Baker was born in Chicago, Illinois. She is occasionally referred to as Delores Williams because of an early marriage to Eugene Williams; in the late 1940s she was identified in RCA Victor record company files as "D. L. McMurley." She was the niece of blues singer Merline Johnson and was also related to Memphis Minnie.
She began singing in Chicago clubs such as the Club DeLisa around 1946, often billed as Little Miss Sharecropper, and first recorded under that name in 1949. She changed her name briefly to Bea Baker when recording for Okeh Records in 1951, and then became LaVern Baker when singing with Todd Rhodes and his band in 1952.
In 1953 she signed for Atlantic Records as a solo artist, her first release being "Soul on Fire". Her first hit came in early 1955, with the Latin-tempo "Tweedlee Dee" reaching #4 on the R&B chart and #14 on the national US pop charts. Georgia Gibbs' note-for-note cover of Baker's "Tweedle Dee" reached #1; subsequently Baker made an unsuccessful attempt to sue her and petitioned Congress to consider such covers copyright violations.
Baker had a succession of hits on the R&B charts over the next couple of years with her backing group The Gliders, including "Bop-Ting-A-Ling" (#3 R&B), "Play It Fair" (#2 R&B), and "Still" (#4 R&B). At the end of 1956 she had another smash hit with "Jim Dandy" (#1 R&B, #17 pop). It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc. Further hits followed for Atlantic, including the follow-up "Jim Dandy Got Married" (#7 R&B), "I Cried a Tear" (#2 R&B, #6 pop in 1959), "I Waited Too Long" (#5 R&B, #3 pop, written by Neil Sedaka), "Saved" (#17 R&B, written by Leiber and Stoller), and "See See Rider" (#9 R&B in 1963).
In addition to singing, Baker also did some work with Ed Sullivan and Alan Freed on TV and in films, including Rock, Rock, Rock and Mr. Rock & Roll. In 1964, she recorded a Bessie Smith tribute album, before leaving Atlantic and joining Brunswick Records, where she recorded the album "Let Me Belong to You".
In 1966, Baker recorded a duet single with Jackie Wilson. The controversial song, "Think Twice", featured raunchy lyrics that were not considered appropriate for airplay at that time or even today. Three versions were recorded, one of which is the X-rated version with the raunchy lyrics.
In the late 1960s, Baker became seriously ill after a trip to Vietnam to entertain American soldiers. While recovering at the US Subic Bay Naval Base in the Philippines, her husband, Slappy White filed for a divorce. A friend recommended that she stay on as the entertainment director at the Marine Corps Staff NCO club there, and she remained there for 22 years.
In 1988 she returned to perform at Madison Square Garden for Atlantic Records' 40th anniversary. She then worked on the soundtracks to films such as Shag, (1989), Dick Tracy, (1990) and A Rage in Harlem (1991), which were all issued on CD.
In 1990, she made her Broadway debut replacing Ruth Brown as star of the hit musical Black and Blue. In 1991, Rhino Records released a new album Live in Hollywood recorded at the Hollywood Roosevelt Cinegrill, as well as a compilation of her greatest Atlantic hits entitled Soul on Fire. In 1992, she recorded a well-received studio album, Woke Up This Morning, for DRG Records. She continued performing after having both legs amputated from diabetes complications in 1994 and made her last recording, "Jump Into the Fire," for the 1995 Harry Nilsson tribute CD, For the Love of Harry on the Music Masters label.
She received the 1990 Pioneer Award from the Rhythm and Blues Foundation. In 1991, Baker became the second female solo artist inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, following Aretha Franklin in 1987. Her song "Jim Dandy" was named one of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll and was ranked #343 on the Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
LaVern Baker died from cardiovascular disease on March 10, 1997, at the age of 67. Originally buried in an unmarked plot in Maple Grove Cemetery in Kew Gardens, Queens, New York, her grave received a headstone on May 4, 2008, after a fundraiser was held by local historians.
A Little Bird Told Me So
LaVern Baker Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And I believe that you do (I believe)
This little bird told me I was fallin' (Really fallin')
Fallin' for no one but you (No one but you)
There's no use denyin'
I might as well confess
Of all the boys I know, dear
I'm sure I love you best
The little bird told me we'd be happy (Oh, so happy)
And I believe that it's true (So true)
A little bird told me we'd be married (Gonna get married)
And I believe that it's true (Doo-ooo)
This little bird told me when we marry (When we get married)
We'll have a pretty cottage, not too far (Yeah!)
All fenced in like a movie star (Solid!)
A Great Dane pup, we'll call him Ace (Whoa!)
Lying there by the fireplace (Gone!)
A goldfish pond and a wishing well
Everything is gonna turn out swell
(A little bird told her she'd be married) Doobie-doobie-doobie-doo
(And we believe that it's true)
(This little bird said she'd have a family) Yucka-pucka-pucka-puck
(Now tell us what we're gonna do)
We'll have a pretty cottage, not too far (Yeah!)
All fenced in like a movie star (Solid!)
A Great Dane pup, we'll call him Ace (Woah!)
Lying there by the fireplace (Gone!)
A goldfish pond and a wishing well
Everything is gonna turn out swell
A little bird told me we'd be happy
And I believe that it's true
(She believes that it's true)
And now I know that it's true
(Come June it's bound, bound to come true)
In LaVern Baker's song "A Little Bird Told Me So," she sings about receiving information from a little bird that her love interest loves her back. She believes the bird because of the strong feelings she has for the person. She then confesses her love for them and acknowledges that she loves them more than anyone else she knows. The bird also tells her that they will be happy together and get married, which will lead them to have a beautiful home with a Great Dane pup lounging by the fireplace, a goldfish pond, and a wishing well. The lyrics suggest a romanticized view of love, with the little bird acting as a messenger of hope and happiness.
The use of a bird as the informant in the song seems to stem from the common phrase “a little birdie told me,” which was often used as an excuse for revealing information without disclosing the source. The song itself was released in 1952 and became a hit in the US, staying on the charts for 14 weeks. Over time, it has been covered by several artists, including Paul Gayten, Mindy Carson, and Bing Crosby, among others.
Line by Line Meaning
A little bird told me that you love me
I heard that you love me
And I believe that you do
I trust that it is true
This little bird told me I was fallin'
I had feelings for you that were getting stronger
Fallin' for no one but you
I had no romantic feelings for anyone else
There's no use denyin'
There is no point in denying
I might as well confess
I might as well admit
Of all the boys I know, dear
Out of all the guys I've met
I'm sure I love you best
I am certain that I love you the most
The little bird told me we'd be happy
I was told that we would be happy
And I believe that it's true
I believe that it will happen
A little bird told me we'd be married
I was told that we would get married
And I believe that it's true
I believe that it will happen
This little bird told me when we marry
I was told what would happen when we get married
We'll have a pretty cottage, not too far
We will have a nice small house, not too far
All fenced in like a movie star
It will have a beautiful fence like in the movies
A Great Dane pup, we'll call him Ace
We will have a Great Dane puppy that we will name Ace
Lying there by the fireplace
Ace will lay down by the fireplace
A goldfish pond and a wishing well
We will also have a pond for goldfish and a wishing well
Everything is gonna turn out swell
Everything will go well
And now I know that it's true
Now I am certain that it will happen
Come June it's bound, bound to come true
It is certain that it will happen in June
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: BERT RUSSELL, ERSEL HICKEY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind