Duck Baker grew up in Richmond, Virginia. As a teenager he played in rock and blues bands before becoming interested in acoustic blues. In the early seventies he moved to San Francisco, and was performing a wide range of material which can be heard on his first record on the Kicking Mule label, "There's Something for Everyone In America". In addition to developing his solo style, he immersed himself in the local swing jazz scene. In the late seventies Duck Baker released four more records for Kicking Mule