For Valerie Bailey, the letdown came from a self-important, so called “mover and shaker” she met when she was a student at the University of Delaware who heard her sing, told her he was working with a big artist and said that he could help launch her career – if she moved out to L.A. Though Valerie was a Consumer Economics major who could envision herself someday hosting a show (proposed name: “Valerie’s Corner”) about guiding people to make good investment decisions, her passion for music, budding talent as a singer and ambition to pursue a career in the industry was undeniable.
An Air Force brat who embraced her family’s multiple moves – everywhere from Washington State to Wichita Falls, TX and Newmarket, England – and the new social opportunities that came her way, she had fond memories of being in fifth and sixth grade, walking around with a Sony Walkman and singing The Emotions’ “Best of My Love” with a friend and fellow aspiring singer. And others of her dad, a staunch military man, waking her and her siblings by blasting marching music in the house – along with hipper jazz and R&B sounds coming out of the stereo from Harry Belafonte, Isaac Hayes, Earth, Wind & Fire, Sarah Vaughan, Billie Holiday and Stevie Wonder. Valerie’s mom would go around singing kid songs like “My Boy Scout Hat” (“Christopher Colombo! What do you think of that?”) and trot her out to sing for lady friends at her Tupperware parties. She had been in school choirs since fourth grade, and when the Davises first moved to Delaware, she went to church with their neighbors and joined the choir there.
With all that musical history, when that guy promised her the moon if she moved to California, she took the bait, even transferring from the Fotomat she worked at in Delaware to one in L.A. She was flush with her parents’ encouraging advice: “You can do anything you put your mind to if you stick to it.” Yet as these tales of woe and triumph often go, once she moved, he changed his tune. On the plus side, he gave her a pass for a Grammys rehearsal, where she met Marie Osmond, who hugged her and gave her a pass into the main show. There, she found herself a few stones’ throw from Michael Jackson in his Thriller heyday. Spotting Andre Crouch, she felt prompted to go up to him, tell him her tale of transcontinental woe, and ask him to pray for her, which he kindly did.
Those prayers from the gospel legend were no doubt heard in the heavenly realms, because before leaving that night, Valerie met theatre, TV and film producer, director and choreographer Otis Sallid, who offered her a job as his assistant. Not long after, her friend, a singer named Bobby Caveness Bezio, hired her to do background vocals for a project. Then, while the ultimate dream of becoming a recording artist was always top of mind, the floodgates opened and Valerie quickly became the first call backup singer for superstar sessions and tours. Over the next 15 years, she enjoyed a non-stop swirl of lucrative work.
When her friend, actor Shaun Earl, introduced her to Karyn White, the popular R&B songstress first asked Valerie to run her fan club – but when she heard her sing, she immediately tapped Valerie to go on the road as part of the famed 1989 Budweiser Superfest tour, which included LL Cool J, Bobby Brown, Guy, Levert, Patti Labelle and MC Hammer, among others. Next came a jaunt with the infamous duo Milli Vanilli; Valerie clarifies that the lead vocals were recorded by others for the guys to lip synch to, while she provided backgrounds. The demand for Valerie’s services evolved quickly, and she subsequently vocalized for Babyface, Gladys Knight, BeBe and CeCe Winans (a German tour), Toni Braxton (a tour and background vocals on the single “I Belong To You”), Steve Tyrell, Jeffrey Osborne, Luther Vandross and on the European leg of Whitney Houston’s Bodyguard tour. At one point, she was even asked to sing for a project featuring bossa nova renditions of ABBA songs!
“I have a friend who did backing vocals for the same artist for 15 years, but I’m happy my journey was different and filled with so much variety and fascinating artists and experiences,” says Valerie. “As opposed to working with one particular artist for an extended time, I had the benefit of all those people’s knowledge, their unique tones and sounds and attitudes. As my life continues, my definition of what greatness is has changed. Some may think I set aside my dreams of solo stardom to be the girl in the background, but the truth is my place during that time was to be a backup singer. I can say I laughed with Whitney Houston and Dionne Warwick and hung out with musical kings and queens.”
While perhaps less in the glamorous limelight, Valerie’s creative and personal journey since her background vocalist heyday has been diverse and fascinating in its own right. Professionally, she shifted gears and became equally in demand as the entertainment at high end weddings, being flown in for celebrations in many exotic locations in addition to Beverly Hills and Palm Springs. In addition, Valerie co-wrote the theme song for Just Like You, a production company that makes short films about youth that are dealing with issues ranging from autism to mental health.
After several years of being a wedding singer, Valerie became a member of the legendary vocal group The Fifth Dimension, taking the spot of the famed Marilyn McCoo and going on a handful tours headlining casinos across the U.S. “It was an honor and such a pleasure to sing all those wonderfully written Jimmy Webb classics, and great to perform so many iconic songs that were truly fire,” she says. “We can learn so much by going back in time like that, and it was wonderful to feel connected to their original era and be a contemporary part of their legacy.”
Valerie also found personal fulfillment in her family life, marrying legendary Earth, Wind & Fire singer/songwriter Philip Bailey and helping raise his sons Jaleel and Jalen from the time they were three and five years old (they’re now 17 and 19). She met Philip through songwriter/producer Oji Pierce, whom she was writing with. “I was coming into the studio with Oji one day as Philip was leaving,” Valerie recalls. “Oji said, ‘Philip if you ever need a great backing vocalist to do the job right, this is the right person. A year later, he called and told me that he was going to Japan for a USO tour an asked me to join him. He was married at the time and we were friends for a long time before circumstances changed. I still do background vocals at private Earth, Wind & Fire gigs from time to time.”
“All the singing, touring and recording I did, each step was great for me,” she adds. “I wasn’t missing out on anything. I always felt, like the Bible says, all things work together for good for those called according to God’s purpose.”
Valerie feels the exact same way about her long-awaited debut album, tentatively (and ironically) titled Greatest Hits, featuring eight originals co-written with the recording’s producer, industry veteran Barry Coffing, and fully-lit, funky and hard rockin’ re-imaginings of Jimi Hendrix’s “Fire” and The Who’s “Won’t Get Fooled Again.” Working with a studio crew that included legendary session and touring musicians Lee Sklar (bass) and Michael Landau (guitar), she offers an infectious blend of raw emotion and inviting sensuality she calls soul/rock. It’s not so much “soul” in the typical sense of R&B, but because she is truly singing from a deep place within. While the album includes personal songs that could be considered autobiographical, most of them have themes that can be related to on a universal level.
The power ballad “I Found Me” is a standout track for several reasons. Inspired by a statement said by Lance Armstrong’s ex-wife during an interview with Oprah Winfrey – that she found herself when she lost her husband – the song is the only one on Valerie’s album featuring a 16-piece string orchestra; it was recorded at Capitol Records with one of the mics Nat “King” Cole used decades ago. As an extension of her thriving, influential work as an individual and group life coach, Valerie – taking the heart the theme of the song - has founded an organization called I Found Me (www.ifoundme.org) to help people from all socioeconomic backgrounds realize their dreams, large and small.
Collaborating with Creative Justice Los Angeles, she pursues this deeper calling in a hands-on fashion, using a specially designed I Found Me bus to get out and meet people in need, help them achieve their goals and/or engage in conversations that simply help them escape the trauma of their day. Whether she talks to them about heavy issues or their favorite TV shows, Valerie appreciates the opportunity to make a difference in people’s lives.
“I think this goes back to my mother,” she says. “She was a nurse’s aid and caregiver and spent much of her life helping people. My parents, James Davis Sr. and Mable, taught me so many wonderful life lessons and our lives as Air Force brats served me well, colored my life like a rainbow and helped me learn what was most important. My parents allowed me to step into my dream, and I am indebted as well to my eldest brother James Davis, Jr., my sister Frantina and younger brother Anthony.
“Philip and I like to say we’re in the ‘back nine’ of our lives but can still accomplish a lot,” she adds “For me, this has been the time I realized the root of what I really wanted to do. As LL once said, your dreams never expire. I enjoyed traditional life coaching, but this is a better fit, driving a bus down to where people truly need me.”
As she’s evolved from her early days as a musical dreamer to the “back nine” where she’s achieved so many goals and is now coming into her prime as an emerging artist, singer and songwriter, Valerie finds it fascinating to reflect on all the “callback” connections between past and present. She listened to classic Earth, Wind & Fire albums growing up and is now married to one of the band’s most enduring and influential members. She asked Andre Crouch to pray at the Grammys and decades later has a painting he created in her laundry room. And Otis Sallid, who gave Valerie her first industry job in Los Angeles, recently connected her to Broadway Dreams, a non-profit where talented people who aspire to perform on Broadway are taught singing, dancing and acting by seasoned professionals in an intensive six-day workshop. Valerie appeared in a production of “Hair” back in the day and also has her sights to be back on stage.
“I’m filled with gratitude for all of the blessings of my life,” Valerie says. “I remember one time when I was in the kitchen making a sandwich for my stepson Jaleel. It hit me that the boys should start making them for themselves, so I told Jaleel that it was time. He resisted at first, but then really appreciated the fact that I pushed him to be more self-sufficient. He gave me a sticker that said, ‘Thanks for teaching me the lesson of making my own lunch.’ For me, those kinds of moments are as significant and exciting as when I was on tour, singing behind Whitney in front of thousands of people and hanging backstage with her, or eating at fine dining restaurants around the world. At this stage, I can say I’ve lived through all of it – but the best part is, starting with the new album, there’s so much more of my story left to write!”