Remembering Chet Baker, born Chesney Henry Baker, Jr. on December 23, 1929, in Yale, Oklahoma – he died on May 13, 1988. Baker earned much attention and critical praise through the 1950s, particularly for albums featuring his vocals (Chet Baker Sings, It Could Happen to You). Jazz historian David Gelly described the promise of Baker's early career as "James Dean, Sinatra, and Bix, rolled into one." His "well-publicized drug habit" also drove his notoriety and fame; Baker was in and out of jail f