Cary Baker
Encyclopedia
Cary Baker is an American press agent
who operates the music
publicity
firm Conqueroo. Baker has been called, "the father of modern day music publicity”.
, Americana
, Blues
, Alt-country, and roots revival
music. The Houston Press cited Conqueroo as "one of the go-to publicity firms for folks in the roots-music game". Baker's Conqueroo has represented such clients as: Arthur Alexander
, Band of Heathens
, Big Sandy
, Blues Traveler
, J.J. Cale
, John Cale
, Caitlin Cary
, Robert Cray
, Creedence Clearwater Revival
, Marshall Crenshaw
, Steve Cropper
& Felix Cavaliere
, Rodney Crowell
, Gabe Dixon Band
, Chris Darrow, Dennis Diken
with Bell Sound, Thomas Dolby
, English Beat, Eddie Floyd
, Tom Freund
, Ruby Friedman
, Holly Golightly & the Brokeoffs, Jon Dee Graham
, Great American Taxi, Murry Hammond (Old 97's), Hank Williams III
, Hacienda Brothers
, Peter Himmelman
, Peter Holsapple
& Chris Stamey
, "Honeydripper"/John Sayles
, Freedy Johnston
, Keb' Mo'
, Scott Kempner
, Hal Ketchum
, Bill Kirchen
, Jake La Botz
, Sonny Landreth
, Long Beach Blues Festival
, Los Cenzontles
with Taj Mahal
and David Hidalgo
, Raul Malo
, Eleni Mandell
, Marley's Ghost, Anne McCue
, James McMurtry
, Scott Miller
, Gurf Morlix
, Shawn Mullins
, Willie Nile
, David Olney
, Over The Rhine
, Judith Owen
, Pine Leaf Boys
, Steve Poltz
, Ponderosa Stomp
, Vernon Reid
, Stan Ridgway
, Arlen Roth
, Billy Joe Shaver
, Michelle Shocked
, Billy Joe Shaver
, Shout! Factory
, Chris Smither
, South Memphis String Band (Luther Dickinson
, Alvin Youngblood Hart
, Jimbo Mathus), Stax Records
, Chris Stills
, Sugar Blue
, Otis Taylor
, Pam Tillis
, Tres Chicas
, Uncle Monk
(Tommy Ramone), Loudon Wainwright III
, Was (Not Was)
, Randy Weeks and Adrienne Young
.
, I.R.S. Records
, Discovery Records
and Morgan Creek Records. Over the years, he spearheaded publicity campaigns for R.E.M.
, The Finn Brothers, Bonnie Raitt
, Shelby Lynne
, Delbert McClinton
, Cheap Trick
, Loudon Wainwright III
, Alex Chilton
, Susan Tedeschi
, Tina Turner
, Steve Vai
, Concrete Blonde
, Frank Zappa
, Motown reissues and more.
Prior to becoming a publicist, Baker was music journalist
for publications such as the Chicago Reader, Creem
, Billboard
, Goldmine
, and Trouser Press
. Baker compiled and wrote liner notes
for reissue
titles on Universal/Chess Records
, EMI
/The Right Stuff Records
and Motown.
Baker is a voting member of the Recording Academy (NARAS) since 1979 and served on the organization’s Board of Governors
both in his native Chicago
and Los Angeles. He served on the Board of Directors of the Americana Music Association
and Blues Music Association, and on the Music Industry Executive Steering Committee of City of Hope
.
Baker runs an indie reissue label called Conjuroo Recordings, distributed by RED
. Artist releases on Conjuroo include Arvilla Gray.
He instructed a UCLA Extension class called “Publicity in the Music Industry” for 20 years, from 1987-2007.
Press agent
A press agent, or flack, is a professional publicist who acts on behalf of his or her client on all matters involving public relations. Press agents are typically employed by public personalities and organizations such as performers and businesses...
who operates the music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
publicity
Publicity
Publicity is the deliberate attempt to manage the public's perception of a subject. The subjects of publicity include people , goods and services, organizations of all kinds, and works of art or entertainment.From a marketing perspective, publicity is one component of promotion which is one...
firm Conqueroo. Baker has been called, "the father of modern day music publicity”.
Notables Represented
Baker is a veteran of the music business for over 25 years. He is best known to represent singers and songwriters in all genres including Indie rockIndie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
, Americana
Americana
Americana refers to artifacts, or a collection of artifacts, related to the history, geography, folklore and cultural heritage of the United States. Many kinds of material fall within the definition of Americana: paintings, prints and drawings; license plates or entire vehicles, household objects,...
, Blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
, Alt-country, and roots revival
Roots revival
A roots revival is a trend which includes young performers popularizing the traditional musical styles of their ancestors. Often, roots revivals include an addition of newly-composed songs with socially and politically aware lyrics, as well as a general modernization of the folk sound.After an...
music. The Houston Press cited Conqueroo as "one of the go-to publicity firms for folks in the roots-music game". Baker's Conqueroo has represented such clients as: Arthur Alexander
Arthur Alexander
Arthur Alexander was an American country soul singer. Jason Ankeny, music critic for Allmusic, said Alexander was a "country-soul pioneer" and though largely unknown, "his music is the stuff of genius, a poignant and deeply intimate body of work on par with the best of his...
, Band of Heathens
Band of Heathens
The Band of Heathens are an American Rock and Roll band from Austin, Texas.The three principal songwriters - Colin Brooks, Ed Jurdi and Gordy Quist - shared the bill at Momo's, an Austin club. Originally, each singer/songwriter performed his own set. However, they eventually started sharing the...
, Big Sandy
Big Sandy
There are six communities in the United States named Big Sandy*Big Sandy, Montana in Chouteau County*Big Sandy, Nebraska in Thayer County, Nebraska*Big Sandy, Tennessee in Benton County*Big Sandy, Texas in Upshur County...
, Blues Traveler
Blues Traveler
Blues Traveler is a rock band, formed in Princeton, New Jersey in 1987. The band has been influenced by a variety of genres, including blues-rock, psychedelic rock, folk rock, soul, and Southern rock...
, J.J. Cale
J.J. Cale
JJ Cale , born John Weldon Cale on December 5, 1938, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, is a Grammy Award-winning American singer-songwriter and musician. Cale is one of the originators of the Tulsa Sound, a loose genre drawing on blues, rockabilly, country, and jazz influences. Cale's personal style has...
, John Cale
John Cale
John Davies Cale, OBE is a Welsh musician, composer, singer-songwriter and record producer who was a founding member of the experimental rock band The Velvet Underground....
, Caitlin Cary
Caitlin Cary
Caitlin Cary is an alt-country musician.Born to Hall Cary and Carol Campbell Thomas in East Cleveland, Caitlin Cary was raised with her half-brothers, Brian, Craig, and Keith Thomas, in East Cleveland and Cleveland Heights. She began playing the violin at age six. She attended the College of...
, Robert Cray
Robert Cray
Robert Cray is an American blues guitarist and singer. A five-time Grammy Award winner, he has led his own band, as well as an acclaimed solo career.-Career:...
, Creedence Clearwater Revival
Creedence Clearwater Revival
Creedence Clearwater Revival was an American rock band that gained popularity in the late 1960s and early 1970s with a number of successful singles drawn from various albums....
, Marshall Crenshaw
Marshall Crenshaw
Marshall Crenshaw is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist best known for his song "Someday, Someway".-Biography:...
, Steve Cropper
Steve Cropper
Steve Cropper , also known as Steve "The Colonel" Cropper, is an American guitarist, songwriter and record producer. He is best known as the guitarist of the Stax Records house band, Booker T...
& Felix Cavaliere
Felix Cavaliere
Felix Cavaliere is an American songwriter, singer, music producer, and musician.Although he was a member of Joey Dee and His Starlighters best known for their hit "Peppermint Twist", he is best known for his association with The Young Rascals during the 1960s. The other members of The Rascals...
, Rodney Crowell
Rodney Crowell
Rodney Crowell is a Grammy Award-winning musician, known primarily for his work as a singer and songwriter in country music....
, Gabe Dixon Band
Gabe Dixon Band
The Gabe Dixon Band is a three-piece band that was formed in the fall of 1998 at the University of Miami. Their music is piano-driven rock akin to Ben Folds Five with a more serious tone, Jackson Browne and early 70s Elton John. The band worked with producer/engineer Eddie Kramer on their...
, Chris Darrow, Dennis Diken
Dennis Diken
Dennis Diken co-founded the NJ band The Smithereens. Besides playing with The Smithereens, Dennis is a fill-in DJ on WFMU.As a musician and record producer, Diken has worked with The Smithereens, Ben E. King, Mary Weiss of 1960s girl group The Shangri-Las, Dave Amels, and R...
with Bell Sound, Thomas Dolby
Thomas Dolby
Thomas Dolby is an English musician and producer. Best known for his 1982 hit "She Blinded Me with Science", and 1984 single "Hyperactive!", he has also worked extensively in production and as a session musician.-Early life:Dolby was born in London, England, contrary to information in early 1980s...
, English Beat, Eddie Floyd
Eddie Floyd
Eddie Lee Floyd is an American soul/R&B singer and songwriter, best known for his work on the Stax record label in the 1960s and 1970s and the song "Knock on Wood".-Biography:...
, Tom Freund
Tom Freund
Tom Freund is a singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist from the U.S.A.. Freund met Ben Harper when he was attending Pitzer College in Claremont, California. In 1992 the duo released an album, Pleasure and Pain. Not long after, he joined the alternative country group The Silos as their bassist,...
, Ruby Friedman
Ruby Friedman
-Biography:Ruby Friedman is a Los Angeles based singer/songwriter/composer and leader of the Ruby Friedman Orchestra. Her song Shooting Star was selected for promotional use on the television program America's Got Talent in 2010. The band will be releasing their debut album in 2011...
, Holly Golightly & the Brokeoffs, Jon Dee Graham
Jon Dee Graham
Jon Dee Graham is a musician, guitarist and songwriter from Austin, Texas. He was born February 28, 1959. Graham was named the Austin Musician of the Year during the South by Southwest music conference in 2006...
, Great American Taxi, Murry Hammond (Old 97's), Hank Williams III
Hank Williams III
Shelton Hank Williams, known as Hank 3 , is a neotraditional country and punk metal singer, drummer, bassist, and guitarist. In addition to his honky tonk recordings, Williams' style alternates among country, punk and metal...
, Hacienda Brothers
Hacienda Brothers
The Hacienda Brothers is the name of an alternative country band composed of Chris Gaffney, Dave Gonzalez, Dave Berzansky, Dale Daniel, and Hank Maninger. They have been described as "the finest country-rock band since the Flying Burrito Brothers in their prime," and were called "the best country...
, Peter Himmelman
Peter Himmelman
Peter Himmelman is a singer-songwriter from Minnesota, who formerly played in the band Sussman Lawrence.-Family life:He is Bob Dylan's son-in-law, being married to his daughter Maria Dylan...
, Peter Holsapple
Peter Holsapple
Peter Holsapple formed, along with Chris Stamey, the singing, songwriting, and guitar-playing core of the dB's, a jangle-pop band from Winston-Salem, North Carolina. He became the band's principal songwriter and singer after Stamey's departure. The dB's were at the forefront of the guitar bands...
& Chris Stamey
Chris Stamey
Chris Stamey is an American musician, singer, songwriter and record producer. After a stint playing with Alex Chilton, and a brief partnering with Mitch Easter under the name Sneakers, he formed The dB's, whose stewardship he would share with Peter Holsapple.In 1977 in New York, Chris founded the...
, "Honeydripper"/John Sayles
John Sayles
John Thomas Sayles is an American independent film director, screenwriter and author.-Early life:Sayles was born in Schenectady, New York, the son of Mary , a teacher, and Donald John Sayles, a school administrator. He was raised Catholic and took to labeling himself "a Catholic atheist"...
, Freedy Johnston
Freedy Johnston
Freedy Johnston is a New York City-based singer-songwriter originally from Kinsley, Kansas.Having scored several minor hits since the early 1990s, Johnston's songs are often about troubled loners, and cover topics like heartbreak, alienation and disappointment...
, Keb' Mo'
Keb' Mo'
Keb' Mo is an American blues singer, guitarist, and songwriter, currently living in Nashville, Tennessee, United States.-Early life:From early on he had an appreciation for the blues and gospel music...
, Scott Kempner
Scott Kempner
Scott "Top Ten" Kempner is the rhythm guitarist with The Dictators since they formed in 1974. He is also a founding member of The Del-Lords....
, Hal Ketchum
Hal Ketchum
Hal Michael Ketchum is an American country music artist. He has released ten studio albums since 1986, including nine for the Curb and Asylum-Curb labels. Ketchum's 1991 album Past the Point of Rescue is his most commercially successful, having been certified gold by the Recording Industry...
, Bill Kirchen
Bill Kirchen
Bill Kirchen is an American rockabilly guitarist, singer and songwriter. He was the guitarist with the original Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen from 1967 to the mid 1970s, although, in reality, his time with the Commander accounts for only a portion of his career...
, Jake La Botz
Jake La Botz
Jake La Botz is an American blues singer-songwriter from Chicago. He is also an actor.La Botz learned the blues from Maxwell Street veterans Jimmy Davis, David Honeyboy Edwards and Homesick James. In 2006, he created what he called the "tattoo circuit" by doing the world's first-ever tour of...
, Sonny Landreth
Sonny Landreth
Sonny Landreth is an American blues musician from southwest Louisiana who is especially known as a slide guitar player. He was born in Canton, Mississippi, but soon after, his family moved to Jackson, Mississippi, before settling in Lafayette, Louisiana...
, Long Beach Blues Festival
Long Beach Blues Festival
The Long Beach Blues Festival, in Long Beach, California, was established in full in 1980, and is one of the largest Blues festivals and is the second oldest on the West Coast . It is held on Saturday and Sunday of Labor Day weekend. For many years it was held on the athletic field on the...
, Los Cenzontles
Los Cenzontles
Los Cenzontles is a Mexican-American Roots band, heavily influenced by Tejano music, country music, rock and roll, and traditional Mexican regional music such as Son Jarocho and boleros...
with Taj Mahal
Taj Mahal
The Taj Mahal is a white Marble mausoleum located in Agra, India. It was built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his third wife, Mumtaz Mahal...
and David Hidalgo
David Hidalgo
David Hidalgo is an American singer-songwriter, best known for his work with the band Los Lobos. He is also a member of the supergroup Los Super Seven and of the Latin Playboys, a side project band made up of some of the members of Los Lobos...
, Raul Malo
Raul Malo
Raúl Francisco Martínez-Malo Jr. , known professionally as Raúl Malo, is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist and record producer. He was the lead singer of country music band The Mavericks and the co-writer of many of their singles, as well as Rick Trevino's 2003 single "In My Dreams"...
, Eleni Mandell
Eleni Mandell
Eleni Mandell is an American singer-songwriter. She currently publishes albums through Zedtone in Toronto, Ontario...
, Marley's Ghost, Anne McCue
Anne McCue
Anne McCue is an alternative country singer-songwriter, guitarist & producer from Australia.- Early life and education :McCue grew up in Campbelltown, an area southwest of Sydney, Australia and graduated from the University of Technology, Sydney with a degree in Film Production and Film Studies...
, James McMurtry
James McMurtry
James McMurtry is a Texas rock/Texas Country singer, songwriter, guitarist, bandleader and occasional actor...
, Scott Miller
Scott Miller
Scott Miller may refer to:*Scott Miller *Scott Miller *Scott Miller *Scott Miller , rock singer, former member of Game Theory, lead singer of The Loud Family...
, Gurf Morlix
Gurf Morlix
Gurf Morlix is an American multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, songwriter and record producer residing for many years in Austin, Texas. He has worked with many of the best known performers of Americana and alternative country music. His most notable works include albums by Lucinda Williams, Robert...
, Shawn Mullins
Shawn Mullins
Shawn Mullins is an American singer-songwriter who specializes in folk rock, instrumental rock, adult alternative, and Americana music. He is best known for the 1998 single, "Lullaby", which hit number one on the Adult Top 40 and was nominated for a Grammy Award.-Career:Mullins was born in...
, Willie Nile
Willie Nile
Willie Nile is an American singer-songwriter. In 1980 Nile released his self-titled debut album which according to one critic remains “one of the most thrilling post-Byrds folk-rock albums of all time”...
, David Olney
David Olney
David Charles Olney is an American folk singer/songwriter. He attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill but did not graduate, instead joining Bland Simpson's band Simpson in the early 1970s...
, Over The Rhine
Over the Rhine
Over the Rhine is an American, Ohio-based band, the core of which is the husband-and-wife team of pianist/guitarist/bassist Linford Detweiler and vocalist/guitarist Karin Bergquist. The band began as a quartet with guitarist Ric Hordinski and drummer Brian Kelley. Hordinski left the band in...
, Judith Owen
Judith Owen
Judith Owen is a Welsh singer-songwriter. Her first North American album, Emotions on a Postcard, was released in 1996, and has since been followed by five additional releases...
, Pine Leaf Boys
Pine Leaf Boys
The Pine Leaf Boys is a Cajun and Creole band from South Louisiana. Members include Wilson Savoy , Courtney Granger , Drew Simon , Jon Bertrand , and Thomas David .-Career:...
, Steve Poltz
Steve Poltz
Steve Poltz is a Canadian-born American singer-songwriter and guitarist based in San Diego, California. He is a founding member of the indie-rock band The Rugburns and is best known for co-writing the #2 Jewel song "You Were Meant for Me"...
, Ponderosa Stomp
Ponderosa Stomp
The Ponderosa Stomp is an annual American roots music festival dedicated to recognizing the architects of rock-n-roll, blues, jazz, country, swamp pop and soul music...
, Vernon Reid
Vernon Reid
Vernon Reid is an English-born American guitarist, songwriter, composer, and bandleader. Best known as the founder and primary songwriter of the heavy metal band Living Colour, Reid was named #66 on Rolling Stone magazine's 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time.Critic Steve Huey writes, "[Reid's]...
, Stan Ridgway
Stan Ridgway
Stanard 'Stan' Ridgway is an American multi-instrumentalist singer-songwriter known for his distinctive voice, dramatic lyrical narratives, and eclectic solo albums and was the original lead singer of the band Wall of Voodoo...
, Arlen Roth
Arlen Roth
Arlen Roth is an American guitarist. His first solo album won the Montreaux Critics' Award for Best Instrumental Album of the Year in 1978. He was Guitar Player magazine's top columnist from 1982 to 1992...
, Billy Joe Shaver
Billy Joe Shaver
Billy Joe Shaver is a Texas country music singer and songwriter. Shaver's 1973 album Old Five and Dimers Like Me is a classic in the outlaw country genre.-Biography:...
, Michelle Shocked
Michelle Shocked
Michelle Shocked is the stage name of Michelle Karen Johnston, an American singer-songwriter.-History:Shocked received her first international exposure in Europe, particularly Britain, with her debut album The Texas Campfire Tapes .Her first U.S...
, Billy Joe Shaver
Billy Joe Shaver
Billy Joe Shaver is a Texas country music singer and songwriter. Shaver's 1973 album Old Five and Dimers Like Me is a classic in the outlaw country genre.-Biography:...
, Shout! Factory
Shout! Factory
Shout! Factory is an entertainment company founded in 2003 that was started by Richard Foos , Bob Emmer and Garson Foos initially as a specialty music label...
, Chris Smither
Chris Smither
Chris Smither is an American folk/blues singer, guitarist, and songwriter. His music draws deeply from the blues, American folk music, modern poets and philosophers.-Early life, influences and education:...
, South Memphis String Band (Luther Dickinson
Luther Dickinson
Luther Dickinson is the lead guitarist and vocalist for the North Mississippi Allstars as well as lead guitarist for The Black Crowes...
, Alvin Youngblood Hart
Alvin Youngblood Hart
Alvin Youngblood Hart is a Grammy Award-winning American musician.-Career:Born in Oakland California, Hart had family connections with Carroll County, Mississippi, and spent time there in his childhood, hearing his relatives stories of Charlie Patton, "being around these people who were there when...
, Jimbo Mathus), Stax Records
Stax Records
Stax Records is an American record label, originally based in Memphis, Tennessee.Founded in 1957 as Satellite Records, the name Stax Records was adopted in 1961. The label was a major factor in the creation of the Southern soul and Memphis soul music styles, also releasing gospel, funk, jazz, and...
, Chris Stills
Chris Stills
Chris Stills is the son of American rock musician Stephen Stills and French singer-songwriter Véronique Sanson...
, Sugar Blue
Sugar Blue
Sugar Blue is an American Grammy Award winning blues musician, who plays the harmonica. He is probably best known for playing on The Rolling Stones' single, "Miss You"....
, Otis Taylor
Otis Taylor (musician)
Otis Taylor is an American blues musician. He is a multi-instrumentalist whose talents include the guitar, banjo, mandolin, harmonica, and vocals. In 2001, he was awarded a fellowship to the Sundance Film Composers Laboratory.-Music:Taylor moved at a young age to Denver, Colorado where he grew up...
, Pam Tillis
Pam Tillis
Pamela Yvonne "Pam" Tillis is an American country music singer-songwriter and actress. She is the daughter of country music singer Mel Tillis....
, Tres Chicas
Tres Chicas
Tres Chicas are an alternative country group from Raleigh, North Carolina.The members of Tres Chicas first began singing together in 1999; their first performance was an impromptu singalong at an Alejandro Escovedo show in a Raleigh bar. The name was bestowed upon them by the owner of the bar after...
, Uncle Monk
Uncle Monk
Uncle Monk is an American bluegrass music band.The band's two members are Tommy Ramone , the last surviving original member of the pioneering punk rock band The Ramones, and Claudia Tienan, a guitarist, bassist and vocalist....
(Tommy Ramone), Loudon Wainwright III
Loudon Wainwright III
Loudon Snowden Wainwright III is a Grammy Award-winning American songwriter, folk singer, humorist, and actor. He is the father of musicians Rufus Wainwright, Martha Wainwright and Lucy Wainwright Roche, brother of Sloan Wainwright, and the former husband of the late folk singer Kate McGarrigle.To...
, Was (Not Was)
Was (Not Was)
-Studio albums:-Compilation albums:-Singles:-Contributions:* A Christmas Record - "Christmas Time In The Motor City"* That's The Way I Feel Now: A Tribute to Thelonious Monk - "Ba-Lue-Bolivar-Ba-Lues-Are"...
, Randy Weeks and Adrienne Young
Adrienne Young
Adrienne Young is a Charlottesville, Virginia-based singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. She is founder and operator of AddieBelle Music which produces her recordings.- History :...
.
Early career
Before Baker launched Conqueroo, he headed publicity at Capitol RecordsCapitol Records
Capitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine...
, I.R.S. Records
I.R.S. Records
I.R.S. Records was a record label, started in the United States in 1979 by Miles Copeland III along with Jay Boberg and Carl Grasso. Miles was also the manager of Wishbone Ash, The Police, and later, Sting, as well as other bands. I.R.S. was the sister label of Copeland's Illegal Records .I.R.S...
, Discovery Records
Discovery Records
Discovery Records was a United States-based record label known for its recordings of jazz music.Discovery was founded in 1948 by jazz fan and promoter Albert Marx...
and Morgan Creek Records. Over the years, he spearheaded publicity campaigns for R.E.M.
R.E.M.
R.E.M. was an American rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by singer Michael Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills and drummer Bill Berry. One of the first popular alternative rock bands, R.E.M. gained early attention due to Buck's ringing, arpeggiated guitar style and Stipe's...
, The Finn Brothers, Bonnie Raitt
Bonnie Raitt
Bonnie Lynn Raitt is an American blues singer-songwriter and a renowned slide guitar player. During the 1970s, Raitt released a series of acclaimed roots-influenced albums which incorporated elements of blues, rock, folk and country, but she is perhaps best known for her more commercially...
, Shelby Lynne
Shelby Lynne
Shelby Lynne is an American singer, songwriter and actress. The success of the 1999 album I Am Shelby Lynne led to her winning the Grammy Award for Best New Artist, even though she had been active in the music industry for some time...
, Delbert McClinton
Delbert McClinton
Delbert McClinton is an American blues rock and electric blues singer-songwriter, guitarist, harmonica player, and pianist....
, Cheap Trick
Cheap Trick
Cheap Trick is an American rock band from Rockford, Illinois, formed in 1973. The band consists of members Robin Zander , Rick Nielsen , Tom Petersson , and Bun E...
, Loudon Wainwright III
Loudon Wainwright III
Loudon Snowden Wainwright III is a Grammy Award-winning American songwriter, folk singer, humorist, and actor. He is the father of musicians Rufus Wainwright, Martha Wainwright and Lucy Wainwright Roche, brother of Sloan Wainwright, and the former husband of the late folk singer Kate McGarrigle.To...
, Alex Chilton
Alex Chilton
William Alexander "Alex" Chilton was an American songwriter, guitarist, singer and producer, best known as the lead singer of the Box Tops and Big Star...
, Susan Tedeschi
Susan Tedeschi
Susan Tedeschi is an American blues and soul musician, who has received multiple Grammy Award nominations, and is well-known for her singing voice, guitar playing, stage presence, and marriage to blues guitarist Derek Trucks...
, Tina Turner
Tina Turner
Tina Turner is an American singer and actress whose career has spanned more than 50 years. She has won numerous awards and her achievements in the rock music genre have led many to call her the "Queen of Rock 'n' Roll".Turner started out her music career with husband Ike Turner as a member of the...
, Steve Vai
Steve Vai
Steven Siro "Steve" Vai is a three time Grammy Award-winning American guitarist, songwriter and producer who has sold over 15 million albums. Steve Vai is widely known as a flamboyant guitar virtuoso....
, Concrete Blonde
Concrete Blonde
Concrete Blonde is an alternative rock band based in the United States. They were initially active from 1982 to 1995, and again from 2001 to 2004, and once again in 2010.-Biography:...
, Frank Zappa
Frank Zappa
Frank Vincent Zappa was an American composer, singer-songwriter, electric guitarist, record producer and film director. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Zappa wrote rock, jazz, orchestral and musique concrète works. He also directed feature-length films and music videos, and designed...
, Motown reissues and more.
Prior to becoming a publicist, Baker was music journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
for publications such as the Chicago Reader, Creem
Creem
Creem , "America's Only Rock 'n' Roll Magazine," was a monthly rock 'n' roll publication first published in March 1969 by Barry Kramer and founding editor Tony Reay. It suspended production in 1989 but received a short-lived renaissance in the early 1990s as a glossy tabloid...
, Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
, Goldmine
Goldmine (magazine)
Goldmine, established in 1974, is an American magazine that focuses on the collectors' market for records, tapes, CDs, and music-related memorabilia. Each issue features news articles, interviews, discographies, histories, current reviews on recording stars of the past and present. Discographies...
, and Trouser Press
Trouser Press
Trouser Press was a rock and roll magazine started in New York in 1974 as a mimeographed fanzine by editor/publisher Ira Robbins, fellow Who fan Dave Schulps and Karen Rose under the name "Trans-Oceanic Trouser Press" ...
. Baker compiled and wrote liner notes
Liner notes
Liner notes are the writings found in booklets which come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for vinyl records and cassettes.-Origin:...
for reissue
Reissue
A reissue is the repeated issue of a published work. In common usage, it refers to an album which has been released at least once before and is released again, sometimes with alterations or additions....
titles on Universal/Chess Records
Chess Records
Chess Records was an American record label based in Chicago, Illinois. It specialized in blues, R&B, soul, gospel music, early rock and roll, and occasional jazz releases....
, EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
/The Right Stuff Records
The Right Stuff Records
The Right Stuff Records is a reissue record label owned by the EMI Group based out of Woodland Hills, California.The label primarily reissues classic soul and vintage R&B material through greatest hits collections, anthologies, boxed sets and compilations...
and Motown.
Baker is a voting member of the Recording Academy (NARAS) since 1979 and served on the organization’s Board of Governors
Board of governors
Board of governors is a term sometimes applied to the board of directors of a public entity or non-profit organization.Many public institutions, such as public universities, are government-owned corporations. The British Broadcasting Corporation was managed by a board of governors, though this role...
both in his native Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
and Los Angeles. He served on the Board of Directors of the Americana Music Association
Americana Music Association
The Americana Music Association is a trade organization developed to provide professional support and to promote awareness of Americana music. Toward these ends the organization works with artists, radio stations, record labels, publishers, and others to create networking opportunities and to...
and Blues Music Association, and on the Music Industry Executive Steering Committee of City of Hope
City of Hope
City of Hope may refer to:*City of Hope National Medical Center, a cancer center in California** The name of the medical center's charity*City of Hope , a 1991 film taking place in fictitious Hudson City, New Jersey...
.
Baker runs an indie reissue label called Conjuroo Recordings, distributed by RED
RED Distribution
RED - An Artist Development Company is a Sony Music Entertainment-owned sales and marketing division that handles releases for over sixty independent record labels....
. Artist releases on Conjuroo include Arvilla Gray.
He instructed a UCLA Extension class called “Publicity in the Music Industry” for 20 years, from 1987-2007.