History

Baby was a southern rock

Southern rock

Southern rock is a subgenre of rock music, and genre of Americana. It developed in the Southern United States from rock and roll, country music, and blues, and is focused generally on electric guitar and vocals...

 band from Texas

Texas

Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

. The band was signed to Lone Starr Records in the mid 1970s. They got the attention of the executives at Mercury Records

Mercury Records

Mercury Records is a record label operating as a standalone company in the UK and as part of the Island Def Jam Motown Music Group in the US; both are subsidiaries of Universal Music Group. There is also a Mercury Records in Australia, which is a local artist and repertoire division of Universal...

 based on their regional album sales in Texas. The album was remixed and re-released in mid 1975 on Mercury. Baby had a legion of fans in the Midwest and South in 1975-76 and headlined venues like the famed Surf Ballroom

Surf Ballroom

The Surf Ballroom is a Historic Rock and Roll Landmark at 460 North Shore Drive, Clear Lake, Iowa. The Surf is closely associated with The Day the Music Died - early rock and roll stars Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J. P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson gave their last performances at the Surf on...

 in Clear Lake, Iowa

Clear Lake, Iowa

Clear Lake is a city in Cerro Gordo County, Iowa, United States. The population was 8,161 at the 2000 census. The city is named for the large lake on which it is located. It is the home of a number of marinas, state parks and tourism-related businesses. Clear Lake is also a major stop on Interstate...

 while generating regional radio airplay on the band's first single, "(It's Another) Saturday Night".

The band made just two albums; the self-titled album and the follow-up album called Where Did All The Money Go? released on Chelsea Records in 1976. The second album's title, Where Did All The Money Go?, summed up the feelings for the band that seemed poised for success similar to what other southern rock artists like Lynyrd Skynyrd

Lynyrd Skynyrd

Lynyrd Skynyrd is an American rock band prominent in spreading Southern Rock during the 1970s.Originally formed as the "Noble Five" in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1964, the band rose to worldwide recognition on the basis of its driving live performances and signature tune, Freebird...

 and the Marshall Tucker Band

Marshall Tucker Band

The Marshall Tucker Band is an American Southern rock band originally from Spartanburg, South Carolina. The band's blend of rock, rhythm and blues, jazz, country, and gospel helped establish the Southern rock genre in the early 1970s...

 were having in the mid-70s, but the success never came for them.

After low sales of Where Did All The Money Go? and a lawsuit with John Waite

John Waite

John Charles Waite is an English rock singer and musician. He was lead vocalist for The Babys and Bad English. As a solo artist, he scored several international hits, including 1984's "Missing You", a top ten hit on the US Billboard Hot 100 and the UK Singles Chart, reaching #1 in the...

 and The Babys

The Babys

The Babys were a British rock/pop group best known for their songs "Isn't It Time," and "Every Time I Think of You." Both songs were composed by Jack Conrad and Ray Kennedy, and reached #13 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart in the late 1970s...

 over the rights of the name "Baby(s)", the band quit.
Guitarist

Guitarist

A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...

, songwriter

Songwriter

A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...

 and vocalist Johnny Lee Schell

Johnny Lee Schell

Johnny Lee Schell is an American guitarist and songwriter. In the 1970s, he premiered as a prominent member of a Texas-based southern rock band, Baby. Since his professional debut, he has played with dozens of well known recording artists...

 went on to play on the Grammy winning album Nick Of Time

Nick of Time (album)

Or the American 1995 thriller film by the same name, Nick of TimeNick of Time is the tenth blues rock album by Bonnie Raitt, released on March 21, 1989....

from Bonnie Raitt

Bonnie Raitt

Bonnie Lynn Raitt is an American blues singer-songwriter and a renowned slide guitar player. During the 1970s, Raitt released a series of acclaimed roots-influenced albums which incorporated elements of blues, rock, folk and country, but she is perhaps best known for her more commercially...

 in 1989. He has played with some of the world's biggest names and continues to produce, write and contribute to many blues-based artists as well as his own solo projects. Recently, Schell's guitar work was with Barbara Blue and her latest blues

Blues

Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...

 album, Memphis 3rd And Beale.

Late in 2008, bassist/vocalist Stephen Crane and keyboardist Charlie Rouzer, a member of Baby in the early 70's, reunited to form Texas Blues Runners, a four-piece blues band based in Austin Texas.

Band members

Johnny Lee Schell

Johnny Lee Schell

Johnny Lee Schell is an American guitarist and songwriter. In the 1970s, he premiered as a prominent member of a Texas-based southern rock band, Baby. Since his professional debut, he has played with dozens of well known recording artists...

: Lead Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, Organ, Harmonica & Vocals

John Mark Camp: Rhythm Guitars, Acoustic Guitars & Vocals

Stephen G. Crane: Bass Guitar and Vocals

Woodie Putman: Drums and Percussion

Albums

1975: Baby (Lone Starr Records, Mercury Records)

1976: Where Did All The Money Go? (Chelsea Records)

To see a review of Baby's debut album, go to amazon.com and type Baby LP