Butch Baker (born October 22, 1958) is an American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

artist. He recorded for

Mercury Records Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. Mercury Records released ...

in the late 1980s, releasing multiple singles between 1984 and 1990, as well as the album ''We Will''. His highest-peaking single, "That's What Her Memory Is For", peaked at No. 41 on the U.S. country charts in 1986.

Biography

Butch Baker was born in

Sweetwater, Tennessee Sweetwater is a city in Monroe County, Tennessee, Monroe and McMinn County, Tennessee, McMinn Counties in the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the most populous city in Monroe County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population ...

. He first sang at nineteen months in his father's church. Taking influence from

gospel music Gospel music is a traditional genre of Christian music and a cornerstone of Christian media. The creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of gospel music vary according to culture and social context. Gospel music is compo ...

as well as rock and country acts such as

The Everly Brothers The Everly Brothers were an American rock duo, known for steel-string acoustic guitar playing and close-harmony singing. Consisting of Isaac Donald "Don" Everly and Phillip "Phil" Everly, the duo combined elements of rock and roll, country, ...

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...

Don Gibson Donald Eugene Gibson (April 3, 1928 – November 17, 2003) was an American songwriter and country musician. A Country Music Hall of Fame inductee, Gibson wrote such country standards as " Sweet Dreams" and " I Can't Stop Loving You", and enjo ...

and others, he decided to pursue a musical career after graduating from Tennessee Military Institute and majoring in drama at the

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee, Knoxville (or The University of Tennessee; UT; UT Knoxville; or colloquially UTK or Tennessee) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee, United St ...

. Baker moved to

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

in 1979. There, he sold men's clothing during the day and attended various gigs at night, eventually being hired for one. Afterward, he went on to record demos, eventually becoming a staff writer for

Acuff-Rose Music Acuff-Rose Music, Inc. was an American music publishing firm formed in 1942 by Roy Acuff and Fred Rose (songwriter), Fred Rose in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Currently, the company's catalog is owned by Sony Music Publishing. Early hi ...

as well. In 1984, he signed to a recording contract with

. He released three singles for the label, including "Thinking 'bout Leaving", which peaked at 56 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' country charts. After this song came his highest chart peak, the Number 41 "That's What Her Memory Is For." He continued to release singles through the 1980s, and was one of several guest vocalists on Hank Williams, Jr.'s 1987 single " Young Country" (from the '' Born to Boogie'' album). However, his debut album, the Harold Shedd-produced ''We Will'', was not issued until 1990. This album included a

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English Rock music, rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s l ...

's " Wonderful Tonight". That same year, he charted for the last time as a duet partner on labelmate Daniele Alexander's "It Wasn't You, It Wasn't Me". This was from Alexander's second album, ''I Dream in Color'', which included two other duets with him. After exiting Mercury in 1990, he became a regular on a video program for

The Nashville Network The Nashville Network, usually referred to as TNN, was an American country music-oriented cable television network. Programming included music videos, taped concerts, movies, game shows, syndicated programs, and numerous talk shows. On September ...

(now

Spike TV Paramount Network is an American basic cable television channel and the flagship property of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global, who operates it through the MTV Entertainment Group. The network's headquarters are locate ...

). In the 21st century, Butch Baker founded the duo Alive in Eden with songwriter Jim Dowell.

Discography

Albums

Singles

Guest singles

Music videos

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baker, Butch 1958 births Living people People from Sweetwater, Tennessee American country singer-songwriters American male singer-songwriters Mercury Records artists Singer-songwriters from Tennessee University of Tennessee alumni Country musicians from Tennessee