Mélodic-Jazz du Casino de Paris - Confessing

This is an unforgettable 1930 recording in which this French orchestra accompanied Miss Baker, also called the Black Pearl. Dropped out of school at the age of 12 and lived as a street child in the black slums of St. Louis. Her street-corner dancing attracted attention and success for her, and she was recruited for the St. Louis Chorus vaudeville show at 15. She then headed to 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). On October 2, 1925, she opened in Paris at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, where she became an instant success. After a successful tour of Europe, she reneged on her contract and returned to France to star at the Folies Bergères, setting the standard for her future acts. After a short while she was the most successful American entertainer working in France. Gradually Baker's stage and public persona, as well as her singing voice, went through a significant transformation. In 1934 she took the lead in a revival of Jacques Offenbach's 1875 opera La créole at the Théâtre Marigny in the Champs-Élysées of Paris, which premiered in December of that year for a six month run. In preparation for her performances she went through months of training with a vocal coach. Baker was so well known and popular with the French 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. Despite her popularity in France, she never obtained the same reputation in America. 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 1935–36 US performances received poor reviews. Baker returned to Paris in 1937, married Frenchman Jean Lion, and became a French citizen.