Beth’s career had a rather inauspicious beginning. “I didn’t know I wanted to be a singer and, I didn’t begin singing at age 3. I do remember that when we’d go visit my great grandpa, we never went in his room to see him. I don’t even really know what was wrong with him but we always waited with other family members in the living room. Generally, at some point during the visit, my parents would ask us my brothers and I to sing and so we’d dutifully and begrudgingly sing songs from The Sound Of Music…at least that’s what I remember. And, I remember I didn’t like doing that!”
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| Beth & Kristi |
Beth was “discovered” while in high school. After a failed attempt at cutting choir, she was asked to sing the solo in “Operator” as punishment for her crime. As it turned out, she was invited to once again sing the solo, this time for the high school talent show. There began the journey!
The early part of Beth’s musical journey included singing the national anthem for the Golden State Warriors, San Francisco Giants and A’s, the San Francisco 49er’s and the San Jose Sharks. She also opened for Johnnie Ray, Frankie Lane and Lou Rawls.
At the encouragement of a friend, Baker auditioned for Funny Girl at Foothill College in Los Altos. She won the lead, Fanny Brice, and went on to garner rave reviews. “Beth Baker knocked me out in ‘Funny Girl’ at Foothill College, drawing obvious comparisons to Barbra Streisand, which she doesn’t trade on (indeed, shies away from), nor does she need to, with plenty of voice and style of her own to draw upon. If you shut your eyes, you heard Streisand, so perfectly did she recall La Barbra in gesture, inflection and spirit – very spooky—but the voice is all hers. She sent tiny shivers through me.” –SF Chronicle
Baker would go on to capture leads in several more shows including Boys From Syracuse, Call Me Madam, Side By Side By Sondheim and Into The Woods with the highly-regarded TheatreWorks as well as Hillbarn Theater. She won acclaim and collected prestigious Drama-Logue nominations for her portrayal as Sally Adams in Call Me Madam and Luce in Boys From Syracuse.
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| Frank Schader |
It was during this period that she partnered with pianist and songwriter, Frank Schader. This paring would lead to doing cabaret work in San Francisco and Los Angeles.
“She opens the evening with the wonderful ‘Paper Moon’ and proceeds to deliver it and the rest of her repertoire with a range and power unequaled by any other cabaret singer I’ve heard. Her stage training is immediately evident as she grabs hold of the opening lyrics of each song, swirls them around the front tables and then sends them crashing out to the farthest reaches of the room.”—Tiburon Ark
Sadly, her pianist, Frank Schader died a few short years later. A chance meeting with a retired agent from New York sent her eastward for a most excellent adventure!
In New York, Baker found gospel music and hasn’t looked back. She was the featured soloist in the East Village Gospel Choir and worked with director, Ron Metcalf, honing her own cabaret show. Within a very short time, she was selling out at popular cabaret venues including Danny’s Skylight Room, Don’t Tell Mama’s and 88’s.
“Hailing from San Francisco, singer Beth Baker is such a confident, passionate performer that it’s hard to view her as a newcomer (which she is locally). She’s quite an impressive vocalist, with a powerful, crystal belt that can shatter glass. Her big, exciting voice was at its best with the likes of Francesca Blumenthal’s poignant “The Lies Of Handsome Men,” and a borrowed arrangement of Jane Olivor’s famed version of “Some Enchanted Evening.” On the uptempos, Baker recalls a bevy of brassy ladies from Baby Jane Dexter to Aretha Franklin.”—Backstage, NY
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| Betty & Charlie Baker on subway in New York, 1999 |
Betty Baker at ARTrageous party |
In February of 1999, her greatest fan and father, Charles Baker, called to tell his daughter that he was dying of cancer. That would close the book on New York.
Baker moved to southern Oregon to help her mother and spend time with her dying father. After his death, she remained in Oregon at her mother’s request.
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| Beth's sold out show at the Craterian in Medford, Oregon |
Initially, this appeared to mark the end of her cabaret career and yet Baker found a way to make her mark in the northwest. She has opened at the Britt Festivals in Jacksonville, Oregon for The Smothers Brothers and Burt Bacharach. In concert, she continues to enjoy a loyal following with an annual show at the Craterian Ginger Rogers Theater in Medford which, by the way, she’s proud to announce has sold out. She has also appeared for several years in the Medford Jazz Jubilee with two different bands as well as the coveted Sunday morning gospel slot and is currently booked at the
Avalon Bar & Grill in Talent, Oregon the first Tuesday of each month which also continues to sell out!
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| Beth with her niece, Laci Baker, during an encore |
Baker is a generous performer who continues to do benefits throughout her community including the Rogue Gallery and Art Center in Medford, the Magdalene Home in Medford, Daedalus at OSF, American Cancer Society, World AIDS Day and the Southern Oregon Humane Society.
A performance by Baker includes a tantalizing mix of American pop, gospel, Broadway show tunes, jazz & blues standards inspired by the music of Ella Fitzgerald, Nina Simone, Patti Austin, Oleta Adams, Eva Cassidy, Liza Minelli, Barbra Streisand and so many others.
Her shows combine an eclectic mix of tunes with Beth’s captivating, warm & playful personality as she weaves her magic on familiar classics as well as forgotten jewels. Yes, Baker can blow the roof of the joint with a remarkable belt, yet has the rare ability to take it right down to a whisper, layering chills upon chills, something few singers in the world can accomplish.
The San Francisco Chronicle put it this way: “This is a voice you don’t dare miss: a glorious natural sound, a kind of life force that can give authentic chills. Baker at full throttle is an inspiring thing to behold.”
Currently, Baker is working on her third CD, a collection of gospel tunes entitled You Raise Me Up. Please go to her Recordings page to purchase this CD or for more information.
“There are voices & then there are VOICES: poignant, stirring, strong voices that stay with you long after the song has ended. Beth Baker has one of THOSE VOICES—undoubtedly one of the most charismatic and utterly unique artists to hit the cabaret music scene in recent memory.”