Died On This Date (April 12, 1975) Josephine Baker / ’30s Cabaret Star
themusicsover Josephine Baker
June 3, 1906 – April 12, 1975
Miss Josephine Baker was born into poverty in 1906 but would grow up to be one of the most in-demand French cabaret performers of her time. Off stage she devoted her life to fighting prejudice. The slums of St. Louis could not hold this woman down as she left home at the age of 13 to pursue her dream of the stage. Her break came in 1921 when she began to get notice on the stages of New York City. She quickly became a star throughout Harlem and began to grace the stage of such jazz landmarks as the Cotton Club. Baker made the move to Paris in 1925 to perform for audiences more accustomed to her brazen sexuality and minimal costumes. By the ’30s, Baker was owning her own club, starring in films, and recording her own records. Back in America to perform alongside Bob Hope in Ziegfeld’s Follies, Baker began to meet resistance due to both her sexuality and skin color, as conservatives rallied against the show. She quickly fled back to Paris and became a naturalized citizen. About that time, the Nazis invaded so Baker found herself working for the resistance and going as far as to smuggle sensitive documents out of France. She even worked as a sub-lieutenant for the French Air Force’s Women’s Auxiliary, volunteered for the Red Cross, and performed for the troops. She was later awarded military medals for her brave work. By the ’50s, Baker was back in America where she used her fame in the fight for Civil Rights by demanding to perform in front of segregated audiences. After retiring from the stage, Baker spent her time raising her racially mixed brood of 12 adopted children and stayed active in the struggle for equal rights. Josephine Baker passed away of natural causes in her sleep in the early hours of April 12, 1975, following the opening night of a revue in honor of her fifty years in show business. In the crowd that night were the likes of Prince Rainier and Princess Grace, Sophia Loren, Mick Jagger, Shirley Bassey, Diana Ross and Liza Minelli. Opening night received rave reviews.
What You Should Own
Not only was Gene Pitney a future member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (2002), he was an accomplished songwriter, guitarist, pianist, and sound engineer. Pitney enjoyed much success as a performer, cranking out more than twenty Top 40 hits at a time when most other American acts were being pushed aside by the British Invasion. He didn’t fight the trend, he joined it by working on several of the earliest recordings of the Rolling Stones. Pitney’s first hit came in 1961 with “Town Without Pity” from the film of the same name. He sang it at the Academy Awards ceremony, being the first pop singer to perform at the event. His hits as a singer or songwriter continued with a vengeance. He can count the following as his own (as a writer or singer): “He’s A Rebel,” “Hello Mary Lou,” “Rubber Ball,” Today’s Teardrops,” and “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance.” He even gave songwriters Mick Jagger and Keith Richards their first Top 10 hit with his version of “That Girl Belongs To Yesterday.” Pitney continued to record and perform throughout the rest of his life until he died of natural causes in his hotel room while on a tour of the UK in 2006. He was 66.
Ian Stewart was a Scottish boogie-woogie piano player who, in 1962, was the first to respond to 
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Amos Heilicher was a Minneapolis music industry icon whose impact was felt well beyond the Twin Cities. Heilicher was still in high school when jumped into the record business by purchasing five jukeboxes. Mercury Records soon came and asked him for help getting their latest singles into other area jukeboxes as well. After that, he brought on RCA and Columbia along with other labels, and quickly became one of the country’s leading jukebox record suppliers. Heilicher soon expanded his distribution, or “rack-jobbing,” to include drug stores, department stores, and eventually, such chains as Discount Records and Musicland. He also had his own label, Soma Records for many years, and has been credited for breaking such hits as the Trashmen’s “Surfin’ Bird” and