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.
How Long Has This Been Going On
Chet Baker Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I was kissed by my sisters, my cousins, and my aunties.
Sad to tell, it was hell, an inferno worse than Dante's.
So my dear I swore,
"Never, never more !"
On my list, I insisted that kissing must be crossed out.
Now, I find I was blind, and oh my! How I lost out!
I could cry salty tears,
Where have I been all these years?
Little wow, tell me now:
How long has this been going on?
There were chills up my spine,
And some thrills I can't define.
Listen, sweet, I repeat:
How long has this been going on?
Oh, I feel that I could melt,
Into Heaven I'm hurled!
I know how Columbus felt,
Finding another world.
Kiss me once, then once more.
What a dunce I was before.
What a break! For Heaven's sake!
How long has this been going on?
Dear, when in your arms I creep,
That divine rendezvous,
Don't wake me, if I'm asleep,
Let me dream that it's true!
Kiss me twice, then once more.
That makes thrice, let's make it four!
What a break! For Heaven's sake!
How long has this been going on?
How long has this, been going on?
Chet Baker's "How Long Has This Been Going On" is a song that beautifully captures the passion and confusion of a person who has just realized their own intense feelings for another. The song opens with a series of childhood memories from the singer, suggesting that they have spent much of their life avoiding romance or physical affection. However, the singer soon realizes that they have been missing out on a very important part of life, and they express their astonishment and wonder at the intensity of their newfound emotions.
The song's lyrics evoke a sense of wonder and surprise at the intensity of romantic attraction. The phrase "How long has this been going on?" is asked repeatedly throughout the song, as if the singer can hardly believe that such powerful feelings have taken hold of them. The lyrics are filled with vivid, sensory details that express the singer's intense, almost overwhelming emotions. For example, the line "I could cry salty tears" suggests that the singer is so struck by their feelings that they cannot even begin to express them in words.
Overall, "How Long Has This Been Going On" is a song that captures the heady, exhilarating feeling of falling in love for the first time. Its lyrics are filled with powerful emotional imagery and deeply felt phrases, and the song to convey the feeling of falling deeply in love.
Line by Line Meaning
As a tot, when I trotted in little velvet panties,
As a child when I wore cute little clothes;
I was kissed by my sisters, my cousins, and my aunties.
I received affectionate kisses from my family members;
Sad to tell, it was hell, an inferno worse than Dante's.
Sadly, it was not a pleasant experience, but rather a torturous one.
So my dear I swore, "Never, never more !"
As a result, I resolved, never to be kissed again.
On my list, I insisted that kissing must be crossed out.
I made it clear that kissing was forbidden in my books.
Now, I find I was blind, and oh my! How I lost out!
Now, I realize how foolish I was and deeply regret missing out on the joy of kissing.
I could cry salty tears,
I am overwhelmed with mixed emotions that could make me cry.
Where have I been all these years?
I wonder where I have been all these years without experiencing the joy of kissing.
Little wow, tell me now:
Can you tell me now?
How long has this been going on?
How long has this been happening?
There were chills up my spine,
I experienced a thrilling sensation up my backbone.
And some thrills I can't define.
These thrills are indescribable.
Listen, sweet, I repeat:
I urge you to listen to me, my dear.
How long has this been going on?
I am curious about the duration of this amazing feeling.
Oh, I feel that I could melt,
These sensations are strong and overwhelming.
Into Heaven I'm hurled!
I feel like I am in Heaven!
I know how Columbus felt,
I can relate to how Columbus must have felt when he discovered America.
Finding another world.
I have found another world of love and passion.
Kiss me once, then once more.
Please give me a kiss and then another.
What a dunce I was before.
I was foolish not to allow myself to experience this before.
What a break! For Heaven's sake!
What a fortunate turn of events! It's truly heaven-sent!
How long has this been going on?
I can't believe how long I have been missing out on this wonderful feeling.
Dear, when in your arms I creep,
My love, when I cuddle into your embrace,
That divine rendezvous,
Our romantic meeting,
Don't wake me, if I'm asleep,
Please don't wake me if it's all a dream,
Let me dream that it's true!
Let me continue to dream that this experience is real!
Kiss me twice, then once more.
Please give me two more kisses, one after the other.
That makes thrice, let's make it four!
That brings the total to three, let's make it four kisses instead.
What a break! For Heaven's sake!
What an incredible opportunity! It's a gift from God!
How long has this been going on?
I can't believe I've waited this long to enjoy this feeling.
How long has this, been going on?
How long has this incredible experience been happening?
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Ira Gershwin, George Gershwin
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@jaffabaffa
Walked past a little tabacco shop in Trento today (Italy), and they played this on a loop. Very vibey. Had to look it up
@alexandradecastro5142
💙💙 IDOL 💙💙
@dash3995
LITTERALLY
@luth7050
<3
@sinjinbaker6031
Watched "funny face" for the first time the other day, and I love chet baker, so this is cool. Hey, does anybody what album this is from?
@grouchozappa6569
from "it could happen to you"
@sinjinbaker6031
Groucho Zappa thanks!