JOSEPHINE BAKER - Don't Touch My Tomatoes

Josephine Baker was the daughter of Carrie McDonald and vaudeville drummer Eddie Carson. The two had an act together in St. Louis, and began carrying baby Josephine onstage as part of their act when she was one. Carson would eventually abandon Josephine and her mother, and at age eight she was a live-in servant for an abusive white family. By the time she was thirteen she had dropped out of school and was living in cardboard boxes on the street. When she was fifteen her street corner dancing got her noticed, and she was hired by The St Louis Chorus vaudeville show. After a few years she headed to New York City, and by the early 1920's she was dancing in the chorus of groundbreaking Broadway revues - she was said to be the highest paid chorus girl in vaudeville. In 1925, Josephine traveled to Paris for a new gig and she became an instant star. She settled down there and quickly became well known for her erotic dancing. In 1934, she starred in the French film Zou-Zou - it was the first time a black woman starred in a major motion picture. She eventually became a French citizen, and she was later awarded French military honors for her involvement in aiding the French resistance during World War II. In 1959 Josephine recorded the novelty song Don't Touch My Tomatoes.