Jo Baker (September 6, 1948 – November 11, 1996)[1][2] was an American vocalist and songwriter, known primarily for her work with Elvin Bishop and Stoneground.

Her paternal grandfather, General Baker, a descendant of slaves,[5] was the founding Deacon of Lincoln Congregational Church,[6] established in 1897.

[3] She moved to San Francisco in 1968, living with one of her sisters,[9] and joined Elvin Bishop in his new band, which he formed in January 1969.

[14] During 1970 and 1971, Baker was joined on vocals by the Pointer Sisters, prior to their professional debut as a separate act, which occurred as a result of their association with Bishop.

[15][16] Boz Scaggs, subsequent to his departure from the Steve Miller Band, heard Baker In San Francisco, performing "Loan Me A Dime", with Elvin Bishop.

When recording his second album in Muscle Shoals in 1969, Scaggs telephoned Baker in San Francisco and received some of the lyrics, to which he added his own.

For Bishop's second release on Capricorn Records, Juke Joint Jump, Baker had a similarly diminished role, sharing vocals with June Pointer and again with Mickey Thomas.

In 1970, she contributed vocals to the eponymously-titled solo album release by Stephen Miller, keyboard player in the Elvin Bishop Band.

Jo Baker singing "Love Hurts", by Felice and Boudleaux Bryant, is considered to be a standout performance from the sessions.

[35] Baker later contributed vocals to Peace by Piece, the first album by a reconstituted version of Quicksilver Messenger Service, released in 1986.

Subsequent to leaving Stoneground in the early 1980s Baker performed locally, in San Francisco, for approximately a decade.

[1] In 1999, Elvin Bishop was ranked by the San Francisco Chronicle as Number 65[38] in a list of the "100 All-Time Best Bands" of the Bay Area, with its definitive song being identified as "Rock Bottom", and Jo Baker being described as an "incendiary soul belter".