b. Helen LaRue Lowe, 8th January 1953, Tulsa, Oklahoma, U.S.A.
Born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Helen moved to Los Angeles during her childhood and aged thirteen recorded her debut single 'The Richest Girl'.
Raised in the Compton area of Los Angeles, Helen Baylor began her music career as a child performing on the nightclub circuit.
She left Los Angeles at the age of 17, after having a baby one year earlier in 1969, and In New York she performed as an opening act for Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder and B.B.King as Little Helen while also landing a role in the Broadway musical 'Hair' prior to a stint with the group Side Effect.
Here (as Helen Lowe) she sang lead on the group's album 'What You Need' (1976), her voice being particularly prominent on the group's version of 'Always There'.
She also co-wrote 'S.O.S.' for the album.
For ten years she performed in musicals and was a guest vocalist for groups such as Captain & Tenille, Heatwave, Les McCann and Chaka Khan (occasionally appearing as Helen Lowe).
Her roots were in the church, and in 1982 she rededicated her life to religion after suffering under the pressures of the music business and becoming a cocaine addict.
After much soul searching and a determination to remain clean and sober Helen Baylor joined the Crenshaw Christian Center.
After extensive classes and sessions on the Bible, Helen Baylor decided once again to start her singing career.
She began performing solo spreading the message of God.
Her songs are written based on her personal experiences from her hardships to finding God.
At the age of 35 she recorded her first gospel album, 'Highly Recommended' on Word Records including 'There's No Greater Love' (released back to back on a single in the U K by Expansion Records, 1990, in the U.K.).
'Look A Little Closer' followed in 1991, an album that contained the popular track 'Oasis'.
By 2002, and five albums later, Helen released 'My Everything', an album that caused a stir amongst soul fans due to the excellent tune 'Harambee' (a word that means 'let's us all pull together').
Currently Helen and her manager / husband (a marriage that has seen many highs and lows, with the pair 6 days away from signing divorce papers at one point) James Baylor travel the States, spreading the word.
Albums:
Highly Recommended (Word 1990)
Look a Little Closer (Word 1991)
Start All Over (Word 1993)
Live Experience (Word 1995)
Love Brought Me Back (Sony 1996)
Live (Verity 1999)
My Everything (Diadem 2002)
