Dick "Two Ton" Baker (May 2, 1916 – May 4, 1975) was an American singer and entertainer who was a prominent
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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radio and television personality for three decades; the 1940s to the 1960s. He gained some national exposure in the United States through his recordings for
Mercury Records
Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. In the United States, it is ...
and his
Mutual Broadcasting System
The Mutual Broadcasting System (commonly referred to simply as Mutual; sometimes referred to as MBS, Mutual Radio or the Mutual Radio Network) was an American commercial radio network in operation from 1934 to 1999. In the Old-time radio, golden ...
radio show.
Biography
Richard Evans Baker was born in Chicago on May 2, 1916.
He began playing piano at two-and-a-half years of age
By age four he was playing piano for his mother at musical engagements.
He attended high school at
Morton Morton may refer to:
People
* Morton (surname)
* Morton (given name)
Fictional
* Morton Koopa, Jr., a character and boss in ''Super Mario Bros. 3''
* A character in the ''Charlie and Lola'' franchise
* A character in the 2008 film '' Horton H ...
and
Fenger in Chicago, where he was known to cut classes for musical opportunities.
He joined a local 12-piece band, and had occasional gigs as a pianist, master of ceremonies, and singer.
He met his wife when he was 20 years old, and married her shortly afterwards.
Baker's full-time professional entertaining career began in 1938, playing for night clubs with notable dates at the
Chicago Theatre
The Chicago Theatre, originally known as the Balaban and Katz Chicago Theatre, is a landmark theater located on North State Street in the Loop area of Chicago, Illinois. Built in 1921, the Chicago Theatre was the flagship for the Balaban an ...
and the
Riverside
Riverside may refer to:
Places Australia
* Riverside, Tasmania, a suburb of Launceston, Tasmania
Canada
* Riverside (electoral district), in the Yukon
* Riverside, Calgary, a neighbourhood in Alberta
* Riverside, Manitoba, a former rural m ...
in Milwaukee.
In 1939 he began a job as a
disc jockey
A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include Radio personality, radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music f ...
at radio station
WJJD with a two-hour show entitled ''Sunday Morning Party'', while also performing at the 1111 Club.
It was early in his radio career that he was given the entertainment name "Two Ton" by a fellow radio-station employee.
He quit WJJD in 1943 and concentrated on his nightclub work, but he was given his own radio show, ''One Man Show'', on station
WGN in 1944.
For the next several years Baker was closely associated with that station, and vice versa.
Baker could not pass a physical to enter the armed forces during World War II, but as he gained fame he began entertaining troops at
Soldier Field
Soldier Field is a multi-purpose stadium on the Near South Side of Chicago, Illinois, United States. Opened in 1924 and reconstructed in 2003, the stadium has served as the home of the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL) since 1 ...
.
He was particularly active at
Gardiner General Hospital, where he spent more than 200 hours with the wounded.
Baker began recording for Mercury Records in 1946.
Mercury Records
Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. In the United States, it is ...
and had a
double-sided hit in 1947 when "
Near You
"Near You" is a popular song written and originally recorded by Francis Craig and His Orchestra at Castle Studio in 1947, with lyrics by Kermit Goell, that has gone on to become a pop standard.
Background
The recording by Francis Craig (the ...
" reached #12, and "I'm a Lonely Little Petunia (In An Onion Patch)" peaked at #21.
In total Baker had twenty-five recording sessions with Mercury between 1946 and 1951.
![Dick Two Ton Baker Happy Pirates early 1950s](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a1/Dick_Two_Ton_Baker_Happy_Pirates_early_1950s.JPG)
Baker was part of
WGN-TV
WGN-TV (channel 9) is an Independent station (North America), independent television station in Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, United States. Owned by Nexstar Media Group, it is sister station, sister to the company's sole radio property, talk ra ...
's grand opening show on April 5, 1948.
The next day was WGN's first full day of programming which included Baker's show ''Wonder House'', a puppet program hosted in conjunction with Art Nelson. ''Wonder House'' was aired five days a week at 7:30PM.
The program featured a marionette made to look like Baker, named "Half-Ton".
The show was one of the most popular early television shows in Chicago, and it was stated that Baker was "made for TV".
The show was praised for Baker's performances and a well-placed set, but it suffered from poor script writing and microphone placement.
Although drawing an adult audience as well as the children it was aimed at, ''Wonder House'' was cancelled after five months because of the excessive production costs.
Baker gained national radio exposure when ''The Two Ton Baker Show'', originating from WGN, was carried across the Mutual network. Baker was featured on cover of ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
'' magazine in February 1949, noting his release "Roll the Patrol Closer to the Curb".
That year he was appearing in fifteen 15-minute radio shows each week.
Baker left Mercury, and signed to
Coral Records
Coral Records was a subsidiary of Decca Records that was formed in 1949. Coral released music by Patsy Cline, Buddy Holly, the McGuire Sisters and Teresa Brewer.
Coral issued jazz and swing music in the 1940s, but after Bob Thiele became head o ...
in 1952.
From 1952 to 1956 he was host of a children's television show for
WBKB entitled ''The Happy Pirates''.
''Pirates'' featured Baker's entertainment, "Squawky the Parrot", and old theatrical cartoons. From 1957 to 1962 he was the spokesperson for
Riverview Amusement Park. Television commercials for Riverview had Two Ton riding one of the Park Rides and him saying, "Laugh your troubles away at Riverview!" These commercials lasted until the Park closed. After that he managed to get a part in ''
Mickey One
''Mickey One'' is a 1965 American neo noir crime film starring Warren Beatty and directed by Arthur Penn from a script by Alan Surgal.
Plot
After incurring the wrath of the Mafia, a stand-up comic (Warren Beatty) flees Detroit for Chicago, taki ...
'' starring
Warren Beatty
Henry Warren Beatty (né Beaty; born March 30, 1937) is an American actor and filmmaker, whose career spans over six decades. He was nominated for 15 Academy Awards, including four for Best Actor, four for Best Picture, two for Best Director, ...
, which was Baker's only movie role. In 1964 he hosted ''Corral 26'' on
WCIU-TV
WCIU-TV (channel 26) is a television station in Chicago, Illinois, United States, affiliated with The CW. It is the flagship television property of locally based Weigel Broadcasting, which has owned the station since its inception, and is siste ...
, a
Western movie
The Western is a genre set in the American frontier and commonly associated with folk tales of the Western United States, particularly the Southwestern United States, as well as Northern Mexico and Western Canada. It is commonly referred ...
presentation featuring Baker's introductions, guest interviews, singing, and promoting chocolate milk made from
Bosco Chocolate Syrup
Bosco Chocolate Syrup is a brand of chocolate syrup first produced in 1928. The company, Bosco Products, Inc., is based in Towaco, New Jersey, and products are sold throughout the United States and Europe.
History
Bosco Chocolate syrup was p ...
.
This show ended in 1966.
Later in life he returned to entertaining at Chicago night clubs.
He was a mainstay at the Ivanhoe from 1965 until 1970.
In 1972 Baker was selected by
Duke Ellington
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ellington was based ...
to play piano at a symposium honoring Ellington and the history of jazz, as Ellington no longer felt he could play effectively. His recordings on Heartbeat were released as late as 1973.
Baker's final employment was at Mangam’s Chateau where he was engaged for five nights each week.
Baker collapsed at his
Hazel Crest, Illinois
Hazel Crest is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 13,382 at the 2020 census.
History
Hazel Crest was first settled in 1870 in a farming community known as South Harvey. An enterprising newspaper editor named ...
home on May 4, 1975. He was taken to
Ingalls Memorial Hospital
Ingalls Memorial Hospital is a general medical and surgical hospital located in Harvey, Illinois, a south suburb of Chicago, Illinois. Ingalls is a secular establishment. In 2016, Ingalls completed a merger with the University of Chicago Medicine ...
and was pronounced
dead upon arrival.
[ ]
Style and legacy
Having never received formal music training, Baker could not read music well but instead
played by ear.
He considered his biggest influence to be
Duke Ellington
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ellington was based ...
.
He was well-regarded for his improvisational ability.
Baker was a very large man, and his outgoing personality fit his size.
''Billboard'' reviewed one of his radio shows as "zany" but humorless. However, they stated that the only reason to listen to ''Baker's Spotlight'' was Baker's piano playing and singing. Regarding his recordings, ''Billboard'' on more than one occasion noted his infectious ebullience while performing less-than-serious material.
Baker held the top two spots for in the children's category in ''Billboard''s 1948 poll of disk-jockey's favorite records. Baker loved performing for children. In addition to his kiddie records, and children's television shows, he made numerous personal appearances at orphanages, beginning in 1945.
For several years he played both piano and Santa Claus at .
Although known for his children's and novelty work, he also shared billing with
Count Basie
William James "Count" Basie (; August 21, 1904 – April 26, 1984) was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. In 1935, he formed the Count Basie Orchestra, and in 1936 took them to Chicago for a long engagement and the ...
,
Dave Brubeck
David Warren Brubeck (; December 6, 1920 – December 5, 2012) was an American jazz pianist and composer. Often regarded as a foremost exponent of cool jazz, Brubeck's work is characterized by unusual time signatures and superimposing contrasti ...
,
Gene Krupa
Eugene Bertram Krupa (January 15, 1909 – October 16, 1973), known as Gene Krupa, was an American jazz drummer, bandleader and composer who performed with energy and showmanship. His drum solo on Benny Goodman's 1937 recording of "Sing, Sing, S ...
, and
George Shearing
Sir George Albert Shearing, (13 August 1919 14 February 2011) was a British jazz pianist who for many years led a popular jazz group that recorded for Discovery Records, MGM Records and Capitol Records. Shearing was the composer of over 300 t ...
in a non-Christmas concert at the Blue Note.
Baker was called most commonly "Two Ton Baker, the Music Maker". Other monikers included "The One Man Show" and "Behemoth of the Keyboards".
[ ]
Recordings
Baker's first commercial record was a collaboration with the
Hoosier Hot Shots
The Hoosier Hot Shots were an American quartet of musicians who entertained on stage, screen, radio, and records from the mid-1930s into the 1970s. The group formed in Indiana where they performed on local radio before moving to Chicago and a n ...
on
Decca Records
Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American ...
.
In 1946 Baker began recording for Mercury Records.
The bulk of this work was novelty or children's material.,
but it also included "straight" material and some instrumentals.
In addition to his hits, some of his better-known songs include "I Like Stinky Cheese", and "The Soup Song".
At Mercury he was paired with
bandleader Tiny Hill ("I'm a Bigger Man than You") and, in his last recording for Mercury,
Jerry Murad's Harmonicats
Jerry Murad's Harmonicats were an American harmonica-based group.
Background
The band was founded in 1947. Originally they were named The Harmonica Madcaps and the group consisted of Jerry Murad ( chromatic lead harmonica), Bob Hadamik (bass h ...
.
He made no further recordings for Mercury after 1951.
When he switched to Coral Records in 1952 he continued issuing novelty recordings aimed at the pop market.
His next recordings were for Seymour Schwartz, a Chicago record store owner whose Heartbeat label was primarily for the juke box trade.
He recorded for Heartbeat and successor Sunny until late in his life.
The late material was more pop-oriented, although some of Baker's novelty recordings were re-recorded.
Personal life
Baker and his wife, Ruth Fisher,
had one son and one daughter.
Notes
Two Ton Baker's biographer, also named Dick Baker, is no relation.
"Squawky"'s back-story was that the bird had an absolutely filthy vocabulary acquired from time spent on a Danish vessel. However, the parrot swore only in Danish, so nobody minded.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baker, Two Ton
1916 births
1975 deaths
20th-century American pianists
American television hosts
Mercury Records artists
Musicians from Chicago
American radio hosts
Coral Records artists
American male pianists
20th-century American male musicians