Black History Month- THE THREAD

[EL PRESIDENTE]

Let's learn about black history. Go!

 

[SlyPokerDog]

 

[EL PRESIDENTE]

Wait, I thought Eli Whitney who made the Cotton Gin was black? That was my first thought of BHM.

Googled an imaged...its a fucking mayonnaise boy.

Then this:



Is this a case of the Berenstein/Bernstein Bears again? Alternate universe.

 

[EL PRESIDENTE]

seriously, what the fuck. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eli_Whitney
http://www.uh.edu/engines/epi127.htm

 

[SlyPokerDog]

seriously, what the fuck. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eli_Whitney
http://www.uh.edu/engines/epi127.htm

You're confusing Whitney for George Washington Carver and cotton for peanuts.

 

[EL PRESIDENTE]

You're confusing Whitney for George Washington Carver and cotton for peanuts.

nah. i'm not the only one.

 

[Eastoff]

nah. i'm not the only one.

Whitney went to England and memorized, and essentially stole the plans and brought them back to the US. That doesn't sound like mobility a black man had in the 18th century.

 

[EL PRESIDENTE]

 

[Fez Hammersticks]

'Fessa.

 

[EL PRESIDENTE]

uhhh......

 

[EL PRESIDENTE]

This was on WWE tonight:



always a fan of sexual chocolate. saw him at the phoenix airport before.

 

[riverman]

I always though Langston Hughes had such an impact on the English language we speak today..great playwriter, poet..

 

[EL PRESIDENTE]

This guy was the guy on Google window today in the search bar.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_Douglass

 

[riverman]

Papa Jazz...

 

[EL PRESIDENTE]

 

[riverman]

Fred Hampton doesn't get much press but he did a lot for Chicago's poor and was killed senselessly...RIP Fred!

 

[riverman]

Nina Simone wrote the most intense music about black culture

 

[riverman]

 

[EL PRESIDENTE]

I'm a fan of Shirley Bassey. Great chillin music.

 

[GriLtCheeZ]

York (1770–1822) was an African-American slave best known for his participation with the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Enslaved by William Clark, he performed hard manual labor without pay, but participated as a full member of the expedition. Like many other expedition members, his ultimate fate is unclear. There is evidence that after the expedition's return, Clark had difficulty compelling York to resume his former status, and York may have later escaped or been freed, but nothing is entirely clear on this

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/York_(explorer)

 

[jlprk]

nah. i'm not the only one.

You're the only one. I have never heard that Eli Whitney was black.

 

[GriLtCheeZ]

 

[ripcityboy]

One of the greatest thrash guitarists and maker of some of the best music I've ever heard, Rocky George of Suicidal Tendencies and now Fishbone. ST was just an AWESOME band live. Metal is the music of the outsider and THANK GOD anybody can join. That music honestly saved my life on more than one occasion. Love Yah, Rock.


(Ohhh BTW, F-ck Phil Anselmo!)

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[santeesioux]

Crispus Attucks, the first casualty of the Revolutionary War, and half Native.

 

[riverman]

One of the greatest thrash guitarists and maker of some of the best music I've ever heard, Rocky George of Suicidal Tendencies and now Fishbone. ST was just an AWESOME band live. Metal is the music of the outsider and THANK GOD anybody can join. That music honestly saved my life on more than one occasion. Love Yah, Rock.


(Ohhh BTW, F-ck Phil Anselmo!)

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Parliament Funkadelic started all this stuff when it comes to black rockers breaking the mold
(November 2010)

Clinton performing in Centerville, 2007
George Clinton (band leader, vocals, keyboards, songwriter, producer; born July 22, 1941). George Clinton has been, since its inception, the driving force behind the development of the P-Funk sound, having led the collective since forming The Parliaments as a doo-wop group in the late 1950s. The funk sound, socially conscious lyrics, and P-Funk mythology developed primarily by Clinton have been especially influential for later R&B, hip hop, and rock music.

William “Bootsy” Collins (bass guitar, vocals, drums, songwriter, producer; born October 26, 1951) Bootsy Collins was a major songwriter, rhythm arranger, and bassist for Parliament-Funkadelic during the seventies and was a major influence in the band's sound during that time. His style of bass playing has become especially influential. Collins later focused his attention on his own Bootsy's Rubber Band but continues to make occasional contributions to studio albums by members of the Parliament-Funkadelic collective.

Eddie Hazel (guitar, vocals, songwriter; April 10, 1950 – December 23, 1992) Eddie Hazel was the original lead guitarist for Funkadelic and was a major force on the first several albums by that group. His Hendrix-inspired style has become very influential. After the early 1970s he contributed sporadically to various Parliament-Funkadelic projects. A key early Funkadelic song that captured both the band's unique sounds and Hazel's talent was the ten-minute guitar solo "Maggot Brain" from the 1971 Funkadelic album of the same title.

Bernie Worrell (keyboards, vocals, songwriter, arranger, born April 19, 1944) Bernie Worrell officially joined Funkadelic after the release of their first album and became an important member of the Parliament-Funkadelic collective thereafter. His innovative use of synthesizers has proven to be very influential, particularly his pioneering use of deep, heavy Moog synthesizer to reinforce the bass line. Eventually, he became responsible for many P-Funk musical arrangements. Worrell left the band in 1981, but continues to contribute to P-Funk studio albums and occasionally appears live with Parliament-Funkadelic as a special guest.

Walter “Junie” Morrison (keyboards, multi-instrumentalist, vocals, songwriter, arranger, producer; born 1954) Junie Morrison joined P-Funk in early 1978 as musical director after having success in the early Ohio Players and as a solo artist. Though primarily a keyboardist, Junie composed or co-wrote several of the band's hits at the height of their popularity and served as a lead vocalist, producer, and arranger on many songs for the collective. Morrison stopped touring with the band after 1981, but contributed to many subsequent albums. During his time with P-funk, some of his work was credited under the name J.S. Theracon.

Garry "Diaperman" Shider (vocals, guitar; July 24, 1953 – June 16, 2010) As a child, Garry Shider was a customer at the barbershop where The Parliaments rehearsed and performed, and after some time with his own group United Soul he was recruited by George Clinton into Funkadelic in 1972. Shider became a frequent lead vocalist on several Parliament and Funkadelic albums and was known for wearing a diaper on stage.

Michael "Kidd Funkadelic" Hampton (guitar; born November 15, 1956) Mike Hampton has been the lead guitarist for P-Funk since 1973, and continues to tour with the band to the present day. He was recruited at age 17 to replace the recently departed Eddie Hazel, and auditioned by performing Hazel's signature song "Maggot Brain." Hampton is known for adding rock and heavy metal influences to the guitar arrangements used by Parliament-Funkadelic.

Glenn Goins (vocals, guitar; January 2, 1954 – July 29, 1978) Glenn Goins was recruited into Parliament-Funkadelic in 1975 and was an important contributor until 1978 when he departed acrimoniously and formed his own band, Quazar. Goins was known for his gospel-influenced vocal style. Shortly after his departure from the collective, Goins died from Hodgkin's lymphoma at age 24.

Jerome "Bigfoot" Brailey (drums and percussion; born August 20, 1950) Brailey was the most prominent drummer in the Parliament-Funkadelic collective during their period of greatest success in the mid- to late 1970s. Brailey left the collective acrimoniously and formed his own band Mutiny. in which he criticized George Clinton's management style.

Ramon "Tiki" Fulwood (drums, vocals; May 23, 1944 – October 29, 1979) Tiki Fulwood was the original drummer for Funkadelic. He originally quit the band in 1971 but reappeared on several Parliament-Funkadelic releases during the remainder of the 1970s. After also working briefly for Miles Davis, Fulwood died of cancer in 1979.

"Billy Bass" Nelson (bass, guitar; born January 28, 1951) Billy Nelson was a teenage employee at George Clinton's barbershop in the 1960s and was the first musician hired to back The Parliaments in the band that would eventually become Funkadelic. Nelson then brought his friend Eddie Hazel into the band and coined the name "Funkadelic" when Clinton moved the collective to Detroit. Nelson quit Funkadelic in 1971 but contributed to P-Funk releases sporadically for the next few years. Starting in 1994, he toured with the P-Funk All Stars for ten years.

Cordell "Boogie" Mosson (bass, guitar, drums; October 16, 1952 – April 18, 2013) Mosson joined Funkadelic in 1972 along with his friend and previous bandmate Garry Shider. Mosson was the primary bassist for Funkadelic starting in 1972 and Parliament starting a few years later after Bootsy Collins began to focus on his solo career. Since the late 1970s, Mosson most frequently played rhythm guitar on stage. He continued to tour with the collective until his death.

Ray "Stingray" Davis (vocals; March 29, 1940 – July 5, 2005) Davis was the original bass singer and a member of The Parliaments. His distinctive voice can be heard on "Give Up the Funk (Tear the Roof off the Sucker)" and on George Clinton's solo hit single "Atomic Dog." Aside from Clinton, he was the only original member of the Parliaments not to leave in 1977. In the eighties, Davis recorded and toured in support of "Atomic Dog," with George Clinton and the P-Funk Allstars, and "I Can Make You Dance" with Zapp, but his musical association made him an obvious choice as replacement bass vocalist for Melvin Franklin, in the Temptations. Even though he left The Temptations in 1995 after being diagnosed with cancer, he continued to perform with former P-Funk members Fuzzy Haskins, Calvin Simon and Grady Thomas, performing as Original P.

Clarence "Fuzzy" Haskins (vocals, guitar, drums; born June 8, 1941) Haskins was a member and first tenor of The Parliaments. In addition to writing, playing drums and guitar, Haskins is known for his "gospel" singing style. He left P-Funk in 1977. In the nineties, he formed Original P with the other Parliaments (Davis, Thomas and Simon), and retired in 2011.

Calvin Simon (vocals, percussion; born May 22, 1942) Simon was an original member of The Parliaments, before leaving in 1977. In the nineties, he formed Original P with the other Parliaments (Davis, Thomas and Haskins), and retired in 2005. He now runs a record label.

"Shady Grady" Thomas (vocals; born January 5, 1941) Thomas started in the late 1950s as bass vocalist for The Parliaments. When Clinton and other Parliament members moved from Newark, New Jersey to Plainfield, New Jersey to "conk" hair at Clinton's barbershop The Silk Palace, The Parliaments began a friendly rivalry with local doo wop group Sammy Campbell and the Del-Larks, who featured the bass vocals of Raymond Davis. Thomas persuaded Davis to take over as bass vocalist in the Parliaments, which enabled Thomas to move up from bass to baritone. After Thomas, Clarence "Fuzzy" Haskins and Calvin Simon left P-Funk in 1977, Thomas founded his own band, The Shady Bunch in Washington, D.C., and when word of Thomas' drummer, Dennis Chambers got back to Clinton, Chambers was invited to join Parliament-Funkadelic. After Thomas' brief return to The P-Funk Allstars in the nineties, Thomas cofounded Original P with original Parliaments Davis, Haskins, and Simon. Thomas is the leader of Original P.

 

[Denny Crane]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_R._Drew

 

[ripcityboy]

Parliament Funkadelic started all this stuff when it comes to black rockers breaking the mold
(November 2010)

Clinton performing in Centerville, 2007
George Clinton (band leader, vocals, keyboards, songwriter, producer; born July 22, 1941). George Clinton has been, since its inception, the driving force behind the development of the P-Funk sound, having led the collective since forming The Parliaments as a doo-wop group in the late 1950s. The funk sound, socially conscious lyrics, and P-Funk mythology developed primarily by Clinton have been especially influential for later R&B, hip hop, and rock music.

William “Bootsy” Collins (bass guitar, vocals, drums, songwriter, producer; born October 26, 1951) Bootsy Collins was a major songwriter, rhythm arranger, and bassist for Parliament-Funkadelic during the seventies and was a major influence in the band's sound during that time. His style of bass playing has become especially influential. Collins later focused his attention on his own Bootsy's Rubber Band but continues to make occasional contributions to studio albums by members of the Parliament-Funkadelic collective.

Eddie Hazel (guitar, vocals, songwriter; April 10, 1950 – December 23, 1992) Eddie Hazel was the original lead guitarist for Funkadelic and was a major force on the first several albums by that group. His Hendrix-inspired style has become very influential. After the early 1970s he contributed sporadically to various Parliament-Funkadelic projects. A key early Funkadelic song that captured both the band's unique sounds and Hazel's talent was the ten-minute guitar solo "Maggot Brain" from the 1971 Funkadelic album of the same title.

Bernie Worrell (keyboards, vocals, songwriter, arranger, born April 19, 1944) Bernie Worrell officially joined Funkadelic after the release of their first album and became an important member of the Parliament-Funkadelic collective thereafter. His innovative use of synthesizers has proven to be very influential, particularly his pioneering use of deep, heavy Moog synthesizer to reinforce the bass line. Eventually, he became responsible for many P-Funk musical arrangements. Worrell left the band in 1981, but continues to contribute to P-Funk studio albums and occasionally appears live with Parliament-Funkadelic as a special guest.

Walter “Junie” Morrison (keyboards, multi-instrumentalist, vocals, songwriter, arranger, producer; born 1954) Junie Morrison joined P-Funk in early 1978 as musical director after having success in the early Ohio Players and as a solo artist. Though primarily a keyboardist, Junie composed or co-wrote several of the band's hits at the height of their popularity and served as a lead vocalist, producer, and arranger on many songs for the collective. Morrison stopped touring with the band after 1981, but contributed to many subsequent albums. During his time with P-funk, some of his work was credited under the name J.S. Theracon.

Garry "Diaperman" Shider (vocals, guitar; July 24, 1953 – June 16, 2010) As a child, Garry Shider was a customer at the barbershop where The Parliaments rehearsed and performed, and after some time with his own group United Soul he was recruited by George Clinton into Funkadelic in 1972. Shider became a frequent lead vocalist on several Parliament and Funkadelic albums and was known for wearing a diaper on stage.

Michael "Kidd Funkadelic" Hampton (guitar; born November 15, 1956) Mike Hampton has been the lead guitarist for P-Funk since 1973, and continues to tour with the band to the present day. He was recruited at age 17 to replace the recently departed Eddie Hazel, and auditioned by performing Hazel's signature song "Maggot Brain." Hampton is known for adding rock and heavy metal influences to the guitar arrangements used by Parliament-Funkadelic.

Glenn Goins (vocals, guitar; January 2, 1954 – July 29, 1978) Glenn Goins was recruited into Parliament-Funkadelic in 1975 and was an important contributor until 1978 when he departed acrimoniously and formed his own band, Quazar. Goins was known for his gospel-influenced vocal style. Shortly after his departure from the collective, Goins died from Hodgkin's lymphoma at age 24.

Jerome "Bigfoot" Brailey (drums and percussion; born August 20, 1950) Brailey was the most prominent drummer in the Parliament-Funkadelic collective during their period of greatest success in the mid- to late 1970s. Brailey left the collective acrimoniously and formed his own band Mutiny. in which he criticized George Clinton's management style.

Ramon "Tiki" Fulwood (drums, vocals; May 23, 1944 – October 29, 1979) Tiki Fulwood was the original drummer for Funkadelic. He originally quit the band in 1971 but reappeared on several Parliament-Funkadelic releases during the remainder of the 1970s. After also working briefly for Miles Davis, Fulwood died of cancer in 1979.

"Billy Bass" Nelson (bass, guitar; born January 28, 1951) Billy Nelson was a teenage employee at George Clinton's barbershop in the 1960s and was the first musician hired to back The Parliaments in the band that would eventually become Funkadelic. Nelson then brought his friend Eddie Hazel into the band and coined the name "Funkadelic" when Clinton moved the collective to Detroit. Nelson quit Funkadelic in 1971 but contributed to P-Funk releases sporadically for the next few years. Starting in 1994, he toured with the P-Funk All Stars for ten years.

Cordell "Boogie" Mosson (bass, guitar, drums; October 16, 1952 – April 18, 2013) Mosson joined Funkadelic in 1972 along with his friend and previous bandmate Garry Shider. Mosson was the primary bassist for Funkadelic starting in 1972 and Parliament starting a few years later after Bootsy Collins began to focus on his solo career. Since the late 1970s, Mosson most frequently played rhythm guitar on stage. He continued to tour with the collective until his death.

Ray "Stingray" Davis (vocals; March 29, 1940 – July 5, 2005) Davis was the original bass singer and a member of The Parliaments. His distinctive voice can be heard on "Give Up the Funk (Tear the Roof off the Sucker)" and on George Clinton's solo hit single "Atomic Dog." Aside from Clinton, he was the only original member of the Parliaments not to leave in 1977. In the eighties, Davis recorded and toured in support of "Atomic Dog," with George Clinton and the P-Funk Allstars, and "I Can Make You Dance" with Zapp, but his musical association made him an obvious choice as replacement bass vocalist for Melvin Franklin, in the Temptations. Even though he left The Temptations in 1995 after being diagnosed with cancer, he continued to perform with former P-Funk members Fuzzy Haskins, Calvin Simon and Grady Thomas, performing as Original P.

Clarence "Fuzzy" Haskins (vocals, guitar, drums; born June 8, 1941) Haskins was a member and first tenor of The Parliaments. In addition to writing, playing drums and guitar, Haskins is known for his "gospel" singing style. He left P-Funk in 1977. In the nineties, he formed Original P with the other Parliaments (Davis, Thomas and Simon), and retired in 2011.

Calvin Simon (vocals, percussion; born May 22, 1942) Simon was an original member of The Parliaments, before leaving in 1977. In the nineties, he formed Original P with the other Parliaments (Davis, Thomas and Haskins), and retired in 2005. He now runs a record label.

"Shady Grady" Thomas (vocals; born January 5, 1941) Thomas started in the late 1950s as bass vocalist for The Parliaments. When Clinton and other Parliament members moved from Newark, New Jersey to Plainfield, New Jersey to "conk" hair at Clinton's barbershop The Silk Palace, The Parliaments began a friendly rivalry with local doo wop group Sammy Campbell and the Del-Larks, who featured the bass vocals of Raymond Davis. Thomas persuaded Davis to take over as bass vocalist in the Parliaments, which enabled Thomas to move up from bass to baritone. After Thomas, Clarence "Fuzzy" Haskins and Calvin Simon left P-Funk in 1977, Thomas founded his own band, The Shady Bunch in Washington, D.C., and when word of Thomas' drummer, Dennis Chambers got back to Clinton, Chambers was invited to join Parliament-Funkadelic. After Thomas' brief return to The P-Funk Allstars in the nineties, Thomas cofounded Original P with original Parliaments Davis, Haskins, and Simon. Thomas is the leader of Original P.

Yeah. I remember reading an article about it along time ago. It was almost by default that they picked up rock and funk. They were a soul vocal group when they started out. But after scoring a national hit, Berry Gordy bought their label and owned their name. They picked up a couple of instruments and started going to see the MC5 in Detroit... then they tried acid! It's funny that we are Americans are completely clueless about the cross polinization of music. Guys like Joe Tex and Bill Withers drew on country and rock-folk as much as they did R&B.

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[riverman]

navigation, search
For the first female Director of Public Health, see Sara Josephine Baker.
Josephine Baker

Josephine Baker in her famous banana costume.
Born Freda Josephine McDonald
(1906-06-03)3 June 1906
St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.[1][2]
Died 12 April 1975(1975-04-12) (aged 68)
Paris, France
Cause of death Cerebral hemorrhage
Resting place Monaco Cemetery[3][4]
Residence Roquebrun, Languedoc-Roussillon, France
Nationality American, French
Occupation Dancer, singer, actress, civil rights activist, spy
Years active 1921–1975
Spouse(s)

• William Wells (m. 1919–20)
• William Baker (m. 1921–25)
• Jean Lion (m. 1937–38)
• Jo Bouillon (m. 1947–61)

Partner(s) Robert Brady (1973–75)
Children 12; including Jean-Claude Baker
Musical career
Genres Cabaret, music hall, French pop, French jazz
Instruments Vocals
Labels Columbia, Mercury, RCA Victor
Josephine Baker (3 June 1906 – 12 April 1975) was an American-born French dancer, singer, and actress who came to be known in various circles as the "Black Pearl," "Bronze Venus" and even the "Creole Goddess". Born Freda Josephine McDonald in St. Louis, Missouri, Josephine Baker became a citizen of France in 1937. She was fluent in both English and French.

Baker was the first black woman to star in a major motion picture, Zouzou (1934), or to become a world-famous entertainer. 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. Baker turned down the offer. She was also known for assisting the French Resistance during World War II,[5] and received the French military honor, the Croix de guerre and was made a Chevalier of the Légion d'honneur by General Charles de Gaulle.[6]



Contents
[hide]

• 1Early life
• 2Career
  • 2.1Early years
  • 2.2Paris and rise to fame
  • 2.3Work during World War II
  • 2.4Later career
• 3Civil rights activism
• 4Personal life
  • 4.1Relationships
  • 4.2Children
• 5Later years and death
• 6Legacy
  • 6.1Portrayals
• 7Film credits
• 8See also
• 9References
• 10Bibliography
• 11External links

Early life[edit]
She was born as Freda Josephine McDonald in St. Louis, Missouri,[1][2] the daughter of Carrie McDonald. Her estate identifies vaudeville drummer Eddie Carson as her natural father; Carson abandoned Baker and her mother.[7]

Carrie and Eddie had a song-and-dance act, playing wherever they could get work. When Josephine was about a year old they began to carry her onstage occasionally during their finale.

Josephine was always poorly dressed and hungry, and she played in the railroad yards of Union Station. From this she developed her street smarts.[8]

When Baker was eight, she began working as a live-in domestic for white families in St. Louis.[9] One woman abused her, burning Baker's hands when the young girl put too much soap in the laundry.[10]

In Baker’s early life she struggled with having a healthy relationship with her mother, Carrie McDonald. McDonald did not believe dance was a real form of work and scolded Josephine for not tending to her current husband, Willie Baker.[11]

Although Baker returned after traveling with gifts and money for her mother and younger sister, the turmoil of the relationship between Baker and her mother pushed Baker towards her first trip to France.[12]

Baker’s talent was ridiculed so harshly by the United States she decided not to go to her sister’s funeral in St. Louis. Instead Baker opted to send money to cover the funeral expenses but did not return.[11]

Career[edit]
Early years[edit]
Baker dropped out of school at the age of 13 and lived as a street child in the slums of St. Louis, sleeping in cardboard shelters and scavenging for food in garbage cans.[13]

Her street-corner dancing attracted attention, and she was recruited for the St. Louis Chorus vaudeville show at the age of 15. She headed to New York City during the Harlem Renaissance, performing at the Plantation Club and in the chorus of the groundbreaking and hugely successful Broadway revues Shuffle Along (1921) with Adelaide Hall[14] and The Chocolate Dandies (1924). She performed as the last dancer in a chorus line. Traditionally the dancer in this position performed in a comic manner, as if she were unable to remember the dance, until the encore, at which point she would perform it not only correctly but with additional complexity. Baker was billed at the time as "the highest-paid chorus girl in vaudeville".[15][unreliable source?]

Baker’s career began with her doing black face comedy at local clubs, this was the “entertainment” that her mother did not approve of. Black face performances landed Baker an opportunity to tour in Paris (France), which would become the place she called home until her final days.[16]

Paris and rise to fame[edit]
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Play media Arrival of Josephine Baker in The Hague in 1928
Baker sailed to Paris, France, for a new venture, and opened in La Revue Nègre on October 2, 1925, at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées.[7][17] In Paris, she became an instant success for her erotic dancing, and for appearing practically nude on stage. After a successful tour of Europe, she broke her contract and returned to France to star at the Folies Bergère, setting the standard for her future acts.

Baker performed the 'Danse sauvage,' wearing a costume consisting of a skirt made of a string of artificial bananas. Her success coincided (1925) with the Exposition des Arts Décoratifs, which gave birth to the term "Art Deco", and also with a renewal of interest in non-western forms of art, including African. Baker represented one aspect of this fashion. In later shows in Paris, she was often accompanied on stage by her pet cheetah, Chiquita, who was adorned with a diamond collar. The cheetah frequently escaped into the orchestra pit, where it terrorized the musicians, adding another element of excitement to the show.[15][unreliable source?]

After a short while, Baker was the most successful American entertainer working in France. Ernest Hemingway called her "the most sensational woman anyone ever saw."[18][19]

In addition to being a musical star, Baker also starred in three films which found success only in Europe: the silent film Siren of the Tropics (1927), Zouzou (1934) and Princesse Tam Tam (1935). She also starred in Fausse Alerte in 1940.[20]


Josephine Baker dancing the Charleston, 1926
At this time she also scored her most successful song, "J'ai deux amours" (1931). She became a muse for contemporary authors, painters, designers and sculptors, including Langston Hughes, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Pablo Picasso, and Christian Dior.

At the start of her career in France, Baker met a a Sicilian former stonemason who passed himself off as a count, who persuaded her into letting him manage her.[12]Giuseppe Pepito Abatino, was not only Baker’s management, but her lover as well. The two could not marry due to Baker still being married to her second husband, Willie Baker.[11] Under the management of Giuseppe Pepito Abatino, Baker's stage and public persona, as well as her singing voice, were transformed. In 1934, she took the lead in a revival of Jacques Offenbach's opera La créole, which premiered in December of that year for a six-month run at the Théâtre Marigny on the Champs-Élysées of Paris. In preparation for her performances, she went through months of training with a vocal coach. In the words of Shirley Bassey, who has cited Baker as her primary influence, "... she went from a 'petite danseuse sauvage' with a decent voice to 'la grande diva magnifique'... I swear in all my life I have never seen, and probably never shall see again, such a spectacular singer and performer."[21]

Despite her popularity in France, Baker never attained the equivalent reputation in America. Her star turn in a 1936 revival of Ziegfeld Follies on Broadway generated less than impressive box office numbers, and later in the run, she was replaced by Gypsy Rose Lee.[22][23] Time magazine referred to her as a "Negro wench...whose dancing and singing might be topped anywhere outside of Paris", while other critics said her voice was "too thin" and "dwarf-like" to fill the Winter Garden Theatre.[22] She returned to Europe heartbroken.[7] This contributed to Baker's becoming a legal citizen of France and giving up her American citizenship.

Baker returned to Paris in 1937, married a Jewish Frenchman, Jean Lion, and became a French citizen.[24] They were married in the French town of Crèvecœur-le-Grand, in a wedding presided over by mayor Jammy Schmidt.

Work during World War II[edit]
In September 1939, when France declared war on Germany in response to the invasion of Poland, Baker was recruited by Deuxième Bureau, French military intelligence, as an "honorable correspondent". Baker collected what information she could about German troop locations from officials she met at parties. She specialized in gatherings at embassies and ministries, charming people as she had always done, while gathering information. Her café-society fame enabled her to rub shoulders with those in the know, from high-ranking Japanese officials to Italian bureaucrats, and to report back what she heard. She attended parties at the Italian embassy without raising suspicions and gathered information.[25]:182–269

When the Germans invaded France, Baker left Paris and went to the Château des Milandes, her home in the south of France. She housed friends who were eager to help the Free French effort led by Charles de Gaulle and supplied them with visas.[26] As an entertainer, Baker had an excuse for moving around Europe, visiting neutral nations such as Portugal, as well as some in South America. She carried information for transmission to England, about airfields, harbors, and German troop concentrations in the West of France. Notes were written in invisible ink on Josephine's sheet music.[25]:232–269

Later in 1941, she and her entourage went to the French colonies in North Africa. The stated reason was Baker's health (since she was recovering from another case of pneumonia) but the real reason was to continue helping the Resistance. From a base in Morocco, she made tours of Spain. She pinned notes with the information she gathered inside her underwear (counting on her celebrity to avoid a strip search). She befriended the Pasha of Marrakech, whose support helped her through a miscarriage (the last of several). After the miscarriage, she developed an infection so severe it required a hysterectomy. The infection spread and she developed peritonitis and then septicemia. After her recovery (which she continued to fall in and out of), she started touring to entertain British, French, and American soldiers in North Africa. The Free French had no organized entertainment network for their troops, so Baker and her friends managed for the most part on their own. They allowed no civilians and charged no admission.[25]

In Cairo, Egypt's King Farouk asked her to sing; she refused because Egypt had not recognized Free France and remained neutral. However, she offered to sing in Cairo at a celebration of honor for the ties between Free France and Egypt, and asked Farouk to preside, a subtle indication of which side his officially neutral country leaned toward.[27]

After the war, Baker received the Croix de guerre and the Rosette de la Résistance. She was made a Chevalier of the Légion d'honneur by General Charles de Gaulle.[28]

Baker’s last marriage to French composer and conductor Jo Bouillon ended around the time Baker opted to adopt her 11th child.[11] After the separation, Baker’s Chateau in France was foreclosed and she had to be physically removed from the property.

Later career[edit]
In 1949, a reinvented Baker returned in triumph to the Folies Bergere. Bolstered by recognition of her wartime heroics, Baker the performer assumed a new gravitas, unafraid to take on serious music or subject matter. The engagement was a rousing success, and reestablished Baker as one of Paris' preeminent entertainers.

In 1951 Baker was invited back to the United States for a nightclub engagement in Miami. After winning a public battle over desegregating the club's audience, Baker followed up her sold-out run at the club with a national tour. Rave reviews and enthusiastic audiences accompanied her everywhere, climaxed by a parade in front of 100,000 people in Harlem in honor of her new title: NAACP's "Woman of the Year." Her future looked bright, with six months of bookings and promises of many more to come.

An incident at the Stork Club interrupted and overturned her plans. Baker criticized the club's unwritten policy of discouraging black patrons, then scolded columnist Walter Winchell, an old ally, for not rising to her defense. Winchell responded swiftly with a series of harsh public rebukes, including accusations of Communist sympathies (a serious charge at the time). The ensuing publicity resulted in the termination of Baker's work visa, forcing her to cancel all her engagements and return to France. It was almost a decade before US officials allowed her back into the country.[29]

In January 1966, Fidel Castro invited Baker to perform at the Teatro Musical de La Habana in Havana, Cuba at the 7th anniversary celebrations of his revolution. Her spectacular show in April broke attendance records. In 1968, Baker visited Yugoslavia and made appearances in Belgrade and in Skopje.

In her later career, Baker faced financial troubles. She commented, "Nobody wants me, they've forgotten me"; but family members encouraged her to continue performing. In 1973 she performed at Carnegie Hall to a standing ovation. In 1974 she appeared in a Royal Variety Performance at the London Palladium, and then at the Monacan Red Cross Gala, celebrating her 50 years in French show business. Advancing years and exhaustion began to take their toll; she sometimes had trouble remembering lyrics, and her speeches between songs tended to ramble. She still continued to captivate audiences of all ages.[25]

Civil rights activism[edit]

 

[Further]

I always though Langston Hughes had such an impact on the English language we speak today..great playwriter, poet..
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I love Langston Hughes. Taj Mahal does one of his poems as a song "Crossing" that's beautiful to listen to. Unfortunately, whoever made this video thought Japanese pornish anime would be the right imagery. So take a listen, but you might want to forgo the visuals, it kind of ruins the poetry.

 

[barfo]

George W. Bush was black and was an important early settler in the Northwest, and is the namesake of Bush Prairie in Washington.

barfo