The Rapture Tour

The Rapture Tour was Anita Baker's first headlining tour in support of her second studio album "Rapture."

The tour began on March 16, 1987 and ended on December 1, 1987, visiting several cities throughout North America and Europe.

Tour Background
In 1987, Anita kicked off a North America second leg trek, which included seven dates in Los Angeles at the Beverly Theatre in January, including two and three-night dates in Merrillville, Indiana, New York City and Miami, Florida.

The outing included four sold-out shows scheduled in Washington D.C. and three consecutive dates for a second visit in Merrillville, Indiana.

Concert Synopsis
The tour consisted of a selection of songs from Anita's 1983 debut album, "The Songstress" and majority of the "Rapture" album.

For each performance, she would perform songs from both albums, and also include a song from another artist; for example, she performed "You've Changed" by Sarah Vaughan for one show, and Van Morrison's "Moondance" for another.

Anita performed several shows throughout the week in Los Angeles, with gospel/R&B group the Perri Sisters joining as background vocals and toured with her for the remainder of the tour.

Set List
Encore
 * 1) "Mystery"
 * 2) "Feel the Need" (performed only on select Europe and North America dates)
 * 3) "You Bring Me Joy"
 * 4) "Caught Up in the Rapture"
 * 5) "Angel"
 * 6) "Stop to Love" (performed only on select Europe and North America dates)
 * 7) "Same Ole Love (365 Days a Year)"
 * 8) "You're the Best Thing Yet"
 * 9) "You've Changed" (performed only on select Europe and North America dates)
 * 10) "Watch Your Step"
 * 11) "Will You Be Mine"
 * 12) "Sometimes" (performed on selected dates in Europe)
 * 13) "No One in the World"
 * 14) "No More Tears"
 * 1) "Sweet Love"
 * 2) "Been So Long"

Notes
 * During the tour in select cities, Anita opened up the show with "Caught Up in the Rapture" followed by "Mystery."
 * At the concert on July 16, in Montreux, Switzerland, Anita performed Van Morrison's song "Moondance."

Personnel

 * Music Director/Keyboards: Bobby Lyle
 * Guitar: Donald Griffin
 * Percussions: Garry Glenn
 * Saxophone: Gerald Albright
 * Bass: Nathan East
 * Drums: James Bradley, Jr
 * Background vocals: Tanya Boyd, Saundra Simmons & Natalie Jackson (1986 leg); Perri Sisters, Gina Taylor & Freida Williams (1987 leg)

Recordings
In 2004, a DVD\CD-live collection called "A Night Of Rapture: Live" was released by Rhino Records; it peaked at #35 on Billboard's Top R&B\Hip-Hop Albums chart.