what a total load of bollocks, why does Woody Allen go with 2nd rate talents? This is bloody awful. Does she "feel at home"? She moves like a Klingon and can't fluently sing in French... Anyway back to the asylum and grave.... Allen come on mate! She is no Bond Girl.
I feel that America missed out (for the most part) on a really talented lady, just because of segregation and racism. I think that she would have stayed over here or at least perfomred over here more if she and her people were treated better. France accepted her with open arms. Our loss.....
@90rashad Just for the record darling, you need to do your research. It is fact that Josephine Baker's father was most likely a white German man. Not that it makes any difference. But the truth is no one knows who her biological father actually was.
@jazsan222 It's cos she was fighting tooth and nail saying her dad was black when he weren't. Nothing wrong with stating the truth. It don't bother me, my mums black and my dads white too.
She was a "STAR" with the greatest heart who went on to found the orphanage " The Rainbow Children" so the money she made was given to the Next Generation" with love and affection! Where are those Kid's NOW!????
My Dad saw her live in Paris during the war! At the Follie Bergere! What an experience! Her escaped from a German POW Camp and faked his way through Europe! To end up with the free Polish in Bearsden Glasgow from there he went to the Polish Air Ministry in London where my Mum {but her's is a better story!!!!} met and married! Then had me when he was 47 and she was 36! A world apart from my existance! But retain the stories!!!
i love this woman. she did not only drive a car, she also had a license to fly, smuggled information on the germans in her sheet music and sang in seven languages
By this time (1970s), from what I understand, she was experiencing a re-discovery. The story goes that she passed away in bed with the glowing newspaper reviews of her previous night's performance surrounding her.
Thank God she lived to see the acclaim she so richly deserved.
Amazing woman. OK, she may have had a few tricks to make her look younger...whatever...point is, she was a superstar and an entertainer until the end. An still looked good. Tights and lights are not going to alter that. Maybe she felt that she ought to appear in public a certain way...the woman was 68 years of age!
what do u mean whateva? u think i just made that up? that's what she did. that's why her legs look like that. and for her skin she did tricks w/ the lighting to make her look younger. i'm sure she was fit though but u have to go the extra mile to get those results at 68
look, i get it. like someone explaining all the magic tricks to a kid. i apologize. if it were me i would have found that fact interesting. don't try to put me down for sharing information just b/c u didn't feel like hearing it. you could have ignored it.
Vive La Belle Josephine!! Can you imagine, she is nearly 70 at this performance and the year before her death. What a terrible loss but she went out a champion and honoured. Milles bises chere Josephine. Thank you for this it is splendid only wish there were the whole show.
im just upset that she was never as big here in america than in europe. whats wrong with us we parise britney spears and shun ppl like josephine and tina turner
do you know where I can get it? website order? I have looked everywhere..even in Paris and I came up with nothing....any information I would really appreciate....Thank you.....I love all your videos of her and I look at the everyday! Thank you for help keeping her spirit alive....
jospeh baker was groges woman but when she got older they put her out of manison they treated her nasty toward the end of her life so sad she is a legend
When you get right down to it, she teaches that if you have talent & are surrounded by stupid people....SING AND DANCE HARDER (then go to France & get paid.)
I think we are at a concensus that colorism is INDEED an issue among Black people. The fallacy is in pointing to that as one of the main reasons why Josephine had trouble finding acceptance in the US. That argument doesn't hold water. The women you named, fair-skinned or not, were wildly successful in the US. If the darker-complected ones, still found success here, it could easily have happened for Josephine, no? That could not have been the mitigating factor.
It was her brashness, her stunning sexuality, the wearing of political beliefs on her sleeve, her willingness to be an activist and indict America for being racist when it was not popular to be an outspoken Black performer, and refusal to be complicit or adhere to the standards that the rest of them all had to bow to in order to make it in American society back then.
She was an activist and a renegade of sorts, and that is what hurt her here. She was going around talking about the races living together in peaceful harmony, promoting a colorblind society, and she had the eyes of the WORLD on her, to capture this speech and send it all over the place. Plus, she was liked. They had to find a way to make her unlikeable, so they spread rumors that she was a communist like they did with anyone considered dangerous to the status quo.
You couldn't have too many people thinking like Josephine. America clearly wasn't ready for that sort of speech. Categorized as a radical and put on blacklists here, there, and everywhere. I think these things, along with the politics of the time are what affected her. The disparity between her treatment here and elsewhere was so great, that she couldn't help but show a preference which also infuriated lost of Americans.
She was largely misunderstood until later in life when advocating civil rights aggressively did not make you a marked man or woman. To say that color complexes among Blacks were the reason she didn't find success here is to totally distort and bastardize the real issues she faced.
Once again. I am not talking of just success. Please hear what I'm saying. There were many darker skin successful people of that era. I am strictly talking of what was embraced as being the ultimate beauty and sex appeal. Once again. Look at the SUCCESSFUL ads targeted towards Blacks in beautifying themselves of that era. It tells you everything. I remember those ads. Josephine could have been a success in America but just as she said....she would have had to play roles that were less glamorous.
And please note that she was denied certain roles in BLACK theatres because she was considered too dark. The idea of beauty in much of the black community at the time was anything close to white or "mulatto looking" I promise you. Hell....It still exists today. Please list a dark skinned sex symbol who is ordained as an epitome of beauty in the same way spoken of Halle Berry or Lena Horne of any era. Just one. I'm not talking of a woman we love but a woman spoken of as a QUEEN of beauty.
I wouldn't assume that the producers of that ONE PLAY her biography says she didn't get the lead in for being "too dark and too skinny" were Black just because it featured a Black cast, especially in that day.
The biases/disparities you speak of exist, they just aren't as entrenched into the Josephine Baker struggle as you believe. Let's face it, women in visual mediums get picked apart relentlessly.
EVERY Black female (entertainer) who ever tried to make an impact on a visual medium has been told she is either "too dark," or "too light" -- sometimes both. You would be hard pressed to find ANY Black person who wasn't discriminated against at some point because of his or her complexion - by fellow Blacks and Whites. That doesn't necessarily outweigh the other issues said individual might have faced.
In Josephines case, she had WAY bigger problems. You'll find that bio you're misquoting delves into those issues more exhaustively than the "too dark" issue in relation to that one play at the beginning of her career -- which is sometimes mentioned and barely ever dissected to the point that her other problems were - Hmm, I wonder why? If you're going to base an argument on something, it ought to be used in the proper context.
I'm still not buying your argument which places the weight of Josephine's rejection among American audiences on the shoulders of a Black audience that you're claiming rejected her for being too dark. There are numerous examples to illustrate the contrary. Nevermind, the obvious fact that Josephine isn't that dark of a woman, anyway. Her complexion is pretty moderate for someone of African descent. I would never call her "dark-skinned" but that's just me...
The ads you're talking about likely featured women who looked like Josephine, who is FAR closer to looking like the "ideal" Black woman, from any perspective, than you seem to want to admit. lol Barring that, I've NEVER seen a legitimate critique of her career that even hints at this being one of the primary reasons she had trouble, here. As I've pointed out, Josephine faced far bigger issues that overshadow this problem easily.
I think we are at a concensus that colorism is INDEED an issue among Black people. The fallacy is in pointing to that as one of the main reasons why Josephine had trouble finding acceptance in the US. That argument doesn't hold water. The women you named, fair-skinned or not, were wildly successful in the US. If the darker-complected ones, still found success here, it could easily have happened for Josephine, no? That could not have been the mitigating factor.
La Baker!! Too bad that she had to leave the United States in order to be treated as an equal. She was too dark to be white and too light to be black for the U.S. But she made it!!!
Bcperry1962. Yes she had to leave the US, but it wasn't because she was too light to be black. Josephine's skin was considered too dark to be beautiful in the black community. Light skin was desired by most blacks. As hard as that is to believe and you probably associate her skin with light skin. However, It shows the state of oppression at the time. A black woman had to look literally have white skin to be beautiful in the minds of the brainwashed and the oppressed. Those were extreme times.
I must disagree. Though some films in the early days featured lighter-skinned women, many times, it was the darker-skinned women who became the great stars, from Sarah to Dinah to Ella to Hazel Scott. Even in Ebony magazines in the '50's, many of the models had caramel and darker-colored skin.
As for what color was desired by Blacks, the issue wasn't so much the color, but the texture of the skin that mattered. Some people are finally waking up to this idea.
After speaking with the older members of my family, it's clear to me that while lighter skin may have been in films, the people ignored what was shown to them "and did their own thing", just as many people rejected the idea of the 'waif' model being the ideal. Black people weren't 'brainwashed' at all. They simply saw it for what it was, ignored it, & went about their business, as it were. They really could have cared less. Some people have issues no matter what color, size, etc., they are.
It is very inaccurate to try to say that Black people are why Josephine could not, at first, succeed in the United States. First, it gives the oppressed group of people a power they DID NOT have, it erroneously takes the heat off of the REAL reasons she wasn't accepted here - (Racism, Sexism, Patriarchal White dominance in American Society), and inaccurately cites colorism within the Black race, as one of the problems affecting Black entertainers.
It is obvious that racism is why she had to leave the US however you will find that due to oppression Blacks favored performers that were closer to White Looking. Skin lightening products were the rave during this time. Look up a product called LUCKY BROWN. There was a love/hate with light skin within the black community. Lena Horne was Black Americas queen of Beauty. And that in itself says volumes.
And let me be clear that I may have failed to clearly communicate my point. She spoke specifically of not being light enough in the black community as well as speaking about racism within the white community. And the thought that blacks were only concerned with skin texture is laughable. Anyone Black with an inkling of what has occured for years knows that many many Blacks have serious skin color issues. "Pretty to be so dark" is still a common phrase among Black Americans.
The texture of the skin?? Dinah, Ella and Hazel were not sex symbols. They were not considered the epitome of beauty as was Lena Horne and Dorothy Dandridge? I am not talking of becoming a star.....I am talking of standards of beauty. Do your research on Ebony and you will find that most of the Ebony Fashion Fair Models were very light skinned with intent. It made traveling across the US alot easier. I dont know where you get your information. And no! I was not born in the computer age.
She was gorgeous & had tons of men outside of her stage door after each performance, as did Valaida Snow, another great jazz musician of the time. Dinah was married 7-8 times. Someone must have found her sexy.
Anyway, D&E were both overweight, & there wasn't a BBW movement like we have now, so, they wouldn't have been sex sybols then.
This "issue" is really in your head, not necessarily history.
I would be more interested in someone who has lived thru extreme times rather than one who only has read about it. Times are still extreme in case you haven't noticed. Not to put you down, but you were born during the computer age and you don't have enough experience to teach. Reading is one thing, experience is another. For you Lanorda9!
Bcperry....Please note. I have lived through what you couldn't possibly imagine. I should know. And I had the priveledge of seeing her live in the 50's.
I think it is more accurate to say that for many, she would have been too dark to be beautiful, period, specifically in the eyes of White society. She had to be fetishized and regarded as a taboo in order for people to acknowledge that she was a desirable women in a way that they were comfortable with. That's why she couldn't be the phenomenon here that she could be elsewhere in the world where racial tensions weren't so consuming of the entire culture, even the arts.
Darn it, I can't tell which order your post are in! Darn YT!!!
Anyway, I have to disagree a little, because even Lena Horne was too dark for them. it wasn't about color, but, ethnicity, period, much like "Showboat"'s Julie, even if she'd been proven to have 'one drop', they couldn't have dealt with her.
Why?
Because they feel ethnically inferiour, inadequate & insecure, period.
Not all Whites.
Just the racist ones.
That's why they're racists in the first place, you dig?:P
Click "view all comments" and it places them in order. I was actually responding further to Lanorda's comment. I'm confused about what you're disagreeing with...
I do that all the time, & it still get the order wrong:P
Eh, well.
I was disagreeing w/ your statement about her being too dark for White "society" as the reason why they ignored her, foolishly.
My point is that they're so etnically insecure, she could be as light as this page, & they still couldn't handle her in their midst, because her prescence made them feel inadequate.
When I said "too dark to be beautiful, period," I meant just that. Black, period. I agree with you. I don't think her shade of "Blackness" was a prominent issue with either race. That was an erroneous observation from the beginning, I think we're all trying to understand why the hell that one was made. LOL
BTW, when I say 'period' I don't mean to cut you off or be rash. I just mean to say that was the issue 'in general', or 'essentially' that was the problem. I shoudl have said, "Josephine's problem was racism, in general."
Unfortunately, her later problem, if that's the correct word, is that she tried to save the world by herself w/ her Rainbow Tribe, but, we can't do it all by ourselves.
I hope that Angelina figures this out, too, before it's too late.
I really think that if she wanted to provide for all of those children, she should have agreed to perform for the segregated US audiences... She couldn't have it both ways. She severely stunted her wealth-potential with that. I also think it's really sad the French govt couldn't step in to secure the chateau when she was having financial problems after her efforts on their behalf -- she was basically a war hero. Why didn't someone step in and just help?
Towards the end, it's said that the late Princess grace did help her, financially. Even if she had performed in the US, she may not have been nearly as big as she was internationally, as almost all African-American pop divas-with class-are less popular in the US than they are oversee, which will ALWAYS be a very sad thing.
Though she was a war hero, that chateau was so big & DeGalle may or may not have been generous w/ the purse strings, even if she were entitled to a stipend.
Good to know that she had friends who were kind to her. Yeah, I didn't realize how huge the chateau was until I saw some photographs last night. It was basically a little town lol Managing it probably cost a fortune.
It had nothing to do with not being accepted by other black people. Josephine saw that she could reach levels in France that would never have been possible at that time in the US, merely because she was black, no matter what shade.
Dude below me can suck an egg
KTBEverlasting 1 month ago
what a total load of bollocks, why does Woody Allen go with 2nd rate talents? This is bloody awful. Does she "feel at home"? She moves like a Klingon and can't fluently sing in French... Anyway back to the asylum and grave.... Allen come on mate! She is no Bond Girl.
gemofski 2 months ago
IF this was 1974.. right before she died; it means she was hot till death. I want her body damn
cha53z 2 months ago
This made me want to cry
bbod123kyle 3 months ago
Fantastic talent she have, Iove to watch here perform.
Maasdam1993 3 months ago
VaBkWrm, she was 69 when she died, not well into her 70s. But you're right, she looks and sounds marvelous.
divadoll 3 months ago
Josphine Baker was the Greatest long before is was fashionable for a Black person let along with Blacks period.
jo22338601 3 months ago
WHAT a show... what a pro, what a lovely lady
MadameRisquee 4 months ago
A legend.. She is a bright star that came to us.. <3 So beautiful
Thanku for putting this video up!
ValriParks 4 months ago
@jassie081895 And even better, she SEEMS and acts young!
Renitamac 5 months ago
She was easily well into her 70's here. She looks,and sounds brilliant!
VABkWrm 5 months ago
a trannys dream
mikednyny1984 5 months ago
she is my 3rd cousin i love watching her perform everyone says have energy just like her!
lauraloverx5 7 months ago
the original grace jones
sallyfieldrequired 8 months ago
My name is Josephine im black from france and she is my Idol !!! I live in the Usa now.it was really a big lost for them ! I love this woman
JolieJb 8 months ago 2
Comment removed
updrafttower 9 months ago
A TRUE DIVA.....JOSEPHINE F O R E V E R
aqban22 9 months ago 2
awesome :))
tiffinypie 9 months ago
Even her microphone is all blinged out.
octogirlie 10 months ago
Just great!!! Love her....I was a yr.old at this time.
kingofthedammd 10 months ago
I feel that America missed out (for the most part) on a really talented lady, just because of segregation and racism. I think that she would have stayed over here or at least perfomred over here more if she and her people were treated better. France accepted her with open arms. Our loss.....
RealityBites771 10 months ago 6
Wow...this is truly amazing. Where did you get this footage?? She is truly a classic legend, and legend's never die!
AREvans50986 10 months ago 3
BEAUTIFUL
bmmiscute 1 year ago
i thot she was atleast 50 in this
Jayfeather971 1 year ago 2
@Jayfeather971 68, actually
smartblonde07 7 months ago
@smartblonde07 i said i THOUGHT she was 50 but okay. She sure doesnt look 68
Jayfeather971 7 months ago
This was at the Palladium.
ChristopherSyn1 1 year ago
I smiled!
r4d4101 1 year ago 2
Extraordinaria. Unica. Irrepetible!.
eduardo11898 1 year ago
@90rashad Just for the record darling, you need to do your research. It is fact that Josephine Baker's father was most likely a white German man. Not that it makes any difference. But the truth is no one knows who her biological father actually was.
RealTalkShow1 1 year ago
@RealTalkShow1 dose it realy matter.she said she was back, she was treated like she was black,she stated that she was black.
jazsan222 1 year ago
@jazsan222 It's cos she was fighting tooth and nail saying her dad was black when he weren't. Nothing wrong with stating the truth. It don't bother me, my mums black and my dads white too.
RealTalkShow1 1 year ago 2
Beautiful
erika2012vsu 1 year ago
never gets old! she is simply stunning!
monaymonroe 1 year ago
oh i love her
WonderWomanFan4life 1 year ago
She died in 1975. She performed shows all over Europe until her death because of the debts she had.
So so so sad.....
bobduvar 1 year ago 3
She was a "STAR" with the greatest heart who went on to found the orphanage " The Rainbow Children" so the money she made was given to the Next Generation" with love and affection! Where are those Kid's NOW!????
vavaguzas 1 year ago
My Dad saw her live in Paris during the war! At the Follie Bergere! What an experience! Her escaped from a German POW Camp and faked his way through Europe! To end up with the free Polish in Bearsden Glasgow from there he went to the Polish Air Ministry in London where my Mum {but her's is a better story!!!!} met and married! Then had me when he was 47 and she was 36! A world apart from my existance! But retain the stories!!!
vavaguzas 1 year ago
@vavaguzas
What a story your parents have!
MsRenushka 1 year ago
beautiful multiracial woman! legend.
Laboheme5 1 year ago
@Laboheme5 she was black
90rashad 1 year ago 4
she sure could belt a song, even at this age, a natural talent and a real dynamo
wilburbonzo 1 year ago 6
i love this woman. she did not only drive a car, she also had a license to fly, smuggled information on the germans in her sheet music and sang in seven languages
wendyjeanlouis 1 year ago 18
What a great GREAT performer.
By this time (1970s), from what I understand, she was experiencing a re-discovery. The story goes that she passed away in bed with the glowing newspaper reviews of her previous night's performance surrounding her.
Thank God she lived to see the acclaim she so richly deserved.
Lampshade51 1 year ago 6
Black women are beautiful.... we range from every shade on the spectrum and we're still BLACK! such a diverse people we are!
taliiuh 1 year ago 34
@taliiuh Whites too. Every shade there is. Diversity is everywhere.
JhonathanFree 5 months ago
@taliiuh Thank you!
GaijinPrincess 5 months ago
she was fit.
XxShayBabiixX 1 year ago
And this talented woman came from the St. Louis slums! Amazing! Its a dirty shame that her own country turned their backs.
BobChippewa 1 year ago 2
@vampirequeen2004
She didnt know her dad, yet it is believed her father was a white man
CarmenG93 1 year ago
@CarmenG93 her father was black, she didnt have anything to do with white.
90rashad 1 year ago 3
she looks like white woman who browned her self she does not look like black is she mixed
VampireQueen2004 1 year ago
@VampireQueen2004 It's called having light skin. She looks just like my grandmother who is black.
SuperDaBaddest10 1 year ago
@SuperDaBaddest10 i hate when people say you mixed because she lights skinned, i have to face that, and it makes me mad
90rashad 1 year ago 3
@90rashad i feel ur pain. it frustrates me when ppl assume withiut even asking me! O and Jospehine is a great entertainer by the way!
ladyfriend4497 1 year ago
@90rashad its only whte people
jazsan222 1 year ago
@VampireQueen2004 you need to go take a seat.
90rashad 1 year ago
@90rashad only thing you looking at is her skin, these two nigerian couples had a a white baby with blong hair, thats something black can do.
90rashad 1 year ago 3
find me a chair please
VampireQueen2004 1 year ago
:-)
(-:
ODUSSEUS69 1 year ago
Magnífico!!!!
Uma mulher que fez história... Superou a pobreza e tornou-se uma personalidade!
expedito1964 1 year ago
Esa mujer era formidable, en esa presentación tenía 68 años
amolinag 1 year ago
she was so pretty.
divafix 1 year ago 3
hard to believe she was nearly 70 (67 to be exact) when she did this.... I hope I'm that fit by the time I'm her age, heh.
karol504 1 year ago 8
This has been flagged as spam show
@karol504 i sure hope to be like that myself as i reach that age (though i gotta long way to go)
phdseuss 1 year ago
elle a tout invente
hfoubleu 1 year ago
So wonderful!!! - but sad, too. We just don't have stars like this anymore; a true entertainer instead of a product.
christiandior1947 1 year ago
go jo!!!!!!!!
we love u!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
sergioapuzzo 1 year ago
i want that outfit-
octaviacup 2 years ago 4
Fantastic lady
carolineamber 2 years ago 4
i loved her so much, always will.
nothinghumanlovesfor 2 years ago
Magnificent!!!!!!!!
prjr1973 2 years ago
she was georgous all the wat to the day she passed on!!!
cenalover386 2 years ago
and she had a nice ass
64i79t 2 years ago 2
Miss Baker was in excellent voice right up to the end!
jhhone 2 years ago 5
j'aime josephine et ses costumes
productionsreglisse 2 years ago
TAKE A LOOK AT HE MIC
JAJA
arrecotinarrecotan 2 years ago
Damn if I could only be a 4th as dope as her I'd be in there. Hell I'd take a 10th.
raynarayskye 2 years ago 3
pinklisa: oh yeah, the movie made her look a lot older.. rite here, she dnt look haff bad ;]
codyluver21 2 years ago 3
She's great with the crowd, "i wish you could see yourselves from here, you are beautiful." its so heart warming... #sigh#
BattleOlly 2 years ago 4
beautiful voice too
creolelady182 2 years ago 2
Fabulous.
mattdabrat424 2 years ago 2
Omg, this was a year before she died...How sad! I just watched the movie of her life with Lynn Whitfield.
Gabbycrts 2 years ago 3
@Gabbycrts not sad...amazing. She was a display of strength.
letmespeak2u 10 months ago 2
People of color just age better- no tricks or lighting- let's face it!
TheMareezy 2 years ago 4
Wow she looked good for being 68.
pinklisa 2 years ago 3
Amazing woman. OK, she may have had a few tricks to make her look younger...whatever...point is, she was a superstar and an entertainer until the end. An still looked good. Tights and lights are not going to alter that. Maybe she felt that she ought to appear in public a certain way...the woman was 68 years of age!
frogz6873 2 years ago 2
La France t'aime pour toujours Josephine!!! France loves you for ever Josephine!
x27agent 2 years ago
look at the figure on that 68 year old woman!
missjanet88 2 years ago 2
she wore a million tights underneath
ratkins2323 2 years ago
whateva. it's possible that she just kept herself up.
missjanet88 2 years ago
what do u mean whateva? u think i just made that up? that's what she did. that's why her legs look like that. and for her skin she did tricks w/ the lighting to make her look younger. i'm sure she was fit though but u have to go the extra mile to get those results at 68
ratkins2323 2 years ago
bottom line she looked great.
missjanet88 2 years ago
Either way were those remarks really necessary?
thekingofmoney2000 2 years ago
look, i get it. like someone explaining all the magic tricks to a kid. i apologize. if it were me i would have found that fact interesting. don't try to put me down for sharing information just b/c u didn't feel like hearing it. you could have ignored it.
ratkins2323 2 years ago
Anyway I doubts you'll look as good as her when you're that age ratikins2323!
thekingofmoney2000 2 years ago 3
brack dont crack chile. be dont need botox..........we're blessed
jamardjk 2 years ago 3
Josephine, they are English people they aint got a smile in their hearts...
videolover61 2 years ago
Vive La Belle Josephine!! Can you imagine, she is nearly 70 at this performance and the year before her death. What a terrible loss but she went out a champion and honoured. Milles bises chere Josephine. Thank you for this it is splendid only wish there were the whole show.
globalman 2 years ago
i have had the honor to visit her former home in southern France which is a musuem protected by French Gov in her memory
japnikki 2 years ago 2
she is awesome!
AZYRIELLAVESTA 3 years ago
I LOVE JOSEPHINE BAKER!!!
She is a legend and always will be!
lilcoco77007 3 years ago 3
she was an advocate as well fighting for black civil rights
heres22 3 years ago
JOSEPHINE BAKER WAS A ICON..
coolbreezegirl27 3 years ago 4
^-^
eltirano28 3 years ago
the first STAR that came down to earth was this women !
yosogomo 3 years ago 56
lovely said, yosogomo!
globalman 2 years ago
im just upset that she was never as big here in america than in europe. whats wrong with us we parise britney spears and shun ppl like josephine and tina turner
leplaq 3 years ago 5
do you know where I can get it? website order? I have looked everywhere..even in Paris and I came up with nothing....any information I would really appreciate....Thank you.....I love all your videos of her and I look at the everyday! Thank you for help keeping her spirit alive....
delov1 3 years ago
67 never looked or sounded better.......Do you have the album Bobino 1975?....I will pay to have it again someone stole my copy...
delov1 3 years ago
i have it and would be happy to share
mrlopez2681 3 years ago
OMG! You have it really? How may I get a copy from you?
delov1 3 years ago
I could email if you like- I have the rare CD
mrlopez2681 3 years ago
I don't want to bother you but I would like to see the rest of the show.Thankyou
TaraMoriah 2 years ago
Amazing !
djmatar2i 3 years ago 3
She a awesome person with talent
japnikki 3 years ago 2
jospeh baker was groges woman but when she got older they put her out of manison they treated her nasty toward the end of her life so sad she is a legend
lifeofchangesforme 3 years ago 34
This lady was a great singer even when she was close to 70 years old as she was in this video. She was unbelievably talented.
budooo 3 years ago 4
When you get right down to it, she teaches that if you have talent & are surrounded by stupid people....SING AND DANCE HARDER (then go to France & get paid.)
TracyInsomiac 3 years ago 2
The one. The only. The Queen of all the Divas. The fabulous Miss Baker. Great seeing this on YouTube.
yardleyaloe 3 years ago
she is my idol
gina23451 3 years ago
a diva . . .a superstar of europe / france . .from st. louis to stardome. . read the facts on jose on wikipedia . . . peace...
gadzooks63 3 years ago
Josephine's birthday is June 3. (You probably knew that already, right?)
yardleyaloe 3 years ago
Wow I didnt even know she spoke english I thought she was french. Where is she from?
cafe2006 3 years ago
She speaks French with an english accent, by the way, especially with her 'é's -she makes them too 'ay'-ful.
bobbobato 3 years ago
And, whaddya gonna do if we don't, huh?lol
StephanAOTTO1 3 years ago
im only 25 and i love her
1man4u2 3 years ago
I think we are at a concensus that colorism is INDEED an issue among Black people. The fallacy is in pointing to that as one of the main reasons why Josephine had trouble finding acceptance in the US. That argument doesn't hold water. The women you named, fair-skinned or not, were wildly successful in the US. If the darker-complected ones, still found success here, it could easily have happened for Josephine, no? That could not have been the mitigating factor.
Gatsbyesque 3 years ago
It was her brashness, her stunning sexuality, the wearing of political beliefs on her sleeve, her willingness to be an activist and indict America for being racist when it was not popular to be an outspoken Black performer, and refusal to be complicit or adhere to the standards that the rest of them all had to bow to in order to make it in American society back then.
Gatsbyesque 3 years ago
She was an activist and a renegade of sorts, and that is what hurt her here. She was going around talking about the races living together in peaceful harmony, promoting a colorblind society, and she had the eyes of the WORLD on her, to capture this speech and send it all over the place. Plus, she was liked. They had to find a way to make her unlikeable, so they spread rumors that she was a communist like they did with anyone considered dangerous to the status quo.
Gatsbyesque 3 years ago
You couldn't have too many people thinking like Josephine. America clearly wasn't ready for that sort of speech. Categorized as a radical and put on blacklists here, there, and everywhere. I think these things, along with the politics of the time are what affected her. The disparity between her treatment here and elsewhere was so great, that she couldn't help but show a preference which also infuriated lost of Americans.
Gatsbyesque 3 years ago
She was largely misunderstood until later in life when advocating civil rights aggressively did not make you a marked man or woman. To say that color complexes among Blacks were the reason she didn't find success here is to totally distort and bastardize the real issues she faced.
Gatsbyesque 3 years ago
Once again. I am not talking of just success. Please hear what I'm saying. There were many darker skin successful people of that era. I am strictly talking of what was embraced as being the ultimate beauty and sex appeal. Once again. Look at the SUCCESSFUL ads targeted towards Blacks in beautifying themselves of that era. It tells you everything. I remember those ads. Josephine could have been a success in America but just as she said....she would have had to play roles that were less glamorous.
LANORDA9 3 years ago
And please note that she was denied certain roles in BLACK theatres because she was considered too dark. The idea of beauty in much of the black community at the time was anything close to white or "mulatto looking" I promise you. Hell....It still exists today. Please list a dark skinned sex symbol who is ordained as an epitome of beauty in the same way spoken of Halle Berry or Lena Horne of any era. Just one. I'm not talking of a woman we love but a woman spoken of as a QUEEN of beauty.
LANORDA9 3 years ago
Naomi Campbell
courtjesting 3 years ago
I wouldn't assume that the producers of that ONE PLAY her biography says she didn't get the lead in for being "too dark and too skinny" were Black just because it featured a Black cast, especially in that day.
The biases/disparities you speak of exist, they just aren't as entrenched into the Josephine Baker struggle as you believe. Let's face it, women in visual mediums get picked apart relentlessly.
Gatsbyesque 3 years ago
EVERY Black female (entertainer) who ever tried to make an impact on a visual medium has been told she is either "too dark," or "too light" -- sometimes both. You would be hard pressed to find ANY Black person who wasn't discriminated against at some point because of his or her complexion - by fellow Blacks and Whites. That doesn't necessarily outweigh the other issues said individual might have faced.
Gatsbyesque 3 years ago
In Josephines case, she had WAY bigger problems. You'll find that bio you're misquoting delves into those issues more exhaustively than the "too dark" issue in relation to that one play at the beginning of her career -- which is sometimes mentioned and barely ever dissected to the point that her other problems were - Hmm, I wonder why? If you're going to base an argument on something, it ought to be used in the proper context.
Gatsbyesque 3 years ago
I'm still not buying your argument which places the weight of Josephine's rejection among American audiences on the shoulders of a Black audience that you're claiming rejected her for being too dark. There are numerous examples to illustrate the contrary. Nevermind, the obvious fact that Josephine isn't that dark of a woman, anyway. Her complexion is pretty moderate for someone of African descent. I would never call her "dark-skinned" but that's just me...
Gatsbyesque 3 years ago
The ads you're talking about likely featured women who looked like Josephine, who is FAR closer to looking like the "ideal" Black woman, from any perspective, than you seem to want to admit. lol Barring that, I've NEVER seen a legitimate critique of her career that even hints at this being one of the primary reasons she had trouble, here. As I've pointed out, Josephine faced far bigger issues that overshadow this problem easily.
Gatsbyesque 3 years ago
When you make that the primary focus, you distort her actual struggle tremendously.
Gatsbyesque 3 years ago
I think we are at a concensus that colorism is INDEED an issue among Black people. The fallacy is in pointing to that as one of the main reasons why Josephine had trouble finding acceptance in the US. That argument doesn't hold water. The women you named, fair-skinned or not, were wildly successful in the US. If the darker-complected ones, still found success here, it could easily have happened for Josephine, no? That could not have been the mitigating factor.
Gatsbyesque 3 years ago
For some reason you don't expect her to have such a 'modern' American accent since sh spent most of her life living and speaking in French.
PisceanBeautyy 4 years ago 3
I'm always surprised by that, too, & then I remember that she's from St. Louis, Missouri!:)
StephanAOTTO 4 years ago
Yup
Gatsbyesque 3 years ago
Yes! LOL Shocking lol...
Gatsbyesque 3 years ago
La Baker!! Too bad that she had to leave the United States in order to be treated as an equal. She was too dark to be white and too light to be black for the U.S. But she made it!!!
bcperry1962 4 years ago 2
Bcperry1962. Yes she had to leave the US, but it wasn't because she was too light to be black. Josephine's skin was considered too dark to be beautiful in the black community. Light skin was desired by most blacks. As hard as that is to believe and you probably associate her skin with light skin. However, It shows the state of oppression at the time. A black woman had to look literally have white skin to be beautiful in the minds of the brainwashed and the oppressed. Those were extreme times.
LANORDA9 4 years ago
Lanorda,
I must disagree. Though some films in the early days featured lighter-skinned women, many times, it was the darker-skinned women who became the great stars, from Sarah to Dinah to Ella to Hazel Scott. Even in Ebony magazines in the '50's, many of the models had caramel and darker-colored skin.
As for what color was desired by Blacks, the issue wasn't so much the color, but the texture of the skin that mattered. Some people are finally waking up to this idea.
StephanAOTTO 4 years ago
After speaking with the older members of my family, it's clear to me that while lighter skin may have been in films, the people ignored what was shown to them "and did their own thing", just as many people rejected the idea of the 'waif' model being the ideal. Black people weren't 'brainwashed' at all. They simply saw it for what it was, ignored it, & went about their business, as it were. They really could have cared less. Some people have issues no matter what color, size, etc., they are.
StephanAOTTO 4 years ago
It is very inaccurate to try to say that Black people are why Josephine could not, at first, succeed in the United States. First, it gives the oppressed group of people a power they DID NOT have, it erroneously takes the heat off of the REAL reasons she wasn't accepted here - (Racism, Sexism, Patriarchal White dominance in American Society), and inaccurately cites colorism within the Black race, as one of the problems affecting Black entertainers.
Gatsbyesque 3 years ago
While this embarassing by-product of opression exists, it was the LEAST of Josephine's problems.
Gatsbyesque 3 years ago
It is obvious that racism is why she had to leave the US however you will find that due to oppression Blacks favored performers that were closer to White Looking. Skin lightening products were the rave during this time. Look up a product called LUCKY BROWN. There was a love/hate with light skin within the black community. Lena Horne was Black Americas queen of Beauty. And that in itself says volumes.
LANORDA9 3 years ago
And let me be clear that I may have failed to clearly communicate my point. She spoke specifically of not being light enough in the black community as well as speaking about racism within the white community. And the thought that blacks were only concerned with skin texture is laughable. Anyone Black with an inkling of what has occured for years knows that many many Blacks have serious skin color issues. "Pretty to be so dark" is still a common phrase among Black Americans.
LANORDA9 3 years ago
What is skin 'texture'?
PisceanBeautyy 4 years ago
"ST" simply means whether you skin is rough or smooth, blotchy or even-colored/toned, etc.
That's all.:)
StephanAOTTO 4 years ago
The texture of the skin?? Dinah, Ella and Hazel were not sex symbols. They were not considered the epitome of beauty as was Lena Horne and Dorothy Dandridge? I am not talking of becoming a star.....I am talking of standards of beauty. Do your research on Ebony and you will find that most of the Ebony Fashion Fair Models were very light skinned with intent. It made traveling across the US alot easier. I dont know where you get your information. And no! I was not born in the computer age.
LANORDA9 3 years ago
Yes, texture of the skin.
Hazel Scott was considered a sex symbol.
She was gorgeous & had tons of men outside of her stage door after each performance, as did Valaida Snow, another great jazz musician of the time. Dinah was married 7-8 times. Someone must have found her sexy.
Anyway, D&E were both overweight, & there wasn't a BBW movement like we have now, so, they wouldn't have been sex sybols then.
This "issue" is really in your head, not necessarily history.
StephanAOTTO1 3 years ago
..., so, they wouldn't have been sex symbols back then. As for darker-skinned sex symbols:
Naomi Campbell, Tyra Banks, Naomi Simms, Iman, Grace Jones, Beverly Johnson, Vivica A. Fox, Thandie Newton, Gabriel Union, Nia Long, Pam Grier-'nuff said.
The list is growing.
Like I said, this "issue" is mostly in your head.
StephanAOTTO1 3 years ago
I would be more interested in someone who has lived thru extreme times rather than one who only has read about it. Times are still extreme in case you haven't noticed. Not to put you down, but you were born during the computer age and you don't have enough experience to teach. Reading is one thing, experience is another. For you Lanorda9!
bcperry1962 4 years ago
Bcperry....Please note. I have lived through what you couldn't possibly imagine. I should know. And I had the priveledge of seeing her live in the 50's.
LANORDA9 3 years ago
I think it is more accurate to say that for many, she would have been too dark to be beautiful, period, specifically in the eyes of White society. She had to be fetishized and regarded as a taboo in order for people to acknowledge that she was a desirable women in a way that they were comfortable with. That's why she couldn't be the phenomenon here that she could be elsewhere in the world where racial tensions weren't so consuming of the entire culture, even the arts.
Gatsbyesque 3 years ago
Darn it, I can't tell which order your post are in! Darn YT!!!
Anyway, I have to disagree a little, because even Lena Horne was too dark for them. it wasn't about color, but, ethnicity, period, much like "Showboat"'s Julie, even if she'd been proven to have 'one drop', they couldn't have dealt with her.
Why?
Because they feel ethnically inferiour, inadequate & insecure, period.
Not all Whites.
Just the racist ones.
That's why they're racists in the first place, you dig?:P
StephanAOTTO 3 years ago
Click "view all comments" and it places them in order. I was actually responding further to Lanorda's comment. I'm confused about what you're disagreeing with...
Gatsbyesque 3 years ago
I do that all the time, & it still get the order wrong:P
Eh, well.
I was disagreeing w/ your statement about her being too dark for White "society" as the reason why they ignored her, foolishly.
My point is that they're so etnically insecure, she could be as light as this page, & they still couldn't handle her in their midst, because her prescence made them feel inadequate.
StephanAOTTO 3 years ago
When I said "too dark to be beautiful, period," I meant just that. Black, period. I agree with you. I don't think her shade of "Blackness" was a prominent issue with either race. That was an erroneous observation from the beginning, I think we're all trying to understand why the hell that one was made. LOL
Gatsbyesque 3 years ago
Josephine's "problem" was racism, period.
Gatsbyesque 3 years ago
BTW, when I say 'period' I don't mean to cut you off or be rash. I just mean to say that was the issue 'in general', or 'essentially' that was the problem. I shoudl have said, "Josephine's problem was racism, in general."
Gatsbyesque 3 years ago
No argument here.
Unfortunately, her later problem, if that's the correct word, is that she tried to save the world by herself w/ her Rainbow Tribe, but, we can't do it all by ourselves.
I hope that Angelina figures this out, too, before it's too late.
StephanAOTTO 3 years ago
I really think that if she wanted to provide for all of those children, she should have agreed to perform for the segregated US audiences... She couldn't have it both ways. She severely stunted her wealth-potential with that. I also think it's really sad the French govt couldn't step in to secure the chateau when she was having financial problems after her efforts on their behalf -- she was basically a war hero. Why didn't someone step in and just help?
Gatsbyesque 3 years ago
Towards the end, it's said that the late Princess grace did help her, financially. Even if she had performed in the US, she may not have been nearly as big as she was internationally, as almost all African-American pop divas-with class-are less popular in the US than they are oversee, which will ALWAYS be a very sad thing.
Though she was a war hero, that chateau was so big & DeGalle may or may not have been generous w/ the purse strings, even if she were entitled to a stipend.
StephanAOTTO 3 years ago
Good to know that she had friends who were kind to her. Yeah, I didn't realize how huge the chateau was until I saw some photographs last night. It was basically a little town lol Managing it probably cost a fortune.
Gatsbyesque 3 years ago
Agreed.
Now that that's settled, can we gush about the headdress, please!!!:)
StephanAOTTO 3 years ago
That thing is huge!
Gatsbyesque 3 years ago
It had nothing to do with not being accepted by other black people. Josephine saw that she could reach levels in France that would never have been possible at that time in the US, merely because she was black, no matter what shade.
PisceanBeautyy 4 years ago 2
Exactly, PB!
StephanAOTTO 4 years ago
As with many black entertainers. I agree.
BLAKPEARL69 3 years ago