Josephine Baker
Freda Josephine Baker (née McDonald; June 3, 1906 – April 12, 1975), naturalised as Joséphine Baker, was an American-born French dancer, singer and actress. Her career was centered primarily in Europe, mostly in her adopted France. She was the first black woman to star in a major motion picture, the 1927 silent film Siren of the Tropics, directed by Mario Nalpas and Henri Étiévant. During her early career, Baker was among the most celebrated performers to headline the revues of the Folies Bergère in Paris. Her performance in the revue Un vent de folie in 1927 caused a sensation in the city. Her costume, consisting of only a short skirt of artificial bananas and a beaded necklace, became an iconic image and a symbol both of the Jazz Age and the Roaring Twenties. Baker was celebrated by artists and intellectuals of the era, who variously dubbed her the "Black Venus", the "Black Pearl", the "Bronze Venus", and the "Creole Goddess". Born in St. Louis, Missouri, she renounced her U.S. citizenship and became a French national after her marriage to French industrialist Jean Lion in 1937. She raised her children in France. She aided the French Resistance during World War II. After the war, she was awarded the Resistance Medal by the French Committee of National Liberation, the Croix de Guerre by the French military, and was named a Chevalier of the Légion d'honneur by General Charles de Gaulle. Baker sang: "I have two loves, my country and Paris." Baker refused to perform for segregated audiences in the United States and is noted for her contributions to the civil rights movement. In 1968, she was offered unofficial leadership in the movement in the United States by Coretta Scott King, following Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination. After thinking it over, Baker declined the offer out of concern for the welfare of her children. On November 30, 2021, she was inducted into the Panthéon in Paris, the first black woman to receive one of the highest honors in France. As her resting place remains in Monaco Cemetery, a cenotaph was installed in vault 13 of the crypt in the Panthéon. |
Birth and Death Data: Born June 3, 1906 (St. Louis), Died April 12, 1975 (Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital)
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1930 - 1953
Roles Represented in DAHR: vocalist
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings (Results 1-25 of 51 records)
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Columbia (U.K.) | WL2508 | 10-in. | 10/22/1930 | La petite Tonkinoise | Josephine Baker ; Casino de Paris, Mélodic Jazz ; Edmond Mahieux | Female vocal solo, with orchestra | vocalist | |
Columbia (U.K.) | WL2509 | 10-in. | 10/22/1930 | Suppose! | Josephine Baker | Female vocal solo, with orchestra | vocalist | |
Columbia (U.K.) | WL2510 | 10-in. | 10/22/1930 | Pretty little baby | Josephine Baker | Female vocal solo, with orchestra | vocalist | |
Columbia (U.K.) | WL2511 | 10-in. | 10/22/1930 | J'ai deux amours | Josephine Baker ; Casino de Paris, Mélodic Jazz ; Adrien Lamy ; Edmond Mahieux | Vocal duet, with orchestra | vocalist | |
Columbia (U.K.) | WL2512 | 10-in. | 10/22/1930 | Voulez-vous de la canne a sucre? | Josephine Baker ; Casino de Paris, Mélodic Jazz ; Adrien Lamy ; Edmond Mahieux | Female-male vocal duet, with orchestra | vocalist | |
Columbia (U.K.) | WL2513 | 10-in. | 10/22/1930 | Dis-moi Josephine? | Josephine Baker | Female vocal solo, with orchestra | vocalist | |
Columbia (U.K.) | WL2791 | 10-in. | 2/21/1931 | Pardon si je t'importune | Josephine Baker ; Casino de Paris, Mélodic Jazz ; Edmond Mahieux | Female vocal solo, with orchestra | vocalist | |
Columbia (U.K.) | WL2792 | 10-in. | 2/21/1931 | Aux iles Hawaï | Josephine Baker ; Casino de Paris, Mélodic Jazz ; Edmond Mahieux | Female vocal solo, with orchestra | vocalist | |
Columbia (U.K.) | WL2793 | 10-in. | 2/21/1931 | Love is a dreamer | Josephine Baker ; Edmond Mahieux ; Melodic Jazz du Casino de Paris | Female vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble | vocalist | |
Columbia (U.K.) | WL2794 | 10-in. | 2/21/1931 | King for a day | Josephine Baker ; Edmond Mahieux ; Melodic Jazz du Casino de Paris | Female vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble | vocalist | |
Columbia (U.K.) | WL3238 | 10-in. | 6/30/1931 | You're driving me crazy! | Josephine Baker ; Casino de Paris, Mélodic Jazz ; Edmond Mahieux | Female vocal solo, with orchestra | vocalist | |
Columbia (U.K.) | WL3239 | 10-in. | 6/30/1931 | You're the one I care for | Josephine Baker ; Casino de Paris, Mélodic Jazz ; Edmond Mahieux | Female vocal solo, with orchestra | vocalist | |
Columbia (U.K.) | WL3285 | 10-in. | 7/10/1931 | Madiana | Josephine Baker ; Casino de Paris, Mélodic Jazz ; Edmond Mahieux | Female vocal solo, with orchestra | vocalist | |
Columbia (U.K.) | WL3286 | 10-in. | 7/10/1931 | Mon reve c'etait vous! | Josephine Baker ; Casino de Paris, Mélodic Jazz ; Edmond Mahieux | Female vocal solo, with orchestra | vocalist | |
Columbia (U.K.) | WL4081 | 10-in. | 12/16/1932 | Si j'étais blanche | Josephine Baker | Female vocal solo, with orchestra | vocalist | |
Columbia (U.K.) | WL4083 | 10-in. | 12/16/1932 | Les mots d'amour | Josephine Baker | Female vocal solo, with orchestra | vocalist | |
Columbia (U.K.) | WL4084 | 10-in. | 12/17/1932 | Le ram-pam-pam | Josephine Baker ; Pills et Tabet | Vocal trio with orchestra | vocalist | |
Columbia (U.K.) | CL4218 | 10-in. | 3/8/1933 | Sans amour | Josephine Baker | Female vocal solo, with orchestra | vocalist | |
Columbia (U.K.) | CL4219 | 10-in. | 3/8/1933 | Si j'étais Blanche | Josephine Baker | Female vocal solo, with orchestra | vocalist | |
Columbia (U.K.) | CL4264 | 10-in. | 4/4/1933 | Madiana | Josephine Baker | Female vocal solo, with orchestra | vocalist | |
Columbia (U.K.) | CL4265 | 10-in. | 4/4/1933 | Les mots d'amour | Josephine Baker | Female vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble | vocalist | |
Columbia (U.K.) | CL5099 | 10-in. | 11/16/1934 | C'est lui! | Josephine Baker ; Jazz du Poste Parisien ; Alain Romans | Female vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | vocalist | |
Columbia (U.K.) | CL5100 | 10-in. | 11/16/1934 | Haiti | Josephine Baker ; Jazz du Poste Parisien ; Alain Romans | Female vocal solo, with jazz/dance band | vocalist | |
Columbia (U.K.) | CL5462 | 10-in. | 9/29/1935 | Sous le ciel d'Afrique | Josephine Baker ; Comedian Harmonists | Female vocal solo, with male vocal ensemble and piano | vocalist | |
Columbia (U.K.) | CL5463 | 10-in. | between 9/26/1935 and 12/2/1935 | Espabilate | Josephine Baker | Female vocal solo, with orchestra, piano, and male vocal ensemble | vocalist |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Baker, Josephine," accessed November 4, 2024, https://adpprod2.library.ucsb.edu/names/356715.
Baker, Josephine. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved November 4, 2024, from https://adpprod2.library.ucsb.edu/names/356715.
"Baker, Josephine." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 4 November 2024.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
External Sources
Wikipedia: Joséphine Baker
Discogs: Josephine Baker
Allmusic: Josephine Baker
Grove: Josephine Baker
IMDb: Josephine Baker
Britannica: Josephine Baker
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Baker, Josephine, 1906-1975 - http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n50020892
Wikidata: Joséphine Baker - http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q151972
VIAF: http://viaf.org/viaf/41836198
MusicBrainz: Joséphine Baker - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/549dc0da-d165-4bff-839e-dca65cf51c0c
Wikipedia content provided under the terms of the Creative Commons BY-SA license
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