Baker earned much attention and critical praise through the 1950s, particularly for albums featuring his vocals (Chet Baker Sings, It Could Happen to You). Jazz historian David Gelly described the promise of Baker's early career as "James Dean, Sinatra, and Bix, rolled into one." His well-publicized drug habit also drove his notoriety and fame, Baker was in and out of jail frequently before enjoying a career resurgence in the late 1970s and '80s.
Baker was born and raised in a musical household in Yale, Oklahoma; his father, Chesney Baker, Sr., was a professional guitar player, and his mother, Vera (née Moser) was a talented pianist who worked in a perfume factory. His maternal grandmother, Randi Moser, was Norwegian. Baker began his musical career singing in a church choir. His father introduced him to brass instruments with a trombone, which was replaced with a trumpet when the trombone proved too large.
Baker received some musical education at Glendale Junior High School, but left school at age 16 in 1946 to join the United States Army. He was posted to Berlin, where he joined the 298th Army band. After leaving the army in 1948, he studied theory and harmony at El Camino College in Los Angeles. He dropped out in his second year, however, re-enlisting in the army in 1950. Baker became a member of the Sixth Army Band at the Presidio in San Francisco, but was soon spending time in San Francisco jazz clubs such as Bop City and the Black Hawk. Baker once again obtained a discharge from the army to pursue a career as a professional musician.
Baker's earliest notable professional gigs were with saxophonist Vido Musso's band, and also with tenor saxophonist Stan Getz, though he earned much more renown in 1952 when he was chosen by Charlie Parker to play with him for a series of West Coast engagements.
In 1952, Baker joined the Gerry Mulligan Quartet, which was an instant phenomenon. Several things made the Mulligan/Baker group special, the most prominent being the interplay between Mulligan's baritone sax and Baker's trumpet. Rather than playing identical melody lines in unison like bebop giants Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie, the two would complement each other's playing with contrapuntal touches, and it often seemed as if they had telepathy in anticipating what the other was going to play next. The Quartet's version of "My Funny Valentine", featuring a Baker solo, was a hit, and became a tune with which Baker was intimately associated.
The Quartet found success quickly, but lasted less than a year because of Mulligan's arrest and imprisonment on drug charges. Baker formed his own quartet with pianist and composer Russ Freeman in 1953, along with bassists Carson Smith, Joe Mondragon, and Jimmy Bond and drummers Shelly Manne, Larry Bunker, and Bob Neel. The Chet Baker Quartet found success with their live sets, and they released a number of popular albums between 1953 and 1956. In 1953 and 1954, Baker won the Down Beat and Metronome magazines' Readers Jazz Polls, beating the era's two top trumpeters, Miles Davis and Clifford Brown. Down Beat readers also voted Baker as the top jazz vocalist in 1954. In 1956, Pacific Jazz released Chet Baker Sings, a record that increased his profile but alienated traditional jazz fans; he would continue to sing throughout his career.
Due to Baker's chiseled features, he was approached by Hollywood studios, and he made his acting debut in the film Hell's Horizon, released in the fall of 1955. He declined an offer of a studio contract, preferring life on the road as a musician. Over the next few years, Baker fronted his own combos, including a 1955 quintet featuring Francy Boland, where Baker combined playing trumpet and singing. In 1956 Chet Baker completed an eight month tour of Europe, where he recorded Chet Baker In Europe.
He became an icon of the West Coast "cool school" of jazz, helped by his good looks and singing talent. Baker's 1956 recording, released for the first time in its entirety in 1989 as The Route, with Art Pepper, helped further the West Coast jazz sound and became a staple of cool jazz.
Baker began using heroin in the 1950s, resulting in an addiction that lasted the remainder of his life. At times, Baker pawned his instruments for money to maintain his drug habit. In the early 1960s, he served more than a year in prison in Italy on drug charges; he was later expelled from both West Germany and the United Kingdom for drug-related offenses. Baker was eventually deported from West Germany to the United States after running afoul of the law there a second time. He settled in Milpitas in northern California, where he played in San Jose and San Francisco between short jail terms served for prescription fraud.
In 1968, Baker was savagely beaten (allegedly while attempting to buy drugs) after a gig in The Trident restaurant in Sausalito, California sustaining severe cuts on the lips and broken front teeth, which ruined his embouchure. He stated in the film Let's Get Lost that an acquaintance attempted to rob him one night but backed off, only to return the next night with a group of several men who chased him. He entered a car and became surrounded. Instead of rescuing him, the people inside the car pushed him back out onto the street, where the chase by his attackers continued, and subsequently he was beaten to the point that his teeth, never in good condition to begin with, were knocked out, leaving him without the ability to play his horn. He took odd jobs, among them pumping gas. Meanwhile he was fitted for dentures and worked on his embouchure. Three months later he got a gig in New York City.
Between 1966 and 1974, Baker mostly played flugelhorn and recorded music that could mostly be classified as West Coast jazz.
After developing a new embouchure resulting from dentures, Baker returned to the straight-ahead jazz that began his career. He relocated to New York City and began performing and recording again, including with guitarist Jim Hall. Later in the 1970s, Baker returned to Europe, where he was assisted by his friend Diane Vavra, who took care of his personal needs and otherwise helped him during his recording and performance dates.
From 1978 until his death in 1988, Baker resided and played almost exclusively in Europe, returning to the USA roughly once a year for a few performances. This was Baker's most prolific era as a recording artist. However, as his extensive output is strewn across numerous, mostly small European labels, none of these recordings ever reached a wider audience, even though many of them were well received by critics, who maintain that the period was one of Baker's most mature and rewarding. Of particular importance are Baker's quartet featuring the pianist Phil Markowitz (1978–80) and his trio with guitarist Philip Catherine and bassist Jean-Louis Rassinfosse (1983–85).[citation needed] He also toured with saxophonist Stan Getz during this period.
In 1983, British singer Elvis Costello, a longtime fan of Baker, hired the trumpeter to play a solo on his song "Shipbuilding", from the album Punch the Clock. The song exposed Baker's music to a new audience. Later, Baker often featured Costello's song "Almost Blue" (inspired by Baker's version of "The Thrill Has Gone") in his concert sets, and recorded the song for Let's Get Lost, a documentary film about his life.
The video material recorded by Japanese television during Baker's 1987 tour in Japan showed a man whose face looked much older than he was, but his trumpet playing was alert, lively and inspired. Baker recorded the live album Chet Baker in Tokyo with his quartet featuring pianist Harold Danko, bassist Hein van de Geyn and drummer John Engels less than a year before his death, and it was released posthumously. Silent Night, a recording of Christmas music, was recorded with Christopher Mason in New Orleans in 1986 and released in 1987.
Baker's compositions included "Chetty's Lullaby", "Freeway", "Early Morning Mood", "Two a Day", "So Che Ti Perderò" ("I Know I Will Lose You"), "Il Mio Domani" ("My Tomorrow"), "Motivo Su Raggio Di Luna" ("Tune on a Moon Beam"), "The Route", "Skidadidlin'", "New Morning Blues", "Blue Gilles", "Dessert", and "Anticipated Blues".
At about 3:10 am on May 13, 1988, Baker was found dead on the Prins Hendrikkade, near the Zeedijk, the street below his second-story room of Hotel Prins Hendrik in Amsterdam, Netherlands, with serious wounds to his head. Heroin and cocaine were found in his hotel room, and an autopsy also found these drugs in his body. There was no evidence of a struggle, and the death was ruled an accident. A plaque outside the hotel memorializes him and the room he was staying in, No. 210, is named "The Chet Baker Room".
Baker is buried at the Inglewood Park Cemetery in Inglewood, California.
- Baker was photographed by William Claxton for his book Young Chet: The Young Chet Baker. An Academy Award-nominated 1988 documentary about Baker, Let's Get Lost, portrays him as a cultural icon of the 1950s, but juxtaposes this with his later image as a drug addict. The film, directed by fashion photographer Bruce Weber, was shot in black-and-white and includes a series of interviews with friends, family (including his three children by third wife Carol Baker), associates and women friends, interspersed with film from Baker's earlier life, and with interviews with Baker from his last years.
- Time after Time: The Chet Baker Project, written by playwright James O'Reilly, toured Canada in 2001 to much acclaim. The musical play Chet Baker – Speedball explores aspects of his life and music, and was premiered in London at the Oval House Theatre in February 2007, with further development of the script and performances leading to its revival at the 606 Club in the London Jazz Festival of November 2007.
- Baker was reportedly the inspiration for the character Chad Bixby, played by Robert Wagner in the 1960 film All the Fine Young Cannibals. Another film, to be titled Prince of Cool, about Baker's life, was cancelled as of January 2008.
- In 1991, singer/songwriter David Wilcox recorded the song "Chet Baker's Unsung Swan Song" on his album Home Again, speculating on what might have been Baker's last thoughts before falling to his death. The song was later covered by k.d. lang as "My Old Addiction" on her 1997 album Drag.
- The song "Chet Baker", which appears on the 2007 CD Wally Page and Johnny Mulhern: Live at the Annesley House, by Irish folk singer-songwriter Wally Page, describes the end of Baker's life in Amsterdam.
- Jeroen de Valk has written a biography of Baker which is available in several languages: Chet Baker: His Life and Music is the English translation.
Other biographies include James Gavin's Deep In A Dream—The Long Night of Chet Baker, and Matthew Ruddick's Funny Valentine. Baker's "lost memoirs" are available in the book As Though I Had Wings, which includes an introduction by Carol Baker.
- He is portrayed by Ethan Hawke in the 2015 film Born to Be Blue.
- The Australian electronica musician Nicholas James Murphy chose Chet Faker as his stage name, in order to pay homage to Chet Baker, who was a big influence for him.
Honors
In 1987 Chet Baker was inducted into the Big Band and Jazz Hall of Fame.
In 1989 he was elected to Down Beat Jazz Hall of Fame by that magazine's Critics Poll.
In 1991 he was inducted into the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame.
In 2005 Oklahoma Governor Brad Henry and the Oklahoma House of Representatives proclaimed July 2 as "Chet Baker Day".
In 2007 Mayor of the City of Tulsa, Kathy Taylor, proclaimed December 23 as "Chet Baker Day".
On October 10, 2015 Yale, Oklahoma held the inaugural Chet Baker Jazz Festival in Baker's honor.
Everything I've Got Belongs To You
Chet Baker Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It's impolite
To stamp your foot at me
Is not quite right
At man's ingratitude
A woman winks
But such an attitude just stinks
I have words that do not come from children's books
there's a trick with a knife I'm learning to do
And everything I've got belongs to you
I've a powerful anesthesia in my fist
And the perfect wrist to give your neck a twist
There are hammerlock holds
I've mastered a few
And everything I've got belongs to you
Share for share, share alike
You get struck each time I strike
You for me- me for me
I'll give you plenty of nothing
I'm not yours for better but for worse
And I've learned to give the well-known witches' curse
I've a terrible tongue, a temper for two
And ev'rything I've got belongs to you
Don't raise your voice at me
That's very rude
To raise your voice at me
Is rather crude
It's wrong essentially when woman yells
And confidentially, it smells
I'll converse with you on politics at length
I'll protect you with my superhuman strength
If you're ever attacked I'll scream and say , "Boo!''
And everything I've got belongs to you
I will never stray from home, I'll just stay put
Cause I've got a brand-new thing called athlete' s foot
I'm a victim of colds, anemia, too
And everything I've got belongs to you
Off to bed we will creep
Then we'll sleep and sleep and sleep
Till the birds start to peep
I'll give you plenty of nothing
I'll be yours forever and a day
If the first good breeze does not blow me away
You're enough for one man, that's why I'll be true
And everything I've got belongs to you
You may have some things that I can't use at all
When I look at you, your manly gifts are small
I've a wonderful way of saying adieu
And everything I've got belongs to you
You won't know how good I am until you try
And you'll let my well of loneliness run dry
I've a marvelous way of telling you no
And everything I've got belongs to you
And everything you want belongs to me!
And everything you need belongs to me!
Life has no shape or form
And no design
It isn't life without
That fool of mine
I used to gad about
With any chap
And now I'm sad about my sap
He's a living thing that isn't quite alive
He has brains enough for any child of five
Oh, he isn't too rich in vigor and vim
But everything I've got belongs to him
He's a naughty brat that can't be left alone
He has eyes for every skirt except my own
Even under a tree, he grabs for the limb
But everything I've got belongs to him
Something beats in his chest
But it's just a pump at best
I'm for him, he's for him
He gives me plenty of nothing
When I see that funny face, I know
Something scared his mother twenty years ago
But I'll never let go, he'll never be free!
Till everything he's got belongs to me!
And everything I've got belongs to him!
And everything I've got belongs to us!
The lyrics of "Everything I've Got Belongs To You" by Chet Baker depict a humorous take on a couple's quirky relationship, focusing specifically on the woman's witty and somewhat threatening love for her man. The repetitive nature of the song, with the woman insisting that "everything I've got belongs to you" and vice versa, appears to be a game played between the couple, with both parties trying to one-up each other.
The woman boasts of her dirty looks and ability to use a knife, as well as her "powerful anesthesia" and "terrible tongue." She promises to be faithful to her man, but also admits to having a wandering eye. Meanwhile, the man is described as not quite alive, lacking in vigor and vim. Despite his flaws, the woman declares that everything she has belongs to him, and everything he has belongs to her.
The lyrics can be interpreted as a humorous commentary on the give-and-take nature of relationships, highlighting the quirks and flaws of both partners. The song also touches on themes of loyalty, possession, and power dynamics in relationships.
Line by Line Meaning
Don't stamp your foot at me
Stop showing your anger in a rude manner
It's impolite
It's against the rules of good behavior
To stamp your foot at me
To express disapproval in a physical way
Is not quite right
Is completely inappropriate
At man's ingratitude
When men show a lack of appreciation
A woman winks
A woman shows understanding or acceptance
But such an attitude just stinks
But this kind of behavior is unpleasant and unacceptable
I have eyes for you to give you dirty looks
I can give you a look of disapproval or contempt
I have words that do not come from children's books
I can use vulgar or obscene language
There's a trick with a knife I'm learning to do
I am learning how to harm someone with a knife
And everything I've got belongs to you
I am devoted to you and everything I have is yours
I've a powerful anesthesia in my fist
I am capable of knocking someone out with one punch
And the perfect wrist to give your neck a twist
I am able to break someone's neck easily
There are hammerlock holds
I know how to put someone in a wrestling hold
I've mastered a few
I am skilled in applying these holds
Share for share, share alike
We should both benefit equally from this relationship
You get struck each time I strike
You will experience pain when I do
You for me- me for me
We should only care about ourselves
I'll give you plenty of nothing
I will give you nothing of value
I'm not yours for better but for worse
I will only be with you in bad times as well as good
And I've learned to give the well-known witches' curse
I know how to harm someone with words
I've a terrible tongue, a temper for two
I am prone to saying hurtful things and losing my temper easily
Don't raise your voice at me
Do not speak to me in a loud or angry tone
That's very rude
That's disrespectful and impolite
To raise your voice at me
To speak loudly in my direction
Is rather crude
Is ill-mannered and vulgar
It's wrong essentially when woman yells
It's fundamentally wrong when women shout or scream
And confidentially, it smells
To me, it seems like a sign of weakness or desperation
I'll converse with you on politics at length
I am willing to hold lengthy discussions with you about politics
I'll protect you with my superhuman strength
I will use all of my strength to keep you safe
If you're ever attacked I'll scream and say , 'Boo!''
If you face danger, I will try to scare off the attacker
I will never stray from home, I'll just stay put
I will always be at home and not go out much
Cause I've got a brand-new thing called athlete's foot
I have a new medical condition that makes me stay home
I'm a victim of colds, anemia, too
I suffer from various illnesses
And everything I've got belongs to you
Despite my health issues, I am devoted to you
Off to bed we will creep
We will sneak off to bed
Then we'll sleep and sleep and sleep
We will sleep a lot
Till the birds start to peep
Until it's morning and the birds start chirping
You won't know how good I am until you try
You'll only realize how valuable I am once you have me
And you'll let my well of loneliness run dry
You'll help to alleviate my feelings of loneliness
I've a marvelous way of telling you no
I can say no in a clever and convincing way
And everything you want belongs to me!
I want you to dedicate all your desires and needs to me
And everything you need belongs to me!
I want you to depend on me for everything
Life has no shape or form
Life is incomplete and meaningless
And no design
And is chaotic and random
It isn't life without
Life is incomplete unless I have him
That fool of mine
The man I am devoted to, even if he is foolish
He's a living thing that isn't quite alive
He is more than an object, but not really a complete person
He has brains enough for any child of five
He is not very intelligent
Oh, he isn't too rich in vigor and vim
He lacks energy and enthusiasm
But everything I've got belongs to him
Despite his shortcomings, I am devoted to him
He's a naughty brat that can't be left alone
He is immature and mischievous
He has eyes for every skirt except my own
He flirts with other women, but not with me
Even under a tree, he grabs for the limb
He is reckless and impulsive
But everything I've got belongs to him
Despite his flaws, I am still devoted to him
Something beats in his chest
He has a heart
But it's just a pump at best
But it's not very significant
I'm for him, he's for him
I am devoted to him, but he only cares about himself
He gives me plenty of nothing
He doesn't give me anything of value
When I see that funny face, I know
When I see him, I know that he is flawed and imperfect
Something scared his mother twenty years ago
He has emotional problems that stem from his childhood
But I'll never let go, he'll never be free!
Despite everything, I refuse to leave him
Till everything he's got belongs to me!
I want to be in complete control of him and everything he has
And everything I've got belongs to him!
Despite his flaws, I am devoted to him and everything I have is his
And everything I've got belongs to us!
We are in this together and everything we have is shared
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: LORENZ HART, RICHARD RODGERS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@TheXynos7
Everything happens to me(1961)
Lyrics :
I make a date for golf, you can bet you life it rains
I try to give a party, the guy upstairs complains
I guess, I'll go through life catchin' colds and missin' trains
Everything happens to me
I never miss a thing, I've had measles and the mumps
every time I play my ace, my partner always trumps
I guess, I'm just a kind, who never looks before he jumps
Everything happens to me
At first, my heart thought, you could break this jinx for me
That love would turn the trick to end my despair
But now, I just can't fool this head that thinks for me
I've mortgaged all my castles in the air
I've telegraphed and called, I sent, air mail special too
You answer was goodbye and there was even postage due
I fell in love just once and then it had to be with you
Everything happens to me
@grandesax
I make a date for golf, and you can bet your life it rains
I try to give a party, and the guy upstairs complains
I guess I'll go through life, just catching colds and missing trains
Everything happens to me
I never miss a thing, I've had the measles and the mumps
And every time I play an ace, my partner always trumps
I guess I'm just a fool, who never looks before he jumps
Everything happens to me
At first, my heart thought you could break this jinx for me
That love would turn the trick to end despair
But now I just can't fool this head that thinks for me
I've mortgaged all my castles in the air
I've telegraphed and phoned and sent an airmail special too
Your answer was goodbye and there was even postage due
I fell in love just once, and then it had to be with you
Everything happens to me
Instrumental
I've telegraphed and phoned, I sent an airmail special too
Your answer was goodbye and there was even postage due
I fell in love just once, and then it had to be with you
Everything happens, to me
@LEauReine
I make a date for golf, and you can bet your life it rains.
I try to give a party, and the guy upstairs complains.
I guess I'll go through life, just catching colds and missing trains.
Everything happens to me.
I never miss a thing. I've had the measles and the mumps.
And every time I play an ace, my partner always trumps.
I guess I'm just a fool, who never looks before he jumps.
Everything happens to me.
At first, my heart thought you could break this jinx for me.
That love would turn the trick to end despair.
But now I just can't fool this head that thinks for me.
I've mortgaged all my castles in the air.
I've telegraphed and phoned and sent an air mail special too.
Your answer was goodbye and there was even postage due.
I fell in love just once, and then it had to be with you.
Everything happens to me.
(skat)
I've telegraphed and phoned. I sent an air mail special too.
Your answer was goodbye and there was even postage due.
I fell in love just once, and then it had to be with you.
Everything happens to me.
@klausjost2416
I saw Chet in Munich in a concert hall. It was very good, and so for the first time in my life I bought a ticket for a second day with him in a small studio, about 120 people listening. It was so fantastic, he almost had no power to blow his trumpet, a lot of air with some notes.It was wonderful Some weeks later he died. What a great musician as singer and trumpet player.
@Smoothways
Just listen to the lyrics and his so fragile voice not to forget his trumpet solo. This one always brings tears to my eyes. It' s all about pains in life. He himself never left out any pain sorrow to go through. The piano has some Monk in it - I would take on any bet that the player was influenced by the Great man himself.
@shaunmcloughlin6316
Do you know who the pianist is bud?
@HoratioLindez
The pianist is Russ Freeman
@W___G
Has some Monk in it. Right.
@isaacdes962
@@W___G whats confusing?
@rhythmfield
@@isaacdes962 there’s no Monk in this man’s playing - he plays very well, but truly not Monk-like. Very few pianists lay it down quite the way Monk did.
@sethasch1642
I had almost forgotten this number until Rainy day in New York. Loved the movie. This piece sung by Timothee was just haunting all over again.
@jochenstossberg5427
YES! loved the movie too, and I had almost forgotten it too. It's a gorgeous song. Pity that Chet baker was so often seriously off the note.
@kmaddox6857
@@jochenstossberg5427 THat's part of the charm of his singing.