Betty Jane Baker (née Phillips; May 6, 1927 – April 2, 2002) was an American 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) 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 ...

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Honorific nicknames in popular music, Nicknamed the "Chairman of the Board" and "Ol' Blue Eyes", he is regarded as one of the Time 100: The Most I ...

Bobby Darin Bobby Darin (born Walden Robert Cassotto; May 14, 1936 – December 20, 1973) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor who performed Pop music, pop, Swing music, swing, Folk music, folk, rock and roll, and country music. Darin started ...

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 L ...

and

Sam Cooke Samuel Cooke (; January 22, 1931 – December 11, 1964) was an American singer and songwriter. Considered one of the most influential soul music, soul artists of all time, Cooke is commonly referred to as the "King of Soul" for his distin ...

, among others. She also sang on the radio, with

big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s and ...

s 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 Alabama, United States. It is the county seat of Jefferson County, Alabama, Jefferson County. The population was 200,733 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List ...

, 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 four Miss America titles: Abbie Stockard in 2025, Deidre Downs in 2005, Heather White ...

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 18 and 28. Originating in 1921 as a "bathing beauty revue", the contest is judged on competition segments with scoring percentages: ''Priva ...

. From the 1940s, Baker sang in

s and on the radio, and in the 1960s, she appeared in several television shows, including the variety shows of

Dean Martin Dean Martin (born Dino Paul Crocetti; June 7, 1917 – December 25, 1995) was an American singer, actor, and comedian. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Cool", he is regarded as one of the most popular entertainers of ...

and

Judy Garland Judy Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm; June 10, 1922June 22, 1969) was an American actress and singer. Possessing a strong contralto voice, she was celebrated for her emotional depth and versatility across film, stage, and concert performance. ...

. She backed

in his recording of "

Can't Help Falling in Love "Can't Help Falling in Love" is a song written by Hugo Peretti, Luigi Creatore, and George David Weiss and published by Gladys Music, Inc. The melody is based on " Plaisir d'amour", a popular French love song composed in 1784 by Jean-Paul-� ...

Lloyd Price Lloyd Price (March 9, 1933May 3, 2021) was an American R&B and rock 'n' roll singer, known as "Mr. Personality", after his 1959 million-selling hit, "Personality (Lloyd Price song), Personality". His first recording, "Lawdy Miss Clawdy", was a ...

in "

Stagger Lee "Stagger Lee" (Roud 4183), also known as "Stagolee" and other variants, is a popular American folk song about the murder of Billy Lyons by "Stag" Lee Shelton, in St. Louis, Missouri, on Christmas 1895. The song was first published in 1911 and f ...

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 massi ...

in "

Dream Lover "Dream Lover" is a song written by American musician 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. The ...

in " That's Life",

Jackie Wilson Jack Leroy "Jackie" Wilson Jr. (June 9, 1934 – January 21, 1984) was an American singer who was a prominent figure in the transition of rhythm and blues into soul. Nicknamed "Mr. Excitement", he was considered a master showman and one of th ...

in "

Baby Workout "Baby Workout" is an R&B song by Jackie Wilson from the 1963 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' ...

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. This version, produced by Spector, is cited by some music critics as the ultimat ...

" and

Nancy Sinatra Nancy Sandra Sinatra (born June 8, 1940) is an American singer, actress, film producer and author. She is the elder daughter of Frank Sinatra and Nancy Sinatra ( Barbato) and is known for her 1965 signature hit " These Boots Are Made for Walki ...

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 recorded extensively with the

Anita Kerr Anita Jean Kerr (''née'' Grilli; October 13, 1927 – October 10, 2022) was an American singer, arranger, composer, conductor, pianist, and music producer. She recorded and performed with her vocal harmony groups in Nashville, Los Angeles, and ...

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 whose career benefited from Hollywood's casting of more Asian roles in the 1960s, especially in comedies. She was considered an Eastern sex symbol in the 1960s. Biography ...

) in the 1961 film version of ''

Flower Drum Song ''Flower Drum Song'' was the eighth musical theatre, 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 (author), C. Y. Lee. It premiered on Broadway 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 ''Heidi's Song'' is a 1982 American animated musical film produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions and based on the 1881 novel '' Heidi'' by Johanna Spyri. It was directed by Robert Taylor from a screenplay by Taylor, Joseph Barbera and Jameson ...

'' (1982). She sang two songs ("

(Won't You Come Home) Bill Bailey "(Won't You Come Home) Bill Bailey", originally titled "Bill Bailey, Won't You Please.... Come Home?" is a popular song published in 1902. It is commonly referred to as simply "Bill Bailey". The words and music were written by Hughie Cannon, an ...

" and "The Rockenschpeel Jingle") as the character Wilma in the second season of ''

The Flintstones ''The Flintstones'' is an American animated sitcom produced by Hanna-Barbera, Hanna-Barbera Productions, which takes place in a romanticized Stone Age setting and follows the titular family, the Flintstones, and their next-door neighbors, the R ...

'' episode, "The Happy Household". Baker was also well regarded as a vocal contractor for backup singers.

Personal life

Baker was first married to

Mickey Rooney Mickey Rooney (born Ninnian Joseph Yule Jr.; other pseudonym Mickey Maguire; September 23, 1920 – April 6, 2014) was an American actor. In a career spanning nearly nine decades, he appeared in more than 300 films and was among the last survivi ...

(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 developed a rare muscle disease known as derm ...

(1947–2006). She was later married to composer

Buddy Baker Elzie Wylie "Buddy" Baker Jr. (January 25, 1941 – August 10, 2015) was an American professional stock car racing driver and commentator. Over the course of his 33-year racing career, he won 19 races in the NASCAR Cup Series, including the 19 ...

(1918–2002) from 1950 to 1957, and jazz guitarist

Barney Kessel Barney Kessel (October 17, 1923 – May 6, 2004) was an American jazz guitarist. Known in particular for his knowledge of chords and inversions and chord-based melodies, he was a member of many prominent jazz groups as well as a "first call" gu ...

(1923–2004) 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 city is a low-density desert community with resorts, golf courses, and country clubs within the Colorado Desert section of the Sonoran Desert. Nestled along the foothil ...

, 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 Direct
{{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 Singers from Birmingham, Alabama 20th-century American singers 20th-century American women singers

Early life and career

Personal life

Death

References

Further reading

External links