This is FRESH AIR. Up next in our archive series R&B, rockabilly and early rock 'n' roll, we have an interview with rhythm and blues singer LaVern Baker. Baker was one of Atlantic's first big success ...

Her voice carried a fascinating mixture of sophistication and down-to-earth power that evoked Bessie Smith and the other vocalists of the classic era, and she did much to set in place the outlines of ...