Born in St. Louis, Missouri, the daughter of Carrie McDonald. Her father is identified as vaudeville drummer Eddie Carson by the official biography of her estate. She was of mixed ethnic background: Native American/African American. She descended from Apalachee Indians and Black slaves in South Carolina. She started her career as a busker, dancing in the street as a child. She entered vaudeville joining the St. Louis Chorus at 15. She then headed toward New York City during the Harlem Renaissance, performing at the Plantation Club and in the chorus of the popular Broadway revues Shuffle Along (1921) and The Chocolate Dandies (1924). She performed as the last dancer in a chorus line, a position in which the dancer traditionally performed in a comic manner, as if they were unable to remember the dance, until the encore, at which point they would not only perform it correctly, but with additional complexity. Although she was later to claim that she went unnoticed in America, she was billed as "the highest-paid chorus girl in vaudeville."
On 2nd October 1925, she opened in Paris at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, where she became an instant success for her erotic dancing and for appearing practically nude on stage. After a successful tour of Europe, she reneged on her contract and returned to France to star at the Folies Bergère, setting the standard for her future acts. She performed wearing only high heels and a skirt made of bananas; she was often accompanied by her pet leopard, Chiquita, who was adorned with a diamond collar. The leopard frequently escaped into the orchestra pit, where it terrorized the musicians, adding yet another element of excitement to the show.
After a short while she was the most successful American entertainer working in France—whereas in the U.S., she would have suffered from the racial prejudices common to the era. Ernest Hemingway called her "the most sensational woman anyone ever saw." In addition to being a musical star, Baker also starred in several successful films, among them Zouzou (1934) and Princesse Tamtam (1935).
Upon marrying her manager Giuseppe Pepito Abatino - a Sicilian stonemason who passed himself off successfully as a Sicilian count - Baker transformed her stage and public persona into a sophisticated cultural figure. (The marriage was reportedly a publicity stunt and not legally binding.)
At this time she also scored her greatest song hit "J'ai deux amours" (1931) and became a muse for contemporary authors, painters, and sculptors including Langston Hughes, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Pablo Picasso.
She was so well-known and popular that even the Nazis, who occupied France during World War II were hesitant to cause her harm. In turn, this allowed Baker to show her loyalty to her adopted country by participating in the Underground. After the war, Baker was awarded the Croix de Guerre for her underground activity.
Yet despite her popularity in France, she was never really able to obtain the same reputation at home. Upon a visit to the United States in 1936, she starred in a failed version of the Ziegfeld Follies (being replaced by Gypsy Rose Lee later in the run); her personal life similarly suffered, and she went through six marriages, some legal, some not. During this time, when Baker returned to the United States, she was allegedly at a dinner party and began to speak in French as well as English with a French accent. An African-American maid was reputed to tell her: "Honey, you is full of shit. Speak the way yo' mouth was born". She had the woman fired.
In 1973, Joséphine Baker opened at Carnegie Hall to a standing ovation. She wept openly onstage in response to the warm welcome.
Civil rights involvement
Though based in France, she supported the American Civil Rights Movement during the 1950s, and protested racism in her own unique way, adopting twelve multi-ethnic orphans, whom she called her "Rainbow Tribe." She also integrated several places in the United States and worked with the NAACP. For some time she lived with all of her children and an enormous staff in a castle (Les Milandes in the Dordogne) in France. (Baker had only one child of her own, stillborn in 1941, an incident that precipitated an emergency hysterectomy.)
On tours of the United States, she refused to perform in segregated nightclubs, and her insistence on mixed audiences helped to integrate shows in Las Vegas, Nevada. Nevertheless, her career was on a downturn and she was near bankruptcy until she was bailed out and given an apartment by her close friend, Princess Grace of Monaco, another expatriate American living in Europe.
During her life, she was also a great figure of the French freemasonry, fighting for freedom, civil rights, equality and against racism in France and other countries.
Death
On April 8, 1975, her fortunes seemed to be turning to the better when she was the star of a retrospective show at Club Bobino in Paris, Joséphine, celebrating her fifty years in the theater. The show opened to rave reviews. She died of a cerebral hemorrhage less than a week later at the age of 68 and was cremated. She was found lying peacefully in her bed surrounded by newspapers with glowing reviews of her performance.
She became the first American-born woman to receive French military honors at her funeral, which was held at L'Église de la Madeleine. Paris came to a standstill on the day of her funeral and 20,000 filled the streets to watch her procession. She was interred at the Cimetière de Monaco. "Place Joséphine Baker" in the Montparnasse Quarter of Paris was named in her honor. She has also been inducted into the St. Louis Walk of Fame.
Marriages and relationships
Joséphine Baker went through six marriages:
* Foundry worker Willie Wells (1919, divorced)
* Pullman porter William Howard Baker (1921, divorced)
* Giuseppe Pepito Abatino (1926, publicity stunt, not legally binding)
* French sugar magnate Jean Lion (1937-1940, divorced)
* French orchestra leader Jo Bouillon (1947, separated 1957, eventually divorced)
* American artist Robert Brady (1928-1986, married 1973, also not legally binding, separated 1974).
There is also some speculation that Joséphine Baker was bisexual. Most notably Josephine was linked with Mexican cultural surrealist Frida Kahlo, who was married to Communist revolutionary artist Diego Rivera. Some believe that one of the lesbian lovers depicted in the film Frida, a simple yet provocative shot of a beautiful black lounge songstress in France, is a portrayal of Baker.
Baker wrote several autobiographies, each containing a different story about her family and career.
Bye Bye Blackbird
Joséphine Baker Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Blackbird, blackbird gotta be on your way
Where there's sunshine galore
All through the winter you just hang around
Now your going back home
Blackbird, blackbird gotta be on your way
Where there's sunshine galore
Pack up all my cares and woes,
Here i go, singing low,
Bye, bye, blackbird.
Where somebody waits for me,
Sugar is sweet, so is she,
Bye, bye, blackbird.
No one here can love and understand me,
Oh, what hard luck stories they all hand me.
Make my bed and light the light,
I'll arrive late tonight,
Blackbird, bye, bye.
Pack up all my cares and woes,
Here i go, singing low,
Bye, bye, blackbird.
Where somebody waits for me,
Sugar is sweet, so is she,
Bye, bye, bye, bye, blackbird.
I said, no one here can love and understand me,
Oh, what hard luck stories they all hand me.
So, make my bed and light the light,
I'll arrive late tonight,
Blackbird, bye, bye.
Make my bed and light the light,
I'll arrive late tonight,
Blackbird,
I said blackbird,
I said blackbird,
Oh, blackbird, bye, bye.
The lyrics to Josephine Baker's song "Bye Bye Blackbird" describe a blackbird that sings the blues all day right outside the singer's door. The singer urges the bird to leave and find "sunshine galore" elsewhere, as it has hung around all winter. The chorus then sees the singer packing up their cares and woes, ready to leave with the blackbird. They sing a low, melancholic tune as they bid farewell to the blackbird and prepare to journey to where somebody waits for them, someone who loves and understands them in a way that the people around them do not.
The song can be interpreted as a metaphor for leaving behind troubles and sadness and finding a place where one can be understood and loved. The blackbird represents the difficulties and negativity that can plague a person's life, and the singer's departure with the bird symbolizes their desire for escape and renewal. Overall, the lyrics of "Bye Bye Blackbird" convey a sense of longing for a place where one can find happiness and acceptance, and the bittersweet nature of leaving behind the past in search of a brighter future.
Line by Line Meaning
Blackbird, blackbird singing the blues all day right outside my door
The blackbird is singing sad songs just outside my door all day long.
Blackbird, blackbird gotta be on your way
Where there's sunshine galore
You must leave now and find a place where you can bask in the sunlight.
All through the winter you just hang around
Now your going back home
Blackbird, blackbird gotta be on your way
Where there's sunshine galore
You have been here all winter, but now it is time to go home and find a place where you can enjoy the sunshine.
Pack up all my cares and woes,
Here i go, singing low,
Bye, bye, blackbird.
I am packing up all my worries and heading out, singing a sad song as I say goodbye to the blackbird.
Where somebody waits for me,
Sugar is sweet, so is she,
Bye, bye, blackbird.
I have someone waiting for me, and she is as sweet as sugar. Goodbye, blackbird.
No one here can love and understand me,
Oh, what hard luck stories they all hand me.
Nobody here can love and comprehend me, and all they offer are tales of woe.
Make my bed and light the light,
I'll arrive late tonight,
Blackbird, bye, bye.
Prepare my bed and leave the light on, as I will be arriving late tonight. Goodbye, blackbird.
Bye, bye, bye, bye, blackbird.
Goodbye, farewell, my blackbird friend.
I said, no one here can love and understand me,
Oh, what hard luck stories they all hand me.
As previously stated, nobody here gets me, and all they do is commiserate about their bad luck.
So, make my bed and light the light,
I'll arrive late tonight,
Blackbird, bye, bye.
Please make my bed and leave the light on; I will be arriving late tonight. Goodbye, blackbird.
I said blackbird,
I said blackbird,
Oh, blackbird, bye, bye.
Blackbird, my friend, I bid you farewell.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Mort Dixon, Ray Henderson
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@casparpolitman
Artist Instrument
Josephine Baker Vocals
Henri Durand Bass
Sacha Grauman Drums
Lèon Jacobs Trumpet
? Napolitano Clarinet, Alto Saxophone, Violin
Marcel Raskin Piano
Oscar Thisse Alto Saxophone, Violin
Renè Lovinfosse Trombone
@catlover34fl
The 1920s and early 1930s, what an era! What wonderful music, orchestras, unique style of clothing for women, soft feminine hairstyles, beautiful faces, gorgeous PACKARD, PIERCE-ARROW, STUTZ roadsters, dance halls where you could dance close to dreamy music. All "gone with the wind" and only in history books.
@lumiere7216
The talent never diminished, the enthusiasm never wavered. She loved her audiences and they loved her right back
@ashfordwitch
my great nan sung it to my nan,
my nan sung this to me.
im now 27 and i sing it to my little girl
@tonymongo1789
I adore this woman , I am a new fan of her. what an amazing life and artist was she
@brill068
Josephine Baker....all I can say is.... wow....I wish I lived in the 20s.
@ghostlyinsomniac7342
It's a shame this style of music doesn't get more recognition. There are some skilled singers, today, but the genre is so different.
@alternateunreleasedshellac505
Swing it breadcat
@gotchamusic
She was a very, very special talent.
God Blessed Her!
@SteevDragon67
What a beautiful voice she had! A beautiful blackbird herself!
@Lesley1000
you tube is so amazing when people take the time to upload such a wide variety of music. younger people would never know about this otherwise