Etta Lucille Baker, professionally known as Etta Baker, was a famous American Piedmont blues guitarist and singer from North Carolina. He is best known as a master of the blues guitar style that became popular in southern Piedmont after the turn of the century. She was born on March 21, 1913, in Caldwell County, North Carolina, United States. Please keep reading to learn more about Etta Baker, as this blog post contains information about her wiki, age, net worth, bio, social media platforms, family, and more.
Etta Baker’s Net Worth
How much was Etta Baker worth at the time of her death? Etta Baker was a famous American Piedmont blues guitarist and singer from North Carolina. During her career, she secured a vast amount of money. At the time of his passing, Etta Baker was worth $8 million, with music as her primary source of wealth. Besides wealth, Etta also secured several accolades. 1989 the North Carolina Arts Council honored Baker with the North Carolina Folk Heritage Award. 1991 the National Endowment for the Arts granted Baker a National Heritage Fellowship. In 1987 and 1989, she was nominated for Blues Music Awards in the Traditional Blues Female Artist category, and in 2000, her album Railroad Bill was nominated in the Acoustic Album category. 1982 she received the Brown-Hudson Folklore Award from the North Carolina Folklore Society alongside her sister, Cora Phillips.
| Net Worth | $8 million |
| Source of Wealth | Music |
| Profession | Guitarist and Singer |
Early Life
Etta Lucille Baker was born to Boone Reid on March 31, 1913, in Caldwell County, North Carolina, United States, under the zodiac sign of Aries, of mixed descent, and of American nationality. She was brought up in the Christian faith. Her father, Boone Reid, was Etta’s sole, lifelong music teacher and mentor. Etta is one of the eight children born to her parents, but we currently don’t have any information about her mother or siblings. Etta began playing guitar at age three. Her family moved to Keysville, Virginia, in 1916. During the 1910s and 1920s, her father, Boone Reid, worked several odd jobs in other states, like factories and shipyards, while his family lived in Virginia. At age 14, she and her family worked on a tobacco farm in southern Virginia. Etta dropped out of school after the tenth grade.
Quick Wiki/Bio
| Full Name | Etta Lucille Baker |
| Nickname | Etta Baker |
| Gender | Female |
| Age (death age) | 93 years old |
| Date of Birth | March 31, 1913 |
| Place of Birth | Caldwell County, North Carolina, United States |
| Nationality | American |
| Zodiac Sign | Aries |
| Ethnicity | Mixed |
| High School | local high school |
| University | Unknown |
| Credentials | Unknown |
Career
At the age of three, Baker began playing the guitar. Her father, the accomplished Piedmont blues multi-instrumentalist Boone Reid, taught her how to perform. He was the only music teacher she ever had. She played the 6-string, 12-string, and 5-string acoustic guitars and the 5-string banjo. Baker was a Piedmont blues musician for nearly ninety years.
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In 1956, Baker and her father first met folk singer Paul Clayton while on Tour. Clayton was requested to listen to Baker’s daughter perform her signature “One Dime Blues” The following day, Clayton brought his tape recorder to the Baker residence and recorded several tracks.
Clayton played five solo guitar pieces by Baker for the 1956 album Instrumental Music of the Southern Appalachians, one of the earliest commercially published African American banjo music recordings. Baker was not compensated monetarily for these earliest recordings. Later in life, only after working with the Music Maker label was she able to reclaim the rights to this music.
Baker earned the North Carolina Arts Council’s North Carolina Folk Heritage Award in 1989, a National Endowment for the Arts National Heritage Fellowship in 1991, and the North Carolina Award in 2003. In 1987 and 1989, she was nominated for many Blues Music Awards in the Traditional Blues Female Artist category, and her CD Railroad Bill was nominated in the Acoustic CD category in 2000. 1982 she and her sister, Cora Phillips, earned the Brown-Hudson Folklore Award from the North Carolina Folklore Society.
Personal Life
Who was Etta Baker married to? Etta Baker exchanged marriage vows with Lee Baker, a piano player, in 1936 after six years of dating. They gave birth to nine children, of whom one was killed in the Vietnam War in 1967. Her husband also died the same year their son was killed. Due to her husband’s and son’s deaths, Etta stopped playing but later went back into action. In 2006, at the age of 93, Etta passed away on a visit to her daughter in Fairfax, Virginia, who was recovering from a stroke.
| Spouse | Lee Baker |
| Children | Eight |
| Parents | Boone Reid |
| Siblings | Unknown |
FAQs
Where was Etta Baker’s birthplace?
She was born in Caldwell County, North Carolina, in the United States.
Who was Etta Baker married to?
She was married to Lee Baker.
What was the net worth of Etta Baker before she passed away?
As of this writinEtta Baker’s net worth is $8 million.
How old was Etta Baker at the time of her passing?
Etta died at age 93.
What was the full name of Etta Baker?
Her full name was Etta Baker.
