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.
I'm in a Crying Mood
LaVern Baker Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'm as blue as anyone can be,
I feel like a weepin' willow tree,
I'm in a cryin' mood.
Pair by pair,
I see happy lovers everywhere,
But the one I love don't seem to care,
Each day I'm on my ownsome,
Blue Mondays, rain or shine!
I'll say this world is lonesome,
I'm just the lonesome kind.
Why, oh why
Did he have to go and say goodbye?
Seems the moon is low and so am I!
I'm in a cryin' mood.
Each day I'm on my ownsome,
Blue Mondays, rain or shine!
I'll say this world is lonesome,
I'm just the lonesome kind.
Why, oh why
Did he have to go and say goodbye?
Seems the moon is low and so am I!
I'm in a cryin' mood.
The lyrics to LaVern Baker's "I'm in a Crying Mood" express a deep sense of heartache and loneliness. The singer is feeling incredibly sad and blue, comparing herself to a "weepin' willow tree." She sees happy couples everywhere she goes but feels like the one person she loves doesn't care about her at all. Each day is a struggle for her, and she experiences a deep sense of lonesomeness.
The chorus of the song touches on the specifics of the singer's sadness. She wonders why her loved one had to leave and say goodbye, and she feels like the world around her is low and gloomy. The overall message of the song is one of heartache and loss, with the singer expressing her deepest thoughts and emotions through the lyrics.
Line by Line Meaning
Woe is me,
I am feeling extremely sad and distressed.
I'm as blue as anyone can be,
My sadness is so intense that I feel like I cannot be any sadder.
I feel like a weepin' willow tree,
I am so overwhelmed with sadness that I feel like crying constantly, like a weeping willow tree.
I'm in a cryin' mood.
I am in a state of mind where I feel like crying.
Pair by pair,
Everywhere I look, I see couples who are happy together.
I see happy lovers everywhere,
I always see couples who are deeply in love and enjoying each other's company.
But the one I love don't seem to care,
However, the person I love does not seem to care about me or my feelings.
I'm in a cryin' mood.
This puts me in a state of mind where I feel like crying all the time.
Each day I'm on my ownsome,
Every day, I am alone and have no one to talk to or spend time with.
Blue Mondays, rain or shine!
Whether it is a blue Monday or a rainy day, my loneliness never goes away.
I'll say this world is lonesome,
I believe that the world is a lonely and depressing place.
I'm just the lonesome kind.
I am a naturally lonely person and have always felt this way.
Why, oh why
I cannot help but wonder
Did he have to go and say goodbye?
Why did the person I love have to leave me and say goodbye?
Seems the moon is low and so am I!
I feel like the moon (a symbol of sadness) is low in the sky, and my own mood reflects this.
I'm in a cryin' mood.
All of this makes me feel like crying even more.
Each day I'm on my ownsome,
Once again, every day I feel alone and isolated.
Blue Mondays, rain or shine!
No matter what the weather or day of the week, my loneliness never goes away.
I'll say this world is lonesome,
Once again, I believe that the world is a very lonely and sad place.
I'm just the lonesome kind.
I am just the type of person who is naturally lonely and sad.
Why, oh why
Once again, I cannot help but wonder
Did he have to go and say goodbye?
Why did the person I love have to leave me and say goodbye?
Seems the moon is low and so am I!
Once again, I feel like the moon (a symbol of sadness) is low in the sky, and my mood reflects this deeply.
I'm in a cryin' mood.
All of this leaves me feeling like crying even more.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: FLETCHER HENDERSON, WILLMETTE WARD
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind