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Mona Baptiste
BornJune 21, 1928
Trinidad
DiedJune 25, 1993
Krefeld
GenresCalypso
Blues
Occupation(s)Singer
Actress
InstrumentVocals
Years active1949–1961

Mona Baptiste was a Trinidad-born singer and actress in London and Germany.[1] She was largely popular from songs like Calypso Blues and There’s Something in the Air.

Life & Career

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Cover from the Single Es liegt was in der Luft (1954) from Bully Buhlan and Mona Baptiste.

Originally born in Trinidad, Baptiste emigrated from London in 1948 on the MV Empire Windrush. While presenting herself as a clerk to London immigration, she began working towards her singing career very soon after. [2]

Over the next few years, she appeared in the British music magazine New Musical Express for events such as signing with Cab Kaye to sing with the Cabinettes, appearing on the television show Coloured Follies, and appearing on the British radio variety show Brandbox in 1949.[3][4][5] She also started singing at Quaglino’s Restaurant and their Allegro to great success in 1950[6][7]. In 1951 she worked Ted Heath’s band and other jazz groups, and recorded her version of Calypso Blues, a song originally performed by Nat King Cole.[8]

In Germany she gained recognition for her popular songs like There’s Something in the Air and movie appearances in films like Tanz in der Sonne and An jedem Finger zehn in 1954.[9][1] Baptiste later retired after her husband died, but tried to make a comeback in the seventies.[9] However, her comeback was unsuccessful.[9] She died on June 25th, 1993 in Krefeld, Germany.

Filmography

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0052671/bio
  2. ^ McKay, George (2005-11-02). Circular Breathing: The Cultural Politics of Jazz in Britain. Duke University Press. ISBN 082238728X.
  3. ^ CAB KAYE SIGNS MONA BAPTISTE. (1949, Mar 18). Musical Express (Archive: 1948-1952)
  4. ^ MONA BAPTISTE ON TELEVISION. (1949, Jul 08). Musical Express (Archive: 1948-1952)
  5. ^ MONA BAPTISTE'S FIRST APPEARANCE ON BANDBOX. (1949, Dec 30). Musical Express (Archive: 1948-1952)
  6. ^ MONA BAPTISTE FOR QUAG'S. (1950, Mar 24). Musical Express (Archive: 1948-1952)
  7. ^ MONA BAPTISTE. (1950, Apr 14). Musical Express (Archive: 1948-1952)
  8. ^ Kelley, R.; Tuck, S. (2016-02-22). The Other Special Relationship: Race, Rights, and Riots in Britain and the United States. Springer. ISBN 9781137392701.
  9. ^ a b c Germany, SPIEGEL ONLINE, Hamburg,. "GESTORBEN: Mona Baptiste - DER SPIEGEL 27/1993". www.spiegel.de (in German). Retrieved 2017-03-28.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
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