTHERS DAY ANITA
Looking forward to seeing and hearing
you in California on June 10th 2006.
Let me just say that I had the PLEASURE of seeing Anita Baker live this past weekend 7/15/06 and she was awesome! Anita Baker has shown that she still has it and I will continue to support her! Anita you rock!!!