"Ma Baker" is the title of a song by German
euro disco band Boney M. It was the first single of their second album Love
for Sale and their third consecutive chart-topper in Germany and their best
yet placing in the UK, peaking at #2 (only surpassed by Donna Summer's "I
Feel Love") although only a minor single in the US (#96). Frank Farian's
assistant Hans-Jörg Mayer (aka Reyam) had discovered a popular Tunisian
folkloric song, "Sidi Mansour" while on holiday, and rewrote the song
into a disco track. The lyrics by Fred Jay were inspired by the story of
legendary 1930s outlaw Ma Barker, although the name was changed into "Ma
Baker" because "it sounded better".With a structure similar to
Boney M.'s breakthrough single "Daddy Cool" with the same gimmick
percussion, alternating answer-back vocals, a spoken mid-part, the song also
opened with a snarling "Freeze, I'm Ma Baker, put your hands in the air!
Gimme all your money".Although it has never been officially credited, the
voice was done by Linda Blake, the wife of Frank Farian's American friend Bill
Swisher who was a soldier in Germany at the time. Bill Swisher also performed
the spoken mid-part, announcing a bulletin from the FBI. He was also used on
several later Boney M. recordings, including "Rasputin" and "El
Lute". Frank Farian re-recorded the song with Milli Vanilli in 1988. A
sample of "Ma Baker", particularly the chorus, is prominent in the
2008 RedOne-produced electropop international chart-topper "Poker Face",
by the American pop singer Lady Gaga. In Germany, Benelux, England and
Yugoslavia, the single came out backed with a cover of The Yardbirds'
"Still I'm Sad" which even charted on its own in Sweden (#17).Listen song here:YouTube
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