Saved

With this exclusive release we not only welcome one of the greatest female R&B singers of all time to our Collectors' Choice Music roster, but also what is quite possibly her greatest album. LaVern Baker was one of the two songstresses (Ruth Brown was the other) who helped make Atlantic Records the powerhouse label it became during the '50s, and the early-'60s release Saved collects a number of classic singles and their flipsides whose diversity and unflagging quality are testament to the incredible talent that she possessed. Start with the title track-written by Leiber and Stoller, Saved is perhaps the most unapologetically gospel-sounding track ever to hit the Top 40, and indeed Elvis, who was a big Baker fan, reprised LaVern's potent arrangement on his Comeback Special. And it's flipside, Don Juan, is another Leiber-Stoller classic, albeit one much more earthy as the title suggests! Then come 16 more classic Atlantic sides, all of 'em up to the lofty standard of the title cut: For Love of You; Manana; My Time Will Come; Shadows of Love; Must I Cry Again; Bumble Bee; Shake a Hand; Wheel of Fortune; Senor Big and Fine; Eternally; No Love So True; Hey Memphis; Loads of Love; You Don't Tell Me; Eager Beaver, and Itty Bitty Girl. Out June 15!