Thanks to sister-friend Joniece Elessie for sending me on a hunt for the original BLACK Betty Boop! Lisa Riley, youre gonna love this!!! Heres what I found~ ********** ESTHER JONES, known by her stage name, “Baby Esther,” was a popular African-American singer/entertainer during the late 1920s. She was a regular at The Cotton Club in Harlem, NYC. It was then a place where Blacks could perform for white audiences but were barred from coming to the Cotton Club as part of the audience. At some point between 1928 and 1929, a white singer named Helen Kane went to the Cotton Club, saw Baby Esthers act and copied (lets call it stole) Esther Jones’ ‘baby voice singing style for her recording of “I Wanna Be Loved By You.” Esther Jones’ singing style and her musical voice phrase boop oop be doop would also become the inspiration for Max Fleischers cartoon character’s voice and style of BETTY BOOP! An early test sound film was also discovered, which featured Baby Esther performing in her unique style, disproving Helen Kane’s claim that SHE was the original Betty Boop. Still she took her claim to court. Baby Esther’s manager testified in the $250,000 infringement lawsuit that Helen Kane, saw Baby Esthers act at the Cotton Club and copied what she saw. Even Helen Kanes own manager admitted shed copied Esther Jones! Supreme Court Judge Edward J. McGoldrick ruled: “The plaintiff has failed to sustain either cause of action by proof of sufficient probative force”. In his opinion, the “baby” technique of singing did not originate with Helen Kane. Scholar Robert G.O’ Meally later said, Helen Kane, the so-called White Betty Boop, had a Black grandmother in her own background. Its speculated the real Betty Boop, Baby Esther Jones, died around 1934, just as the lawsuit ended. *Learn your History or they will Take it from you!
Posted on: Wed, 03 Sep 2014 10:26:52 +0000
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