R&B megastar Anita Baker has encountered an unbelievable amount of roadblocks in her life, from failed recording contracts to living in Detroit on low-paying wages, yet her persistence, hard work and passion for music have ultimately lifted her up into a world filled with incredible fame, multiple Billboard number ones and a large assortment of Grammy Awards.The Toledo, Ohio native grew up largely in Detroit, where female jazz vocalists like Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughan penetrated into her bedroom and influenced her musical style and inspiration. Baker began singing with a gospel choir at age 12, and she joined the Detroit band Chapter 8 in 1975, only to have the record label Ariola drop the group soon thereafter when the label became Arista. She stayed out of the music business until 1983, when prodded by executive Otis Smith to release the debut solo album that became The Songstress. The album led to a solid fan base and a major record deal, and Baker's first major-label album Rapture came out in 1986, exploding onto the R&B scene with number ones all over the charts, even winning a Grammy for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance that year.The young starlet continued to rack up the hits, winning seven more Grammys in the next 10 years. Baker's 1988 album Giving You the Best That I Got also garnered crazy success with the hit singles "Just Because" and "Giving You the Best That I Got," and Baker tried her hand at songwriting, penning most of the songs on her 1990 release Compositions. After 1990, the talented artist took a four-year break from the music industry to raise a family, but returned to the limelight in 1994 with the album Rhythm of Love. Baker has kept the hits coming over the last decade, pumping out 2003's My Everything, followed by 2005's holiday masterpiece Christmas Fantasy.
