Flashback Soul: Anita Baker sings like an "Angel"

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    Both beautiful and an extremely talented singer and songwriter, Anita Baker was nearly a no show for the world of music. She had been singing in various groups and choirs in her native Detroit since she was a teenager, but while she was loved locally, she had received enough negative reviews from record label execs that, at age 22, she was ready to quit music for good.   Read the full Anita Baker biography here

    Anita went on to become the most popular female vocalist of the late 80s and an influencer on a new generation of soulful singers, and her rise to recording fame began quietly with a beautiful ballad called "Angel". It is our Flashback Soul for this week and we have two versions: the original recording and a live version. Take a listen and enjoy all over again.

    Both beautiful and an extremely talented singer and songwriter, Anita Baker was nearly a no show for the world of music. She had been singing in various groups and choirs in her native Detroit since she was a teenager, but while she was loved locally, she had received enough negative reviews from record label execs that, at age 22, she was ready to quit music for good.   Read the full Anita Baker biography here

    Anita went on to become the most popular female vocalist of the late 80s and an influencer on a new generation of soulful singers, and her rise to recording fame began quietly with a beautiful ballad called "Angel". It is our Flashback Soul for this week and we have two versions: the original recording and a live version. Take a listen and enjoy all over again.

    photograph by  John Mathew Smith, distributed under a CC-BY 2.0 license.