Etta Baker
Encyclopedia
Etta Baker was an American
Piedmont blues
guitarist and singer from North Carolina
, United States
.
, North Carolina
, of African American
, Native American
, and European American heritage. She played both the 6-string and 12-string
forms of the acoustic guitar, as well as the five-string banjo
. Baker played the Piedmont Blues for ninety years, starting at the age of three when she could not even hold the guitar properly. She was taught by her father, Boone Reid, who was also a long time player of the Piedmont Blues on several instruments. Etta Baker was first recorded in the summer of 1956 when she and her father happened across folk singer Paul Clayton while visiting Cone Mansion in Blowing Rock, North Carolina
, near their home in Morganton, NC. Baker's father asked Clayton to listen to his daughter playing her signature "One Dime Blues". Clayton was impressed and arrived at the Baker house with his tape recorder the next day, recording several songs.
Over the years, Baker has shared her knowledge with many well known musical artists including Bob Dylan
, Taj Mahal (musician)
, and Kenny Wayne Shepherd
. Baker received the North Carolina Folk Heritage Award
from the North Carolina Arts Council
in 1989, the National Endowment for the Arts
' National Heritage Fellowship
in 1991, and the North Carolina Award
in 2003. Along with her sister, Cora Phillips, Baker received the North Carolina Folklore Society's Brown-Hudson Folklore Award in 1982.
Baker had nine children, one of whom was killed in the Vietnam War
in 1967, the same year her husband died. She last lived in Morganton, North Carolina
, and died at the age of 93 in Fairfax, Virginia
, while visiting a daughter who had suffered a stroke.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Piedmont blues
Piedmont blues
Piedmont blues refers primarily to a guitar style, the Piedmont fingerstyle, which is characterized by a fingerpicking approach in which a regular, alternating thumb bass string rhythmic pattern supports a syncopated melody using the treble strings generally picked with the fore-finger,...
guitarist and singer from North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Biography
She was born Etta Lucille Reid in Caldwell CountyCaldwell County, North Carolina
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 77,415 people, 30,768 households, and 22,399 families residing in the county. The population density was 164 people per square mile . There were 33,430 housing units at an average density of 71 per square mile...
, North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
, of African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
, Native American
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
, and European American heritage. She played both the 6-string and 12-string
Twelve string guitar
The twelve-string guitar is an acoustic or electric guitar with 12 strings in 6 courses, which produces a richer, more ringing tone than a standard six-string guitar...
forms of the acoustic guitar, as well as the five-string banjo
Banjo
In the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...
. Baker played the Piedmont Blues for ninety years, starting at the age of three when she could not even hold the guitar properly. She was taught by her father, Boone Reid, who was also a long time player of the Piedmont Blues on several instruments. Etta Baker was first recorded in the summer of 1956 when she and her father happened across folk singer Paul Clayton while visiting Cone Mansion in Blowing Rock, North Carolina
Blowing Rock, North Carolina
Blowing Rock is a town in North Carolina, USA, situated in both Caldwell and Watauga counties. The population was 1,418 at the 2000 census. However, during the summer the town's population increases to about 10,000.]]\\...
, near their home in Morganton, NC. Baker's father asked Clayton to listen to his daughter playing her signature "One Dime Blues". Clayton was impressed and arrived at the Baker house with his tape recorder the next day, recording several songs.
Over the years, Baker has shared her knowledge with many well known musical artists including Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
, Taj Mahal (musician)
Taj Mahal (musician)
Henry Saint Clair Fredericks , who uses the stage name Taj Mahal, is an American Grammy Award winning blues musician. He incorporates elements of world music into his music...
, and Kenny Wayne Shepherd
Kenny Wayne Shepherd
Kenny Wayne Shepherd is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He has released several studio albums and experienced a rare level of commercial success both as a blues artist and a young musician.-Biography:Shepherd graduated Caddo Magnet High School in Shreveport, Louisiana...
. Baker received the North Carolina Folk Heritage Award
North Carolina Folk Heritage Award
The North Carolina Folk Heritage Award is an annual award given out by the North Carolina Arts Council in recognition of traditional artists from the U.S. state of North Carolina. The award was created in 1989. The program was suspended in 2008 due to budget problems. -1990:*The Badget Sisters,...
from the North Carolina Arts Council
North Carolina Arts Council
The North Carolina Arts Council is an organization in the U.S. state of North Carolina that provides grants to artists, musicians, and arts organizations. The group's mission is "To Make North Carolina a Better State Through the Arts." It was founded by executive order in 1964, and it became a...
in 1989, the National Endowment for the Arts
National Endowment for the Arts
The National Endowment for the Arts is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created by an act of the U.S. Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. Its current...
' National Heritage Fellowship
National Heritage Fellowship
The National Heritage Fellowship is a lifetime honor presented to master folk and traditional artists by the National Endowment for the Arts. Similar to Japan's Living National Treasure award, the Fellowship is the United States' highest honor in the folk and traditional arts...
in 1991, and the North Carolina Award
North Carolina Award
The North Carolina Award is the highest civilian award bestowed by the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is awarded in the four fields of science, literature, the fine arts, and public service....
in 2003. Along with her sister, Cora Phillips, Baker received the North Carolina Folklore Society's Brown-Hudson Folklore Award in 1982.
Baker had nine children, one of whom was killed in the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
in 1967, the same year her husband died. She last lived in Morganton, North Carolina
Morganton, North Carolina
Morganton is a city in Burke County, North Carolina, United States. Reader's Digest included Morganton in its list of top ten places to raise a family. The town was recently profiled in The 50 Best Small Southern Towns. The population was 17,310 at the 2000 census...
, and died at the age of 93 in Fairfax, Virginia
Fairfax, Virginia
The City of Fairfax is an independent city forming an enclave within the confines of Fairfax County, in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Although politically independent of the surrounding county, the City is nevertheless the county seat....
, while visiting a daughter who had suffered a stroke.
Discography
- 1956 : Instrumental Music From the Southern Appalachians (1956, Tradition RecordsTradition RecordsTradition Records was an American record label that existed from 1955 to 1961.The label was founded by Guggenheim heiress Diane Hamilton in 1956. Its first president and director was Patrick "Paddy" Clancy, who was soon to join his brothers and Tommy Makem, as part of the new Irish folk group, The...
; reissued 1997) - 1990 : One Dime Blues
- 1998 : The North Carolina Banjo Collection (various artists) (1998, Rounder)
- 1999 : Railroad Bill
- 2004 : Etta Baker with Taj MahalTaj Mahal (musician)Henry Saint Clair Fredericks , who uses the stage name Taj Mahal, is an American Grammy Award winning blues musician. He incorporates elements of world music into his music...
(Music MakerMusic Maker (label)Music Maker Relief Foundation is an American non-profit record label, based in Hillsborough, North Carolina. Music Maker Relief Foundation was founded in 1994 by Tim and Denise Duffy to "help the true pioneers and forgotten heroes of Southern music gain recognition and meet their day to day needs...
50) - 2005 : Carolina Breakdown with Cora Phillips (Music MakerMusic Maker (label)Music Maker Relief Foundation is an American non-profit record label, based in Hillsborough, North Carolina. Music Maker Relief Foundation was founded in 1994 by Tim and Denise Duffy to "help the true pioneers and forgotten heroes of Southern music gain recognition and meet their day to day needs...
56) - 2006 : Knoxville Rag with Kenny Wayne ShepherdKenny Wayne ShepherdKenny Wayne Shepherd is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He has released several studio albums and experienced a rare level of commercial success both as a blues artist and a young musician.-Biography:Shepherd graduated Caddo Magnet High School in Shreveport, Louisiana...
(CD Title: "10 Days Out- Blues From The Backroads", it also includes a DVD that shows Kenny & Etta playing guitar in her kitchen), Reprise Records, 2006. ISBN 0-9632-49294-2 0
Obituaries
- Etta Baker obituary from The News & Observer
- Etta Baker obituary from The News & Observer
- Etta Baker slideshow from The News & Observer
- Etta Baker obituary
- Etta Baker obituary, from San Jose Mercury News
- Renowned Piedmont Blues Guitarist Etta Baker Dies at 93, from World Music Central
Listening
- Etta Baker MP3s, from Music Maker Relief Foundation
- Live recording of "One Dime Blues," performed by Etta Baker (track 7; recorded at the 1994 Florida Folk Festival and made available for public use by the State Archives of Florida)
External links
- Etta Baker page from North Carolina Arts Council site
- Etta Baker page from North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources page
- Etta Baker page from Music Maker Relief Foundation