Music Friday: Anita Baker's Darlin' Is 'Like a Precious Jewel' in 1988's 'Priceless'

Welcome to Music Friday when we bring you fabulous songs with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the title or lyrics. Today, seven-time Grammy winner Anita Baker compares her darlin' to a precious jewel in the dreamy 1988 ballad, "Priceless."

Released as the first track from her blockbuster album, Giving You the Best That I Got, "Priceless" is Baker's tribute to a lover who not only lights up her life, but inspires her to soar to incredible heights.

She sings, "You are to me like a precious jewel, so valuable baby / Think it shines so bright lighting up my life, with pure delight / You are so priceless to me and loving you has made me see / With your love I can do most anything."

Later in the song, she compares their love to a diamond ring and all the gold in the world.

Giving You the Best That I Got was Baker's most successful album as it reached #1 on both the U.S. Billboard 200 chart and U.S. Billboard Top R&B Albums chart. The album netted more than five million sales worldwide and earned Baker three Grammy Awards and three Soul Train Music Awards.

Born Anita Denise Baker in Toledo, Ohio, the singer-songwriter was abandoned by her mother when she was two years old and raised by a foster family in Detroit, Mich. Her foster parents passed away when she was 12 at which time the responsibility for her care transferred to her foster sister.

By the age of 16, Baker was singing R&B at Detroit nightclubs, where bandleader David Washington recognized her talent. He encouraged her to audition for the band, Chapter 8, and she soon landed a job as the group's lead singer.

When Chapter 8 was dropped by Arista in 1979, Baker headed back to Detroit, where she worked as a receptionist and a waitress. Three years later, based on the encouragement of record executive Otis Smith, Baker embarked on a solo career. The rest is history.

In June 2018, Baker accepted BET's coveted Lifetime Achievement Award.

Baker, who turns 61 on January 26, continues to tour. She will be performing at New York City's Radio City Music Hall in mid-February.

Please check out the audio track of Baker singing "Priceless." The lyrics are below if you'd like to sing along...

"Priceless"
Written by Garry Glenn. Performed by Anita Baker.

When you ask me how I feel about you
I try to find the words that best describe you
You are to me like a precious jewel, so valuable baby
Think it shines so bright lighting up my life, with pure delight

You are so priceless to me and loving you has made me see
With your love I can do most anything
You are so priceless to me, you're like the first rainbow in spring
Your love comforts my heart with joy you bring

I envision you and me in love together
Getting closer, as we share each day together
Gimme all the gold in the world, it will not replace this love baby, yeah
Take a diamond ring, a worth a lot what we got cannot be bought or sold

You are so priceless to me and loving you has made me see
With your love I can do most anything
You are so priceless to me, you're like the first rainbow in spring
Your love comforts my heart with joy you bring

Never had a lover, babe
My baby, my baby, my darlin'

You are so priceless to me and loving you has made me see
With your love I can do most anything
You are so priceless to me, you're like the first rainbow in spring
Your love comforts my heart with joy you bring

You are so priceless to me and loving you has made me see
With your love I can do most anything
You are so priceless to me, you're like the first rainbow in spring
Your love comforts my heart with joy you bring

You are so priceless to me and loving you has made me see
With your love I can do most anything

Credit: Screen capture via YouTube.com.

Officer Earns Bowl of Meatballs, High Praise for Finding Crossing Guard's Engagement Diamond

An eagle-eyed New Jersey police officer earned a bowl of meatballs and high praise for finding a diamond that had popped out of a crossing guard's engagement ring at a Tenafly intersection. What made the find even more remarkable was that the diamond was mixed in with broken glass, gravel, ice and other reflective debris.

A day earlier, crossing guard Kathy Iannantuano had been overcome with grief when she noticed the diamond missing from her engagement ring while she was on duty at the corner of Riveredge Road and Jefferson Avenue last week. Iannantuano's late husband proposed with that ring 52 years ago and it has never left her finger.

"I can't even tell you the feeling that I had," Iannantuano told New York's ABC7. "I can't even talk about it now without getting emotional."

Iannantuano first searched the intersection, then her car, home, jacket and gloves. She and her son returned to her intersection later that evening, but they came up empty.

"Oh, I didn't sleep, let me tell you. It was awful," Iannantuano told ABC7. "It just was like the last part of my husband was gone. Because he's been dead three years and I never took that ring off, never."

Iannantuano proved her point by displaying a deep depression in the base of her ring finger, apparently caused by a ring that was a tad too small for the better part of a half century.

When Iannantuano returned to her job the next day, she was greeted by Officer Louis Smaragdakis, who cheerfully said "Good morning" and then he asked the crossing guard how she was.

"She put her head down and I knew something was wrong," he said.

"It was the wrong question to ask," said Iannantuano. "I started to cry."

She told the officer about the lost diamond and he was eager to help find it, but this would be no easy task.

"There was a motor vehicle accident last week. And there were some glass fragments and shards in the ground," he said. "There was also ice on the ground. Everywhere you looked there was some kind of reflection. So I said to myself, 'There is no way I'm going to find this.'"

Smaragdakis had been scouring the area for about 20 minutes when he decided to check Iannantuano's car one more time.

"I said to Kathy, 'Make sure you unlock the car.' As I stepped forward, for some reason I was looking down on the ground and the diamond was just resting right here," he said, pointing to an area near the curb.

"I swear I didn't believe him," she said. "I just could not believe it. I was hugging [him] and calling him an angel. I told him I'd make him a bowl of meatballs. I mean, I did everything."

"This is what we do," officer Smaragdakis told ABC7. "It's about helping others."

Credits: Ring photo via Facebook/Tenafly Police Department. Screen captures via abc7ny.com.

Tim Tebow to 2017's Miss Universe: 'This Ring Is Internally Flawless… Just Like You'

Sports star Tim Tebow popped the question to 2017 Miss Universe Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters with a 7.25-carat diamond solitaire ring at his family's farm in Jacksonville, Fla., this past Wednesday. He reportedly got down on one knee and declared, "This ring is internally flawless… just like you."

According to People magazine, the 31-year-old former NFL quarterback and current New York Mets farmhand toured the picturesque property with the 23-year-old former Miss South Africa, eventually leading her to a bench near the lake. Engraved on the bench was the date they first met.

After Nel-Peters said, "Yes," and Tebow placed the impressive ring on her finger, South African singer-songwriter Matthew Mole stepped out from behind a hay bale to serenade them with a live rendition of Nel-Peters' favorite tune, "The Wedding Song."

To make the surprise even more special, Tebow had arranged for Nel-Peters' family and several friends to be flown in from South Africa so they could participate in the celebration.

Ritani vice president Josh Marion told HollywoodLife.com that the ring features a classic ideal-cut round diamond in an elegant platinum setting. He placed the value of the ring at $600,000 to $700,000.

Tebow had invited Nel-Peters to the farm under the cover story that they were making a belated Christmas visit to his family and surprising his dad with a new truck. Tebow even borrowed a vehicle from a local dealership so the ruse would be more believable.

On Instagram, Nel-Peters shared romantic engagement photos and wrote, "Any dreams I’ve ever had, you’ve exceeded them all! I love you and I can’t wait to spend forever with you! @timtebow." She punctuated the post with emojis of a blue diamond ring and a red heart.

Tebow was equally sentimental, posting similar photos and writing on Instagram, "Thank you for saying YES and making me the happiest man in the world. You’re the love of my life, and I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you."

People reported that the couple started dating in the summer of 2018 and that no wedding date has been set.

Credits: Images via Instagram/kellybramanphotography; Instagram/demileighnp.