Elsie Baker

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Elsie Baker. Photographs were taken between 1910 and 1920.

Elsie West Baker , also under the pseudonyms Edna Brown , Nora Watson and Mable West , (born September 27, 1886 in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania , † April 28, 1958 in Manhattan , New York City ) was an American singer ( alto ) and reciter, who was one of the most popular musicians of the time, whose sound recordings, especially those of the Victor Talking Machine Company , were widely used.

biography

Elsie Baker was born on September 27, 1886 to Carrie Ella, b. Greene and William Drinker Baker were born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She came from a family of musicians who fostered her musical talent at an early age, starting with piano lessons as a child, followed by vocal performances in the local church as an adolescent at the age of fifteen. A tradition which she cultivated in the following years by means of extensive tours of various places of worship in the United States and which ultimately led to the conclusion, contrary to the prevailing opinion, that the "true school for the American voice lies in the church". At the age of nineteen, thanks to her talent and willpower, she was able to rake in a salary of six hundred US dollars and lead a freely determined life.

Her musical career, in the music industry that was emerging at the time, began with recordings of various performances for manufacturers of phonograph cylinders . These included the companies Thomas A. Edison, Inc. , North American Phonograph Company and Indestructible Phonograph Record Company . On the following shellac records , invented by Emil Berliner , Baker released for the labels Columbia , Zonophone and Victor . In the latter, she became one of the most important singers and as a result was featured on many releases - including the Black and Blue labels, as well as the Red Seal label - of the Victor Talking Machine Company.

Elsie Baker died on April 28, 1958 in Manhattan, New York City, the place where she last lived, unmarried, after a long illness, according to a brief obituary in the New York Times . The church burial took place on April 30 of the same year in the Presbyterian Church Chapel - West 73rd Street.

Recordings

Thomas A. Edison, Inc.

Elsie Baker made the first recording for Thomas A. Edison, Inc. , which was released in March 1912 on a four-minute Amberol phonograph cylinder entitled Cradle Song , followed by Pickaninny's Lullaby in May of that year, announced in Edison Phonograph Monthly .

literature

  • Tim Gracyk, Frank Hoffmann: Popular American Recording Pioneers 1895-1925. The Haworth Press, New York 2000, ISBN 1-56024-993-5 .
  • Frank Hoffmann & Howard Ferstler: Encyclopedia of Recorded Sound. Routledge, London 2005, ISBN 0-203-48427-4 .

Web links

Commons : Elsie Baker  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ The Edison Phonograph Monthly (Jan-Dec 1912). Internet Archive, accessed on May 25, 2019 .
personal data
SURNAME Baker, Elsie
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Baker, Elsie West; Brown, Edna (pseudonym); Watson, Nora (pseudonym); West, Mable (pseudonym)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American singer (alto) and reciter
DATE OF BIRTH September 27, 1886
PLACE OF BIRTH Philadelphia
DATE OF DEATH April 28, 1958
Place of death New York City