WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.620 Welcome to another Deep Dive. We are so glad 00:00:02.620 --> 00:00:04.759 you are here with us today. Yeah, really glad 00:00:04.759 --> 00:00:06.719 you could join us for this one. And before we 00:00:06.719 --> 00:00:08.339 jump right into the content, if you're sharing 00:00:08.339 --> 00:00:10.880 this with a friend on Apple Podcasts, the title 00:00:10.880 --> 00:00:13.880 for today's Deep Dive is The Deep Dive, King 00:00:13.880 --> 00:00:17.260 Ernest Baker, The Forgotten Blues Giant, A 14 00:00:17.260 --> 00:00:20.350 -Year Detour, and The Ultimate Comeback. Right. 00:00:20.390 --> 00:00:22.149 And the description for this one is packed with 00:00:22.149 --> 00:00:25.329 all those good SEO keywords for you blues lovers. 00:00:25.870 --> 00:00:28.890 It says on this deep dive, we explore the incredible 00:00:28.890 --> 00:00:33.049 and tragic life of R &B and soul singer King 00:00:33.049 --> 00:00:36.140 Ernest Baker. From his roots in Natchez, Mississippi, 00:00:36.380 --> 00:00:38.899 and his early days sharing the stage with Howlin' 00:00:38.939 --> 00:00:41.859 Wolf and Buddy Guy, to his surprising 14 -year 00:00:41.859 --> 00:00:43.700 career in a Los Angeles Sheriff's Department, 00:00:44.340 --> 00:00:46.299 King earned his story as one of profound resilience. 00:00:46.740 --> 00:00:49.060 Exactly. And it goes on to say, discover how 00:00:49.060 --> 00:00:51.679 he rebuilt his music career at age 55 through 00:00:51.679 --> 00:00:54.679 newspaper classified ads, toured the world, and 00:00:54.679 --> 00:00:57.060 recorded a final masterpiece just days before 00:00:57.060 --> 00:00:59.539 a tragic accident. Perfect for music historians, 00:00:59.979 --> 00:01:02.380 Chicago blues lovers, and anyone needing a reminder 00:01:02.380 --> 00:01:04.370 that it's never too late. to chase your dream. 00:01:04.769 --> 00:01:06.950 Tune in to learn about the unseen legends of 00:01:06.950 --> 00:01:09.290 the blues. I love that description. It really 00:01:09.290 --> 00:01:11.969 sets the stage. It really does. So for this deep 00:01:11.969 --> 00:01:14.269 dive, we are pulling from a fascinating Wikipedia 00:01:14.269 --> 00:01:16.969 article detailing the life of this American blues 00:01:16.969 --> 00:01:19.349 and soul singer. His name was King Ernest Baker. 00:01:19.609 --> 00:01:23.799 Right. And if you are a fan of blues history 00:01:23.799 --> 00:01:25.680 or soul music, you might think you know all the 00:01:25.680 --> 00:01:27.719 heavy hitters. You know the names that made it 00:01:27.719 --> 00:01:29.760 onto the big stadium marquees. Oh, absolutely. 00:01:30.099 --> 00:01:32.939 The household names. Right. But our mission today 00:01:32.939 --> 00:01:36.000 is to uncover the story of an artist who stood 00:01:36.000 --> 00:01:38.299 shoulder to shoulder with those absolute legends, 00:01:38.560 --> 00:01:41.299 walked away from the stage completely to work 00:01:41.299 --> 00:01:44.439 in law enforcement, and then mounted this unbelievable, 00:01:44.760 --> 00:01:48.260 defiant music comeback at age 55. Only for his 00:01:48.260 --> 00:01:50.700 life to end in a really shocking tragedy. Exactly. 00:01:50.799 --> 00:01:54.090 We're talking about a true hidden giant of the 00:01:54.090 --> 00:01:56.750 genre today. It is a remarkable narrative to 00:01:56.750 --> 00:01:59.849 share with you today because this isn't just 00:01:59.849 --> 00:02:02.450 a standard chronological biography of an R &B 00:02:02.450 --> 00:02:06.930 singer. It is a profound look at the harsh, often 00:02:06.930 --> 00:02:09.229 unseen realities of the music industry. Yeah, 00:02:09.250 --> 00:02:12.030 the stuff behind the curtain. Exactly. It highlights 00:02:12.030 --> 00:02:14.569 the immense psychological courage it takes to 00:02:14.569 --> 00:02:17.509 resurrect a deferred dream. And it shines a light 00:02:17.509 --> 00:02:20.710 on the working class figures who quietly yet 00:02:20.710 --> 00:02:23.770 powerfully shape musical history from the club 00:02:23.770 --> 00:02:27.479 level up when we look at king ernest baker We're 00:02:27.479 --> 00:02:29.659 really looking at the ultimate testament to human 00:02:29.659 --> 00:02:32.180 resilience. Okay, let's unpack this. We have 00:02:32.180 --> 00:02:34.620 to start where the roots of this music always 00:02:34.620 --> 00:02:37.240 start, which is deep in the American South. Right. 00:02:37.400 --> 00:02:40.000 The source material centers on a man born in 00:02:40.000 --> 00:02:42.819 Natchez, Mississippi. And the family lineage 00:02:42.819 --> 00:02:45.039 here immediately jumped out at me, because it 00:02:45.039 --> 00:02:46.560 is not what you typically expect when you hear 00:02:46.560 --> 00:02:48.599 the origins of a Mississippi blues man. No, not 00:02:48.599 --> 00:02:50.400 at all. I was looking through the notes on his 00:02:50.400 --> 00:02:53.759 family tree, and it is incredibly unique. It 00:02:53.759 --> 00:02:58.460 really is. Ernest was born on May 3rd. He was 00:02:58.460 --> 00:03:00.860 the third of 11 children. 11 kids. Yeah, so he 00:03:00.860 --> 00:03:03.580 came from a massive household. But the detail 00:03:03.580 --> 00:03:06.159 that really stops you in your tracks is his great 00:03:06.159 --> 00:03:08.740 -grandfather. Oh, this part blew my mind. According 00:03:08.740 --> 00:03:11.000 to the source, his great -grandfather was an 00:03:11.000 --> 00:03:14.060 Italian violinist from Milan. An Italian violinist. 00:03:14.259 --> 00:03:17.419 Yeah, and he actually lived to be... 109 years 00:03:17.419 --> 00:03:20.340 old. 109. Just surviving to that age in that 00:03:20.340 --> 00:03:23.580 era is a story in itself. Honestly. But how does 00:03:23.580 --> 00:03:26.659 an Italian violinist from Milan factor into the 00:03:26.659 --> 00:03:29.139 foundation of a Mississippi blues and soul singer? 00:03:29.379 --> 00:03:32.020 Well, what's fascinating here is the historical 00:03:32.020 --> 00:03:34.639 and cultural context that created Baker's foundation. 00:03:35.020 --> 00:03:37.280 Yeah. The source mentions that historically, 00:03:37.699 --> 00:03:40.879 all of his great -grandfather's southern state 00:03:40.879 --> 00:03:43.500 children who were referred to in the historical 00:03:43.500 --> 00:03:46.620 terminology of the sorts as half mulatto, were 00:03:46.620 --> 00:03:48.939 string musicians. Okay. They were violinists 00:03:48.939 --> 00:03:51.500 and guitar players. So you have this incredible 00:03:51.500 --> 00:03:54.719 convergence of European string traditions blending 00:03:54.719 --> 00:03:57.560 directly with the deep, acoustic, soulful roots 00:03:57.560 --> 00:04:00.400 of the post -Civil War American South. That's 00:04:00.400 --> 00:04:04.039 amazing. It is. This multicultural, multigenerational 00:04:04.039 --> 00:04:07.379 musical DNA was essentially woven into Ernest's 00:04:07.379 --> 00:04:09.919 bloodline from the very beginning. His grandfather 00:04:09.919 --> 00:04:16.259 was even part of a tour. So music wasn't just 00:04:16.259 --> 00:04:18.360 a hobby. It was the family trade. Exactly. It 00:04:18.360 --> 00:04:21.560 was what they did. And you can see that DNA activate 00:04:21.560 --> 00:04:24.980 really early for Ernest. There is this incredibly 00:04:24.980 --> 00:04:27.480 vivid image from the source material about his 00:04:27.480 --> 00:04:30.519 childhood. Oh, the honky tonk story. Yes. His 00:04:30.519 --> 00:04:32.600 father was a guitarist who played the honky tonks 00:04:32.600 --> 00:04:35.639 down south. And when Ernest was just around seven 00:04:35.639 --> 00:04:37.699 years old, he would sit on his father's knee 00:04:37.699 --> 00:04:40.600 in these crowded, noisy venues. Just a little 00:04:40.600 --> 00:04:43.500 kid. Right. His dad would be singing and playing 00:04:43.500 --> 00:04:46.079 his slide guitar. And little seven -year -old 00:04:46.079 --> 00:04:48.420 Ernest would sit there holding out a cup for 00:04:48.420 --> 00:04:51.800 the listeners. I want you to just picture that 00:04:51.800 --> 00:04:54.480 environment for a second. Think about the sensory 00:04:54.480 --> 00:04:57.500 experience for a seven -year -old in a 1940s 00:04:57.500 --> 00:04:59.600 southern honky -tonk. It must have been intense. 00:04:59.879 --> 00:05:02.930 The heat. The smoke, the noise, the immediate 00:05:02.930 --> 00:05:06.290 feedback of the crowd. It is the perfect real 00:05:06.290 --> 00:05:09.089 -world example of learning a trade from the absolute 00:05:09.089 --> 00:05:11.129 ground up. Yeah, he wasn't sheltered from it 00:05:11.129 --> 00:05:12.790 at all. Right. He wasn't just learning how to 00:05:12.790 --> 00:05:15.129 play notes on a page. He was learning the business 00:05:15.129 --> 00:05:17.709 of entertainment. He was learning how an audience 00:05:17.709 --> 00:05:20.990 reacts, how a performer commands a room, and 00:05:20.990 --> 00:05:23.569 how you translate that emotional connection into 00:05:23.569 --> 00:05:26.589 a livelihood, coin by coin. It's an apprenticeship 00:05:26.589 --> 00:05:29.629 in survival as much as in music. Definitely. 00:05:29.750 --> 00:05:32.009 And his family tree had other heavy branches, 00:05:32.170 --> 00:05:34.910 right? Because as I was reading, I noticed a 00:05:34.910 --> 00:05:37.310 connection to another major figure in the blues 00:05:37.310 --> 00:05:40.250 world. Yes, the legendary blues singer Bobby 00:05:40.250 --> 00:05:43.829 Bland is actually Ernest's cousin. Bobby Bland. 00:05:43.949 --> 00:05:46.250 Yeah. So the roots of the blues were thoroughly 00:05:46.250 --> 00:05:48.550 entrenched in his family. It was a community 00:05:48.550 --> 00:05:51.589 and a lineage that expected musical excellence. 00:05:51.629 --> 00:05:54.769 If his roots were that deep in the acoustic Southern 00:05:54.769 --> 00:05:57.500 tradition... How does a guy like that survive 00:05:57.500 --> 00:06:00.779 the jump to the gritty, electric, highly competitive 00:06:00.779 --> 00:06:03.319 world of the big city? Because eventually he 00:06:03.319 --> 00:06:05.819 leaves Mississippi. He does. He heads north, 00:06:05.879 --> 00:06:08.079 like so many Southern musicians during the Great 00:06:08.079 --> 00:06:11.600 Migration. By 1958, he hits the scene in Chicago. 00:06:11.639 --> 00:06:13.420 Okay, jumping right into the deep end. Yeah, 00:06:13.500 --> 00:06:15.319 he gets his first professional start at a place 00:06:15.319 --> 00:06:17.699 called Wynn's Lounge, performing with Byther 00:06:17.699 --> 00:06:20.680 Smith. And Ernest actually credited Smith with 00:06:20.680 --> 00:06:23.560 giving him his true start as a professional working 00:06:23.560 --> 00:06:25.819 musician in the city. I was looking at the descriptions 00:06:25.819 --> 00:06:27.959 of his live performances from that era, and it 00:06:27.959 --> 00:06:29.839 sounds like he completely took over whatever 00:06:29.839 --> 00:06:32.680 room he was in. Oh, he dominated. Ernest was 00:06:32.680 --> 00:06:35.019 a towering figure. Yeah. He stood six foot three. 00:06:35.180 --> 00:06:38.220 A big guy. Yeah. But the source notes he wasn't 00:06:38.220 --> 00:06:40.040 just standing behind a microphone strumming a 00:06:40.040 --> 00:06:44.000 guitar. He danced with such exuberant, wild energy 00:06:44.000 --> 00:06:47.040 that people were comparing his stage presence 00:06:47.040 --> 00:06:49.089 to James Brown. Brown and Jackie Wilson. Imagine 00:06:49.089 --> 00:06:53.730 a six foot three man moving with the agility 00:06:53.730 --> 00:06:57.250 and fire of James Brown in a smoky Chicago blues 00:06:57.250 --> 00:06:59.850 club. It would have been absolutely mesmerizing. 00:07:00.029 --> 00:07:02.050 And you really have to look at the company he 00:07:02.050 --> 00:07:04.230 kept during this era to understand his caliber. 00:07:04.370 --> 00:07:07.350 Who is he playing with? Well, he became a massive 00:07:07.350 --> 00:07:09.949 club attraction, sharing the stage with artists 00:07:09.949 --> 00:07:13.750 like Tyrone Davis. Wow. Buddy Guy and the legendary 00:07:13.750 --> 00:07:16.470 Howlin' Wolf. Howlin' Wolf. That is serious royalty. 00:07:16.769 --> 00:07:19.149 It really is. For the listener to truly grasp 00:07:19.149 --> 00:07:21.509 this, being a club attraction in Chicago and 00:07:21.509 --> 00:07:24.230 eventually New York during the late 50s and 60s 00:07:24.230 --> 00:07:27.089 meant that Ernest was standing right in the absolute 00:07:27.089 --> 00:07:30.670 epicenter of the blues and soul evolution. Yeah, 00:07:30.709 --> 00:07:32.720 he was right in the middle of it. He wasn't on 00:07:32.720 --> 00:07:35.300 the periphery watching it happen. He was in the 00:07:35.300 --> 00:07:38.959 room holding his own alongside the undisputed 00:07:38.959 --> 00:07:41.439 titans of the genre. But there is a glaring disconnect 00:07:41.439 --> 00:07:43.600 in his story that I really want to dig into. 00:07:43.839 --> 00:07:46.180 We know he's playing with Buddy Guy and Howlin' 00:07:46.180 --> 00:07:48.939 Wolf. We know he's a phenomenal live draw. Right. 00:07:49.079 --> 00:07:51.319 But when you look at his recording history during 00:07:51.319 --> 00:07:53.920 those decades, he's bouncing around all these 00:07:53.920 --> 00:07:56.819 different labels. The source mentions he recorded 00:07:56.819 --> 00:08:00.420 for Barry in New York and Chicago, Sonic, Funk, 00:08:00.620 --> 00:08:03.519 Mercury. and Blue Soul. Yeah, quite a list. What 00:08:03.519 --> 00:08:05.980 was happening there? Why didn't the live dominance 00:08:05.980 --> 00:08:08.860 translate into massive record sales? That is 00:08:08.860 --> 00:08:10.939 the ultimate question of the mid -century music 00:08:10.939 --> 00:08:14.100 industry. For you, as the listener, to understand 00:08:14.100 --> 00:08:17.759 this dynamic... Being a club king back then paid 00:08:17.759 --> 00:08:20.000 the bills for the night, but recording a hit 00:08:20.000 --> 00:08:21.959 record built a legacy. Okay, that makes sense. 00:08:22.060 --> 00:08:24.120 The recording industry was a heavily gate -kept 00:08:24.120 --> 00:08:27.300 club. Labels like Barry, Sonic, and Funk, with 00:08:27.300 --> 00:08:29.480 the exception of Mercury, were often smaller, 00:08:29.600 --> 00:08:32.080 scrappy, independent operations. They didn't 00:08:32.080 --> 00:08:34.409 have the big budgets. Exactly. They didn't have 00:08:34.409 --> 00:08:37.289 the massive distribution networks or the radio 00:08:37.289 --> 00:08:41.350 promotion money of Motown or Chess Records. So 00:08:41.350 --> 00:08:43.830 an artist could be making a decent living tearing 00:08:43.830 --> 00:08:46.389 the roof off a club every night. But if you didn't 00:08:46.389 --> 00:08:48.669 have the right manager or the right label machine 00:08:48.669 --> 00:08:51.610 backing you, your records wouldn't reach a national 00:08:51.610 --> 00:08:54.190 audience. That sounds incredibly frustrating. 00:08:54.590 --> 00:08:58.450 It had to be. In fact, from 1967 to 1970, he 00:08:58.450 --> 00:08:59.970 didn't even do any recording. He just played 00:08:59.970 --> 00:09:02.490 the clubs. And playing the clubs was a mess. 00:09:02.509 --> 00:09:04.850 Massive logistical undertaking for him. It wasn't 00:09:04.850 --> 00:09:07.110 just a simple four -piece band throwing gear 00:09:07.110 --> 00:09:09.509 in a station wagon. Oh, no. It was a whole production. 00:09:09.710 --> 00:09:12.230 After coming back to Chicago from New York, he 00:09:12.230 --> 00:09:15.350 put together a touring outfit called King Ernest 00:09:15.350 --> 00:09:18.289 and the Soul Invaders. Great name. The lineup 00:09:18.289 --> 00:09:20.850 of this group is incredible. He had a full rhythm 00:09:20.850 --> 00:09:24.470 section, a three -piece horn section, a bongo 00:09:24.470 --> 00:09:27.070 player. Yeah. And they even traveled with a comedian 00:09:27.070 --> 00:09:29.889 named Emmanuel Arrington. I love that detail. 00:09:30.350 --> 00:09:32.649 Throughout the 1970s, they were playing prominent 00:09:32.649 --> 00:09:35.250 venues like the Skyway Lounge, High Chaparral 00:09:35.250 --> 00:09:37.889 and Ernie's Lounge and taking the whole production 00:09:37.889 --> 00:09:40.990 down through Louisiana and Mississippi. That 00:09:40.990 --> 00:09:44.220 combination. of a horn section, a bongo player, 00:09:44.419 --> 00:09:47.080 and a traveling comedian, tells you exactly what 00:09:47.080 --> 00:09:49.080 kind of show King Artist was putting on. It's 00:09:49.080 --> 00:09:51.720 an event. This wasn't a stoic sit -down blues 00:09:51.720 --> 00:09:54.580 set. It was a full -fledged entertainment review. 00:09:54.759 --> 00:09:56.799 It was designed to grab people by the collar 00:09:56.799 --> 00:09:58.700 from the moment they walked in until the moment 00:09:58.700 --> 00:10:01.279 they left. Absolutely. But maintaining a payroll 00:10:01.279 --> 00:10:03.899 for a band that size, constantly grinding out 00:10:03.899 --> 00:10:06.480 tours without the financial cushion of a hit 00:10:06.480 --> 00:10:09.220 record, it takes a massive toll on an artist. 00:10:09.710 --> 00:10:12.490 And that friction between his undeniable live 00:10:12.490 --> 00:10:15.070 popularity and his lack of mainstream recording 00:10:15.070 --> 00:10:17.470 success was really building up. Here's where 00:10:17.470 --> 00:10:19.789 it gets really interesting. We reached 1980. 00:10:20.049 --> 00:10:22.690 The grind has been going on for decades. Decades 00:10:22.690 --> 00:10:24.730 of it. And suddenly there's a beacon of hope. 00:10:25.289 --> 00:10:27.509 The source notes that Ernest is lured out to 00:10:27.509 --> 00:10:29.830 Los Angeles because there is the prospect of 00:10:29.830 --> 00:10:32.710 a major record deal on the table. You can imagine 00:10:32.710 --> 00:10:35.490 the feeling after all the smoky clubs, all the 00:10:35.490 --> 00:10:38.070 regional tours, all the scrappy indie labels. 00:10:38.210 --> 00:10:40.590 The brass ring is finally right in front of him. 00:10:40.610 --> 00:10:43.389 But the deal falls through. It just evaporates. 00:10:43.409 --> 00:10:45.370 And this becomes the breaking point for him. 00:10:45.590 --> 00:10:48.090 The disappointments in his career just pile up 00:10:48.090 --> 00:10:50.669 too high. And he makes a decision that is. honestly 00:10:50.669 --> 00:10:53.230 stunning when you consider his background it 00:10:53.230 --> 00:10:55.870 is he completely walks away from show business 00:10:55.870 --> 00:10:58.870 it is a crushing disappointment i want you to 00:10:58.870 --> 00:11:01.590 really imagine the psychological weight of that 00:11:01.590 --> 00:11:04.690 moment he had been performing since he was a 00:11:04.690 --> 00:11:06.850 seven -year -old holding a cup for his father 00:11:06.850 --> 00:11:10.059 right His whole life. He had shared stages with 00:11:10.059 --> 00:11:12.779 Howlin' Wolf. He had given his entire youth and 00:11:12.779 --> 00:11:15.940 adulthood to the stage. To finally get the promise 00:11:15.940 --> 00:11:18.179 of a major deal in Los Angeles, only to have 00:11:18.179 --> 00:11:20.240 it pulled out from under you, it is devastating. 00:11:20.480 --> 00:11:22.679 It's heartbreaking. It highlights the deeply 00:11:22.679 --> 00:11:25.360 unforgiving nature of the music business. Raw 00:11:25.360 --> 00:11:27.840 talent and relentless hard work do not always 00:11:27.840 --> 00:11:30.399 equate to industry support or financial stability. 00:11:31.149 --> 00:11:34.350 The choice he makes next is one of the most unexpected 00:11:34.350 --> 00:11:36.789 career shifts I think we've ever seen in these 00:11:36.789 --> 00:11:40.029 sources. Seriously. He doesn't just get a quiet 00:11:40.029 --> 00:11:42.789 job in a warehouse to pay the bills. He gets 00:11:42.789 --> 00:11:44.850 a job with the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department. 00:11:45.129 --> 00:11:48.809 A complete pivot. And he stays there. For 14 00:11:48.809 --> 00:11:50.950 long years, he works in the Sheriff's Department, 00:11:51.250 --> 00:11:53.629 eventually working his way up to his supervisor 00:11:53.629 --> 00:11:56.870 role. It is the ultimate contrast in lifestyles. 00:11:57.340 --> 00:11:59.899 think about the cultural whiplash there oh it's 00:11:59.899 --> 00:12:03.450 night and day he trades the exuberant unpredictable, 00:12:03.769 --> 00:12:07.269 sweaty late night stage of a Chicago blues club 00:12:07.269 --> 00:12:11.009 for the rigid, highly structured, rule bound 00:12:11.009 --> 00:12:13.509 daytime environment of a sheriff's department 00:12:13.509 --> 00:12:15.990 supervisor. It takes a very specific kind of 00:12:15.990 --> 00:12:17.909 discipline to make that transition and actually 00:12:17.909 --> 00:12:20.769 succeed at it for over a decade. Exactly. There 00:12:20.769 --> 00:12:23.210 is a profound nobility in that choice. It is 00:12:23.210 --> 00:12:25.110 the decision to put down a lifelong passion, 00:12:25.230 --> 00:12:27.769 swallow your pride and prioritize earning a stable 00:12:27.769 --> 00:12:30.190 living and securing a future after decades of 00:12:30.190 --> 00:12:32.049 chasing a dream that kept breaking his heart. 00:12:32.269 --> 00:12:34.070 you really have to respect it. But put yourself 00:12:34.070 --> 00:12:35.750 in those shoes for a second. What does it feel 00:12:35.750 --> 00:12:38.169 like for a six foot three dynamo who used to 00:12:38.169 --> 00:12:40.450 move like Jackie Wilson to put on a law enforcement 00:12:40.450 --> 00:12:43.909 uniform every single day for 14 years? He had 00:12:43.909 --> 00:12:46.549 to be hiding so much energy. He's overseeing 00:12:46.549 --> 00:12:49.370 staff, filling out paperwork, enforcing rules. 00:12:50.210 --> 00:12:52.730 The music had to still be vibrating and siding 00:12:52.730 --> 00:12:55.950 the entire time. It definitely was. Which brings 00:12:55.950 --> 00:12:58.129 us to the next chapter of his life. And it's 00:12:58.129 --> 00:13:00.250 a testament to the fact that you can't outrun 00:13:00.250 --> 00:13:03.799 your own calling. At age 55, Ernest retires from 00:13:03.799 --> 00:13:05.659 the sheriff's department. He did his time. He 00:13:05.659 --> 00:13:08.080 has done his time. He has earned his pension. 00:13:08.919 --> 00:13:11.899 And that itch to perform returns. Naturally. 00:13:12.000 --> 00:13:14.240 Driven by encouragement from his cousin, Bobby 00:13:14.240 --> 00:13:16.440 Bland, and a promoter and producer named Randy 00:13:16.440 --> 00:13:19.419 Chortkov, he decides it is time to return to 00:13:19.419 --> 00:13:22.220 the stage. This is where his absolute lack of 00:13:22.220 --> 00:13:24.840 ego really shines. He has this pedigree, right? 00:13:24.879 --> 00:13:27.000 He's played with the greats. But he's been out 00:13:27.000 --> 00:13:29.100 of the game for a long time. So how does he put 00:13:29.100 --> 00:13:31.600 a new band together in Los Angeles in the mid 00:13:31.600 --> 00:13:33.960 -1990s? I couldn't believe this detail when I 00:13:33.960 --> 00:13:36.620 read it. He literally puts classified ads in 00:13:36.620 --> 00:13:39.049 local Los Angeles newspapers. I love that so 00:13:39.049 --> 00:13:41.750 much. That is how he recruits the musicians for 00:13:41.750 --> 00:13:43.929 his new band, which he calls King Ernest and 00:13:43.929 --> 00:13:46.809 the Wild Knights. Can you imagine flipping through 00:13:46.809 --> 00:13:49.230 a local weekly paper and seeing a classified 00:13:49.230 --> 00:13:51.610 ad from a guy who used to open for Buddy Guy 00:13:51.610 --> 00:13:54.950 just looking for a bass player? In the era before 00:13:54.950 --> 00:13:58.190 social media, paying by the word in a local paper 00:13:58.190 --> 00:14:01.480 was how you got things done. It shows a pure, 00:14:01.559 --> 00:14:04.179 unadulterated desire to just get back to the 00:14:04.179 --> 00:14:06.580 music by any means necessary. Just putting the 00:14:06.580 --> 00:14:08.980 work in. And the mix of musicians he found through 00:14:08.980 --> 00:14:11.779 those ads was clearly special. They blended R 00:14:11.779 --> 00:14:15.120 &B, funk, gospel, and blues, and they started 00:14:15.120 --> 00:14:17.820 playing the clubs in Los Angeles' black neighborhoods. 00:14:18.120 --> 00:14:19.840 Building it from the ground up again. Exactly. 00:14:20.679 --> 00:14:22.779 Randy Chortkoff, the promoter who encouraged 00:14:22.779 --> 00:14:25.559 him, hired Baker as the featured singer for his 00:14:25.559 --> 00:14:28.240 blues review. He backed Ernest with some of L 00:14:28.240 --> 00:14:30.820 .A.'s best blues musicians and started booking 00:14:30.820 --> 00:14:32.840 King Ernest and the Wild Knights up and down 00:14:32.840 --> 00:14:35.980 the West Coast. This is the definition of a late 00:14:35.980 --> 00:14:38.379 career renaissance. The momentum he built was 00:14:38.379 --> 00:14:41.000 incredible. It was rapid fire success once he 00:14:41.000 --> 00:14:44.019 got his foot back in the door. By 1996, he's 00:14:44.019 --> 00:14:46.360 backed by John Marks and the Blues Patrol playing 00:14:46.360 --> 00:14:49.879 the Ojai Bull Full of Blues. Then he finally 00:14:49.879 --> 00:14:51.820 gets the one thing that eluded him his entire 00:14:51.820 --> 00:14:55.179 life, a solid recording contract. In January 00:14:55.179 --> 00:14:59.440 1997. At almost 60 years old, he releases his 00:14:59.440 --> 00:15:03.039 very first full CD album. It's called King of 00:15:03.039 --> 00:15:05.559 Hearts, released on the Evidence label. You see 00:15:05.559 --> 00:15:08.440 him fully reclaiming his identity here. He is 00:15:08.440 --> 00:15:10.899 no longer the retired sheriff supervisor making 00:15:10.899 --> 00:15:13.659 sure the shift runs smoothly. He is King Ernest 00:15:13.659 --> 00:15:16.259 again. And the music world responds. The world 00:15:16.259 --> 00:15:19.460 absolutely responds. By May 1999, he is touring 00:15:19.460 --> 00:15:21.929 internationally. International tours. The source 00:15:21.929 --> 00:15:24.370 notes he does a short tour in Israel, playing 00:15:24.370 --> 00:15:27.269 eight shows across Tel Aviv and Eilat. That's 00:15:27.269 --> 00:15:29.070 incredible. Backed by a local band called the 00:15:29.070 --> 00:15:31.409 Daily Blues, which was led by a harmonica player 00:15:31.409 --> 00:15:33.909 named Dov Hammer. Taking his music to places 00:15:33.909 --> 00:15:36.409 like Tel Aviv and Eilat proves how universal 00:15:36.409 --> 00:15:39.490 his sound was. To cross international borders 00:15:39.490 --> 00:15:41.990 and connect with audiences in Israel using a 00:15:41.990 --> 00:15:44.250 local backing band, it'd be a stunning victory 00:15:44.250 --> 00:15:46.669 over the industry that had rejected him almost 00:15:46.669 --> 00:15:48.710 two decades earlier. So what does this all mean? 00:15:48.809 --> 00:15:50.970 To me, it frames this entire story, not just... 00:15:50.919 --> 00:15:53.240 as a music biography, but as a masterclass in 00:15:53.240 --> 00:15:55.580 potential. Very well said. It proves that you 00:15:55.580 --> 00:15:58.320 never age out of your own talent. He still had 00:15:58.320 --> 00:16:00.539 the voice, he still had the commanding physical 00:16:00.539 --> 00:16:03.379 presence, and the world was finally ready to 00:16:03.379 --> 00:16:06.259 give him his flowers. It completely disrupts 00:16:06.259 --> 00:16:08.320 the narrative we are usually sold, which is that 00:16:08.320 --> 00:16:11.179 music, and particularly energetic, dynamic music, 00:16:11.360 --> 00:16:14.899 is strictly a young person's game. Right. Ernest 00:16:14.899 --> 00:16:17.440 Baker proved that life experience, heartbreak, 00:16:17.460 --> 00:16:19.679 and resilience can actually season an artist. 00:16:20.429 --> 00:16:22.889 Living through the disappointment of the 1980s 00:16:22.889 --> 00:16:24.590 and the discipline of his time in law enforcement 00:16:24.590 --> 00:16:27.750 likely gave his voice a depth and a gravitas 00:16:27.750 --> 00:16:30.309 that made his return that much more powerful. 00:16:30.509 --> 00:16:32.990 But sadly, as much as we want this to be a pure 00:16:32.990 --> 00:16:35.429 Hollywood ending, we have to talk about how this 00:16:35.429 --> 00:16:37.950 incredible comeback comes to a close. Yeah, it's 00:16:37.950 --> 00:16:40.730 tough turn. We move into early 2000. Ernest is 00:16:40.730 --> 00:16:43.049 firing on all cylinders. He had just finished 00:16:43.049 --> 00:16:45.370 recording his second full album. It was called 00:16:45.370 --> 00:16:47.629 Blues Got Soul, and it was set to be released 00:16:47.629 --> 00:16:49.990 on Fat Possum Records. And we should note that 00:16:49.990 --> 00:16:52.309 Fat Possum Records is a highly revered label 00:16:52.309 --> 00:16:55.750 for authentic raw blues. A very respected label. 00:16:55.950 --> 00:16:58.649 Getting a release on that label was a massive 00:16:58.649 --> 00:17:01.129 validation of his talent and his place in the 00:17:01.129 --> 00:17:03.399 genre's history. The Wikipedia article notes 00:17:03.399 --> 00:17:06.079 this really poignant, specific detail. He actually 00:17:06.079 --> 00:17:09.740 sat down and listened to the finished, mixed 00:17:09.740 --> 00:17:13.359 CD of Blues Got Soul on March 2nd of that year. 00:17:13.519 --> 00:17:16.160 That detail is incredibly moving when you think 00:17:16.160 --> 00:17:19.200 about his journey. He finally had the tangible, 00:17:19.319 --> 00:17:22.539 physical proof of his ultimate comeback. right 00:17:22.539 --> 00:17:24.539 there in his hands. He was holding it. He heard 00:17:24.539 --> 00:17:27.039 the final mix. He knew he'd captured lightning 00:17:27.039 --> 00:17:29.279 in a bottle for a second time. He'd achieved 00:17:29.279 --> 00:17:31.240 exactly what he set out to do when he placed 00:17:31.240 --> 00:17:33.940 those classified ads. But just three days later, 00:17:34.119 --> 00:17:36.759 the story takes a tragic turn. It's March 5th, 00:17:36.759 --> 00:17:39.880 2000. Ernest and his band had just finished playing 00:17:39.880 --> 00:17:42.319 a show at Mother's Tavern in San Luis Obispo, 00:17:42.359 --> 00:17:45.240 California. They pack up the gear and they are 00:17:45.240 --> 00:17:48.000 making the long drive back south toward Los Angeles 00:17:48.000 --> 00:17:51.039 on Highway 101. A drive musicians have made a 00:17:51.039 --> 00:17:53.599 thousand times. Ernest is asleep in the back 00:17:53.599 --> 00:17:56.180 of the band's van. According to the source, the 00:17:56.180 --> 00:17:58.579 van leaves the road near Santa Maria, rolls over 00:17:58.579 --> 00:18:01.359 and hits a tree. Baker is thrown from the vehicle 00:18:01.359 --> 00:18:04.160 and he is killed. He was just 60 years old. If 00:18:04.160 --> 00:18:06.900 we connect this to the bigger picture. The timing 00:18:06.900 --> 00:18:09.799 of his death is just unspeakably cruel. It really 00:18:09.799 --> 00:18:13.640 is. To survive the grueling grind of the 1960s 00:18:13.640 --> 00:18:16.759 touring circuits, to survive the crushing career 00:18:16.759 --> 00:18:20.079 -ending disappointment of the 1980s, to successfully 00:18:20.079 --> 00:18:23.720 navigate 14 years in law enforcement, only to 00:18:23.720 --> 00:18:26.720 lose his life on a dark highway just three days 00:18:26.720 --> 00:18:29.589 after holding his masterpiece. It is heartbreaking. 00:18:29.750 --> 00:18:31.809 It's hard to even process that kind of timing. 00:18:32.029 --> 00:18:34.069 But we also have to recognize the immense triumph 00:18:34.069 --> 00:18:37.009 in his final years. He didn't die with his music 00:18:37.009 --> 00:18:39.549 still locked inside him, wondering what if from 00:18:39.549 --> 00:18:42.109 behind a supervisor's desk. That's true. He died 00:18:42.109 --> 00:18:44.849 exactly as he was meant to live, as King Ernest 00:18:44.849 --> 00:18:48.049 Baker, a touring recording bluesman who has successfully 00:18:48.049 --> 00:18:50.519 reclaimed his throne. That is a deeply important 00:18:50.519 --> 00:18:53.000 distinction. He went out on his own terms. We 00:18:53.000 --> 00:18:55.259 have been on a real emotional roller coaster 00:18:55.259 --> 00:18:57.380 today. I really have. We started with a seven 00:18:57.380 --> 00:18:59.819 -year -old boy holding a cup for change in Mississippi 00:18:59.819 --> 00:19:03.180 honky -tonks. We traveled to the wild pack stages 00:19:03.180 --> 00:19:06.539 of Chicago alongside Howlin' Wolf. We paused 00:19:06.539 --> 00:19:09.299 for 14 years while he kept the peace in Los Angeles. 00:19:09.819 --> 00:19:12.400 And we cheered for the 55 -year -old comeback 00:19:12.400 --> 00:19:14.779 kid who proved that true talent doesn't have 00:19:14.779 --> 00:19:17.329 an expiration date. It really is a story that 00:19:17.329 --> 00:19:19.950 forces you to look at the world around you differently. 00:19:20.490 --> 00:19:23.390 And I want to leave you, the listener, with a 00:19:23.390 --> 00:19:25.829 thought to mull over today. Let's hear it. Think 00:19:25.829 --> 00:19:27.789 about the people you pass every day in ordinary 00:19:27.789 --> 00:19:30.769 jobs. The supervisors, the clerks, your neighbors. 00:19:31.130 --> 00:19:33.849 What dormant talents, what incredible past lives 00:19:33.849 --> 00:19:36.650 as six -foot -three blues giants are hiding right 00:19:36.650 --> 00:19:38.849 behind their uniforms. And more importantly, 00:19:38.990 --> 00:19:41.329 what dream have you put on a shelf that might 00:19:41.329 --> 00:19:43.390 just be waiting for its own classified ad comeback? 00:19:43.759 --> 00:19:45.779 That is a brilliant question to end on and a 00:19:45.779 --> 00:19:48.259 perfect reminder that it is never too late. Thank 00:19:48.259 --> 00:19:50.160 you so much for joining us for this deep dive 00:19:50.160 --> 00:19:52.559 into the extraordinary, resilient life of King 00:19:52.559 --> 00:19:54.980 Ernest Baker. We highly encourage you to go track 00:19:54.980 --> 00:19:57.720 down his music today. Go listen to I Feel Alright 00:19:57.720 --> 00:20:00.660 or That's When I Woke Up to hear the king's power 00:20:00.660 --> 00:20:03.279 for yourself. Until next time, keep digging, 00:20:03.460 --> 00:20:05.680 keep exploring, and never count yourself out.