Betty Jane Baker (née Phillips; May 6, 1927 – April 2, 2002) was a singer, songwriter and vocal contractor, who worked as a backup singer on recordings by

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

, Frank Sinatra,

Bobby Darin Bobby Darin (born Walden Robert Cassotto; May 14, 1936 – December 20, 1973) was an American musician and actor. He performed jazz, pop, rock and roll, folk, swing, and country music. He started his career as a songwriter for Connie ...

The Righteous Brothers The Righteous Brothers are an American musical duo originally formed by Bill Medley and Bobby Hatfield but now comprising Medley and Bucky Heard. Medley formed the group with Hatfield in 1963. They had first performed together in 1962 in the Lo ...

and Sam Cooke, among others. She also sang on the radio, with big bands and did voice work for television and films and appeared on television variety shows.

Early life and career

Born in

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fr ...

, Baker was

Miss Alabama The Miss Alabama competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of Alabama in the annual Miss America Competition. Alabama has won three Miss America titles: Deidre Downs in 2005, Heather Whitestone (the first deaf w ...

in 1944 as Betty Jane Rase, and was 4th runner-up in the 1944

Miss America Pageant Miss America is an annual competition that is open to women from the United States between the ages of 17 and 25. Originating in 1921 as a "bathing beauty revue", the contest is now judged on competitors' talent performances and interviews. As ...

. From the 1940s, Baker sang in big bands and on the radio, and in the 1960s, she appeared in several television shows, including the variety shows of Dean Martin and

Judy Garland Judy Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm; June 10, 1922June 22, 1969) was an American actress and singer. While critically acclaimed for many different roles throughout her career, she is widely known for playing the part of Dorothy Gale in '' The ...

. She backed

in his recording of " Can't Help Falling in Love",

Lloyd Price Lloyd Price (March 9, 1933May 3, 2021) was an American singer-songwriter, record executive and bandleader, known as "Mr. Personality", after his 1959 million-selling hit, "Personality". His first recording, "Lawdy Miss Clawdy", was a hit for S ...

in " Stagger Lee", Sam Cooke in "

You Send Me "You Send Me" is a song written and originally recorded by American singer Sam Cooke, released as a single in 1957 by Keen Records. Produced by Bumps Blackwell and arranged and conducted by René Hall. The song, Cooke's debut single, was a massiv ...

in "

Dream Lover "Dream Lover" is a song written by Bobby Darin. Darin recorded his composition on March 5, 1959 and released it as a single the following month. It was produced by Ahmet Ertegun and Jerry Wexler and engineered by Tom Dowd. Song background In a ...

", Frank Sinatra in " That's Life", Jackie Wilson in "

Baby Workout "Baby Workout" is an R&B song by Jackie Wilson from the album of the same name. The track is about Wilson urging a girl to dance (work out) all night with him. It was Wilson's biggest hit of his singles that charted on both the ''Billboard'' Ho ...

in "

You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin' "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin is a song by Phil Spector, Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, first recorded in 1964 by the American vocal duo the Righteous Brothers, whose version was also produced by Spector and is cited by some music critics as ...

" and

Nancy Sinatra Nancy Sandra Sinatra (born June 8, 1940) is an American singer and actress. She is the elder daughter of Frank Sinatra and Nancy Sinatra ( Barbato), and is best known for her 1966 signature hit " These Boots Are Made for Walkin'. Nancy Sinatr ...

on her 1969 album '' Nancy''.Cromelin, Richard
"B.J. Baker, 74; Backed Top Singers of '50s, '60s"
''Los Angeles Times'', April 13, 2002, accessed December 29, 2012 She also was well regarded as a vocal contractor for backup singers and recorded extensively with the Anita Kerr Singers. In addition to her studio singing, Baker was the singing voice of Linda Low (played by

Nancy Kwan Nancy Kwan Ka-shen (; born May 19, 1939) is a Chinese-American actress, philanthropist, and former dancer. In addition to her personality and looks, her career was benefited by Hollywood's casting of more Asian roles in the 1960s, especially in ...

) in the 1961 film version of ''

Flower Drum Song ''Flower Drum Song'' was the eighth musical by the team of Rodgers and Hammerstein. It is based on the 1957 novel, '' The Flower Drum Song'', by Chinese-American author C. Y. Lee. It premiered on Broadway in 1958 and was then performed in the ...

'' and also lent her voice to ''The Story of Babar, the Little Elephant'' (1968 TV movie), ''Babar Comes to America'' (1971 TV movie) and '' Heidi's Song'' (1982).

Personal life

Baker was first married to Mickey Rooney (1920–2014) from 1944 to 1949; the couple had two children, Mickey Rooney Jr. (1945–2022) and

Tim Rooney Timothy Hayes Yule (January 4, 1947 – September 23, 2006), better known as Tim Rooney, was an American actor. Rooney was the second son of actor and comedian Mickey Rooney. Later in his life, Rooney suffered from a rare muscle disease known as ...

(1947–2006). She was later married to composer Buddy Baker from 1950 to 1957, and jazz guitarist Barney Kessel from 1961 until their divorce in 1980."B.J. Baker, 74, a backup singer who worked on hits"
''Baltimore Sun'', April 14, 2002, accessed December 29, 2012

Death

She died on April 2, 2002, at the age of 74, in

Rancho Mirage, California Rancho Mirage is a city in Riverside County, California, United States. The population was 17,218 at the 2010 census, up from 13,249 at the 2000 census, but the seasonal (part-time) population can exceed 20,000. Incorporated in 1973 and locate ...

, from complications following a stroke.

References

External links

Baker's IMDb profile
* *

* ttp://www.agefotostock.com/en/Stock-Images/Rights-Managed/ERE-PBDBEJA-CS003-H Photo of Baker in 1948br>Extensive list of Baker's credits at AllmusicBaker at Artist DirectBaker at AlbumCredits.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baker, B. J. 1927 births 2002 deaths Miss Alabama winners Miss America 1940s delegates Miss America Preliminary Talent winners Miss America Preliminary Swimsuit winners Musicians from Birmingham, Alabama 20th-century American singers 20th-century American women singers

Early life and career

Personal life

Death

References

Further reading

External links