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.
Paris Mes Amours
Joséphine Baker Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
For that second chance
For a break that would make it okay
There's always one reason
To feel not good enough
And it's hard at the end of the day
I need some distraction
Oh, beautiful release
Let me be empty
And weightless and maybe
I'll find some peace tonight
In the arms of the angel
Fly away from here
From this dark, cold hotel room
And the endlessness that you fear
You are pulled from the wreckage
Of your silent reverie
You're in the arms of the angel
May you find some comfort there
So tired of the straight line
And everywhere you turn
There's vultures and thieves at your back
And the storm keeps on twisting
You keep on building the lies
That you make up for all that you lack
It don't make no difference
Escaping one last time
It's easier to believe
In this sweet madness
Oh, this glorious sadness
That brings me to my knees
In the arms of the angel
Fly away from here
From this dark, cold hotel room
And the endlessness that you fear
You are pulled from the wreckage
Of your silent reverie
You're in the arms of the angel
May you find some comfort there
You're in the arms of the angel
May you find some comfort here
I would love to provide an insightful interpretation of the lyrics, but it seems like you have mistakenly given me the lyrics to Sarah McLachlan's song "Angel". Josephine Baker's song "Me revoilà Paris" has completely different lyrics in French.
Line by Line Meaning
Spend all your time waiting
You waste all your time by anticipating something that may or may not happen.
For that second chance
You are waiting for an opportunity to redeem yourself or to try again.
For a break that would make it okay
You are hoping for a stroke of luck that will make everything alright.
There's always one reason
You always have a reason to feel unworthy or inadequate.
To feel not good enough
You often feel like you don't measure up or meet the expectations of others.
And it's hard at the end of the day
It's difficult to cope with these negative feelings at the end of a tiring day.
I need some distraction
You need something to take your mind off of your problems and worries.
Oh, beautiful release
You long for a moment of relief, an escape from your troubles.
Memories seep from my veins
You cannot help but reminisce about the past, and these memories affect you deeply.
Let me be empty
You wish to let go of your emotional baggage and feel nothing at all.
And weightless and maybe
You want to feel like you have no burdens or responsibilities, and perhaps even find some peace.
I'll find some peace tonight
You hope that you can finally find some inner peace and tranquility, at least for a brief period.
In the arms of the angel
You find comfort and solace in the embrace of a divine being or someone you love and trust.
Fly away from here
You wish you could escape from your hardships and live a carefree life somewhere else.
From this dark, cold hotel room
You are currently in a lonely and uncomfortable place that contributes to your negative emotions.
And the endlessness that you fear
You are afraid that your problems will never go away and that you will be stuck in this predicament forever.
You are pulled from the wreckage
You are rescued from the aftermath of a traumatic event or a period of distress.
of your silent reverie
You are brought out of a state of deep contemplation or daydreaming that has been leading to your negative emotions.
May you find some comfort there
You hope that the comfort and support you have found will help you overcome your difficulties.
So tired of the straight line
You are fed up with following a set path or routine that does not allow for any variation or excitement.
And everywhere you turn
Everywhere you go, you encounter people or situations that make your life difficult or unpleasant.
There's vultures and thieves at your back
You feel like there are people who are actively trying to exploit or harm you.
And the storm keeps on twisting
The problems or obstacles you face keep changing and becoming more complicated.
You keep on building the lies
You are deceiving yourself and those around you by pretending everything is fine and concealing your problems.
That you make up for all that you lack
You are trying to compensate for your shortcomings or inadequacies by fabricating a false reality.
It don't make no difference
It does not matter how hard you try or what you do, things will not change.
Escaping one last time
You are trying to escape your current situation one final time before giving up.
It's easier to believe
It is easier to hold on to a sense of hope or optimism than to give in to despair and defeat.
In this sweet madness
You are willing to embrace the irrationality and unpredictability of life to find some excitement and happiness.
Oh, this glorious sadness
You are admiring and accepting the beauty and complexity of your emotional pain.
That brings me to my knees
The weight of your emotional burden is overwhelming and brings you down to your lowest point.
May you find some comfort here
You hope that you can find relief and solace in this place or situation.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Henri Betti, Bruno Andre Coquatrix, Andre Hornez
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
David Shelton
😆 YAAAHHHH! JOSE-PHINE!!!😚😚😚😗😊 Could you translate the lyrics to English, so we can see what she is saying!?😀
Ayse Sahin
Vive la Paris🇫🇷🇫🇷❤️❤️❤️❤️
chappuis christophe
Paris sera toujours Paris l'amour et la liberté
jc2delaga
Ma Josephine FOREVER
jeannine jeanpierre
Joséphine❤️de nos amours🎵👋🙌🍀🤣😅😍💔💋
knud roost
Martin hu