Delores LaVern Baker (November 11, 1929 – March 10, 1997) was an American r… Read Full Bio ↴Delores LaVern Baker (November 11, 1929 – March 10, 1997) was an American rhythm and blues singer, who had several hit records on the pop chart in the 1950s and early 1960s. Her most successful records were "Tweedlee Dee" (1955), "Jim Dandy" (1956), and "I Cried a Tear" (1958).

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.

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Fool That I Am
LaVern Baker Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Fool that I am,
For falling in love with you.
And, fool that I am,
For thinking you loved me, too.

You took my heart,
Then played the part of little coquette.
And, my dreams just disappeared
Like the smoke from a cigarette.

Fool that I am,
For hoping you'd understand.
And thinking you
Would listen, too,
And, oh, the things I had planned.

But we couldn't see eye to eye
So, darling, darling, darling,
This is goodbye.
But I still care, but I still care,
And oh, fool that I am.
Oh, but I still care,
Fool that I am.

Overall Meaning

In LaVern Baker's song "Fool That I Am," the singer is expressing regret and heartbreak over falling in love with someone who does not reciprocate their feelings. The opening lines of the song, "Fool that I am, for falling in love with you," convey a sense of self-awareness and foolishness for allowing themselves to fall for someone who does not feel the same way.

The singer goes on to describe how the person in question played with their heart and "played the part of little coquette," leading the singer on and giving them false hope. The line "And, my dreams just disappeared like the smoke from a cigarette" is a powerful image, suggesting that the singer's hopes and dreams for the relationship vanished into thin air.

Despite the hurt and disappointment, the singer still cares for this person, as evidenced by the repetition of the line "But I still care." However, they recognize that they cannot continue in a one-sided relationship where they do not feel loved or understood, and the song ends with the singer saying goodbye to their love, even though they still carry feelings for them. Overall, "Fool That I Am" is a poignant and relatable reflection on the pain of unrequited love.

Line by Line Meaning

Fool that I am,
I acknowledge that I made a foolish mistake

For falling in love with you.
I was foolish to fall in love with you

And, fool that I am,
I made another foolish mistake

For thinking you loved me, too.
I was foolish to believe that you loved me back

You took my heart,
You won my affection

Then played the part of little coquette.
You acted flirtatiously and played with my emotions

And, my dreams just disappeared
My dreams vanished

Like the smoke from a cigarette.
Just like smoke from a cigarette disappears

For hoping you'd understand.
I was foolish to hope that you would understand me

And thinking you
Also, I thought that you

Would listen, too,
Would also pay attention to me