BAKER, CLARENCE SAMARITAN (1938-2013)

Clarence Baker was born in Hyden, Kentucky, but moved to Ohio and became a guitarist and singer in a lot of bluegrass and country bands around Dayton while working a day job at General Motors. He and John Cox had a band called Southern Strings. He played with Roy Lee Centers at Tom’s Tavern and at the Cock and Bull. He also played with Gene Sweet and Mike Lilly. He worked with his wife Wanda in a band called Commonwealth in the 1990s and with the Bluegrass Legends in the early 2000s. He had a lot of feeling in his voice and a seemingly endless repertoire of old songs.