Helen LaRue Lowe (born January 8, 1954), known professionally as Helen Baylor, is an American

singer Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define singi ...

–

songwriter A songwriter is a person who creates musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music genre and film scoring. ...

Early life

Born Helen LaRue Lowe in

Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa ( ) is the List of municipalities in Oklahoma, second-most-populous city in the U.S. state, state of Oklahoma, after Oklahoma City, and the List of United States cities by population, 48th-most-populous city in the United States. The po ...

, Baylor is the oldest of seven, she has five brothers and one sister. Baylor moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

at age eleven as her Dad (who was in the Army) had been transferred there. While in Los Angeles, Baylor first performed as a

nightclub A nightclub or dance club is a club that is open at night, usually for drinking, dancing and other entertainment. Nightclubs often have a Bar (establishment), bar and discotheque (usually simply known as disco) with a dance floor, laser lighti ...

act.

Career

Baylor opened for

Aretha Franklin Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Honored as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Soul", she was twice named by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine as the Roll ...

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris (; Judkins; born May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American and Ghanaian singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th c ...

, and

B.B. King Riley B. King (September 16, 1925 – May 14, 2015), known professionally as B.B. King, was an American blues guitarist, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He introduced a sophisticated style of soloing based on fluid string bending, sh ...

while still in her teens, and performed in the

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...

Hair Hair is a protein filament that grows from follicles found in the dermis. Hair is one of the defining characteristics of mammals. The human body, apart from areas of glabrous skin, is covered in follicles which produce thick terminal and ...

''. Helen Baylorat

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

In 1967/68 she worked with producer Bobby Sanders releasing two singles, "The Richest Girl" and "What About Me Boy", as Little Helen for the Soultown label. In the 1970s she joined hit Broadway musical ''

'' and followed this period of her career as a session musician for artists that included

Captain & Tennille Captain & Tennille were an American recording duo whose primary success occurred in the 1970s. The husband-and-wife team were "Captain" Daryl Dragon (1942–2019) and Toni Tennille (born 1940). They have five albums certified gold or platinum a ...

Les McCann Leslie Coleman McCann (September 23, 1935 – December 29, 2023) was an American jazz pianist and vocalist. He is known for his innovations in soul jazz and his Swiss Movement, 1969 recording of the protest song "Compared to What". His music ha ...

and

Rufus Rufus is a masculine given name, a surname, an Ancient Roman cognomen and a nickname (from Latin ''wikt:rufus, rufus'', "red"). Notable people with the name include: Given name Politicians * Marcus Caelius Rufus, (28 May 82 BC – after 48 ...

. As a member of

Side Effect In medicine, a side effect is an effect of the use of a medicinal drug or other treatment, usually adverse but sometimes beneficial, that is unintended. Herbal and traditional medicines also have side effects. A drug or procedure usually use ...

her vocals featured on their third album '' What You Need'', from which "Always There", a song co-written by

Ronnie Laws Ronald Wayne Laws (born October 3, 1950) is an American jazz and smooth jazz saxophonist, and singer. He is the younger brother of jazz flutist Hubert Laws, jazz vocalist Eloise Laws and the older brother of Debra Laws. Biography Born and rai ...

was a R&B chart success. Later in the 1980s her career would falter as a consequence of

drug abuse Substance misuse, also known as drug misuse or, in older vernacular, substance abuse, is the use of a drug in amounts or by methods that are harmful to the individual or others. It is a form of substance-related disorder, differing definitions ...

. Baylor became

sober Sober usually refers to sobriety, the state of not having any measurable levels or effects from alcohol or drugs. Sober may also refer to: Music * Sôber, Spanish rock band Songs * "Sober" (Bad Wolves song), from the 2019 album ''Nation'' * " ...

late in the decade, strengthening her

Christian faith Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

and deciding to concentrate her career in gospel music. She released her first gospel recording on

Word Records Word Records is a Christian faith-based entertainment company based in Nashville, Tennessee. It is owned by Curb Records, and is a part of Word Entertainment. It is distributed by Warner Records (the former Warner Bros. Records). History In ...

in 1990 titled ''Highly Recommended'' and her first five albums all hit the Top Ten of the U.S.

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 ...

Top Gospel Albums chart, with the most successful being 1994's ''The Live Experience'', which reached #1 on that chart. The track "Oasis" was very successful in the UK, via

Expansion Records Expansion Records is a British record label founded by Northern Soul DJ Richard Searling and Soul Bowl owner John Anderson. In 1989, DJ, author, and journalist Ralph Tee joined the label, and both he and Searling have been running Expansion ...

and stayed on the

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as ''Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music We ...

Dance Chart for 14 weeks. Also, the song "Sold Out" (from the album ''Start All Over'') won a

Dove Award A Dove Award is an accolade by the Gospel Music Association (GMA) of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the Christian music industry. The awards ceremonies presented annually and have been held in Nashville, Tennessee exce ...

for Contemporary Gospel Recorded Song of the Year at the 25th GMA Dove Awards in 1994. In July 2011, Baylor announced that she is co-producing a feature film about her life story. The film, ''A Praying Grandmother: The Helen Baylor Story'', will feature accounts that she first shared in the song, "Helen's Testimony" (Word, 1995) and in her autobiography, ''No Greater Love: The Helen Baylor Story.'' Baylor approached award-winning filmmaker Cassandra Hollis to co-produce and direct the film. Baylor was inducted into the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame in 2000.

Personal

In August 1970, at age sixteen, Baylor had her first child. Baylor battled with substance abuse; using marijuana and pain pills. Before going on tour with

Chaka Khan Yvette Marie Stevens (born March 23, 1953), better known by her stage name Chaka Khan ( ), is an American singer. Known as the " Queen of Funk", her career has spanned more than five decades beginning in the early 1970s as the lead vocalist of ...

, Baylor began dating the lighting director James Baylor, who was also a drug dealer in 1979. Shortly thereafter, they moved in together. Baylor became a born-again Christian and quit doing drugs. In February 1982, she married Baylor. In 2000, they were contemplating separating but reconciled. However, in 2012, Baylor and her husband separated.

Discography

*''Highly Recommended'' (

, 1990) *''Look a Little Closer'' (Word, 1991) *''Start All Over'' (Word, 1993) *''The Live Experience'' (Word, 1995) *''Love Brought Me Back'' (

Sony Records Sony Records was a record label founded by R&B duo Ike & Tina Turner in 1963. It was not affiliated with Sony Group Corporation. Ike Turner produced singles by members of the Kings of Rhythm and the Ikettes on Sony Records. Records on the la ...

, 1996) *''Helen Baylor...Live'' (

Verity Records Verity Records is an American gospel music-focused record label, founded in 1994. The Gospel group operated by Provident Label Group, which in turn is owned by Sony Music Entertainment. Artists * 21:03 * Crystal Aikin * Deitrick Haddon * D ...

, 1999) *''My Everything'' ( Diadem Records, 2002) *''Full Circle'' (

MCG The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), also known locally as the 'G, is a sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne, Victoria. Founded and managed by the Melbourne Cricket Club, it is the largest stadium in the Southern Hemisphere, the el ...

, 2006)

References

External links

Helen Baylor: Artist Profile; New Release Tuesday
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baylor, Helen 1954 births Living people Musicians from Tulsa, Oklahoma American gospel singers American soul singers American women singers 21st-century American women musicians