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  
(Results 1-25 of 51 records)

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

URI: https://adpprod2.library.ucsb.edu/names/356715

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