Mona Baptiste (21 June 1928 – 25 June 1993) was a

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...

-born singer and actress in London and Germany.Mona Baptiste biography
IMDb. She was largely popular from songs such as "Calypso Blues" and "There's Something in the Air". She also acted in multiple musical films, including ''

Dancing in the Sun ''Dancing in the Sun'' (german: Tanz in der Sonne) is a 1954 West German musical film directed by Géza von Cziffra and starring Cécile Aubry, Franco Andrei and Ursula Justin.Koshofer p.110 It was shot on location in Hamburg and Andalucía. Th ...

'' (''Tanz in der Sonne'', 1954).

Life and career

Born into a well-known family in

Port of Spain Port of Spain (Spanish: ''Puerto España''), officially the City of Port of Spain (also stylized Port-of-Spain), is the capital of Trinidad and Tobago and the third largest municipality, after Chaguanas and San Fernando. The city has a municip ...

, Trinidad and Tobago, on 21 June 1928, one of five sisters, Mona Baptiste was 14 when she began singing on the radio and at dances, later becoming involved with the

Little Carib Theatre The Little Carib Theatre (LCT) was established in Woodbrook, Port of Spain, Trinidad, in 1947 by Beryl McBurnie "to showcase the vibrant and rich culture of the Trinbagonian people". The first permanent folk-dance company and theatre in Trinidad, ...

.Cobbinah, Angela (11 October 2018)
"Mona’s musical journey after Windrush"
''

Camden New Journal The ''Camden New Journal'' is a British independent newspaper published in the London Borough of Camden. It was launched by editor Eric Gordon (who died on 5 April 2021, aged 89) in 1982 following a two-year strike at its predecessor, the ''Ca ...

''. She migrated to England in 1948 on the HMT ''Empire Windrush'', which arrived at

Tilbury Docks The Port of Tilbury is a port on the River Thames at Tilbury in Essex, England. It is the principal port for London, as well as being the main United Kingdom port for handling the importation of paper. There are extensive facilities for contai ...

, Essex, on 22 June, the day after her 20th birthday. One of the few women on the ship, she had travelled first class. While she presented herself as a clerk to London immigration, she began working towards her singing career very soon afterwards. Over the next few years, she appeared in the British music magazine ''

New Musical Express ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' for events such as signing with

Cab Kaye Nii-lante Augustus Kwamlah Quaye (3 September 1921 – 13 March 2000), known professionally as Cab Kaye, was an English jazz singer and pianist of Ghanaian descent. He combined blues, stride piano, and scat with his Ghanaian heritage. Youth ...

to sing with the Cabinettes, appearing on the television show ''Coloured Follies'', and appearing on the British radio variety show '' Brandbox'' in 1949. She also started singing at

Quaglino's Quaglino's is a restaurant in central London which was founded in 1929, closed in 1977, and revived in 1993. From the 1930s through the 1950s, it was popular among the British aristocracy, including the royal family, many of whom were regulars ...

restaurant and their Allegro to great success in 1950. In 1951 she worked

Ted Heath Sir Edward Richard George Heath (9 July 191617 July 2005), often known as Ted Heath, was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1974 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1965 to 1975. Heath a ...

's band and other jazz groups, and recorded for

Melodisc Melodisc Records was a record label founded by Emil E. Shalit in the late 1940s. It was one of the first independent record labels in the UK and the parent company of the Blue Beat label. History Melodisc records was founded by Austrian-born A ...

her version of "Calypso Blues", a song originally performed by

Nat King Cole Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American singer, jazz pianist, and actor. Cole's music career began after he dropped out of school at the age of 15, and continued f ...

. She also sang "Calypso Blues" with the Brute Force Steel Band on the 1957

Cook Records Cook Records was a record label founded by Emory Cook (1913–2002), an audio engineer and inventor. From 1952 to 1966, Cook used his Sounds of our Times and Cook Laboratories record labels to demonstrate his philosophy about sound, recording equipm ...

album ''Beauty and the Brute Force''. Invited by

Yves Montand Ivo Livi (), better known as Yves Montand (; 13 October 1921 – 9 November 1991), was an Italian-French actor and singer. Early life Montand was born Ivo Livi in Monsummano Terme, Italy, to Giovanni Livi, a broom manufacturer, Ivo held strong ...

to Paris, she appeared at top cabaret spot La Nouvelle Eve, and went on to perform in

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

and Germany, where she was a great success and decided to settle. In Germany, where she had a house in

Krefeld Krefeld ( , ; li, Krieëvel ), also spelled Crefeld until 1925 (though the spelling was still being used in British papers throughout the Second World War), is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located northwest of Düsseldorf, i ...

,''

The Stage ''The Stage'' is a British weekly newspaper and website covering the entertainment industry and particularly theatre. It was founded in 1880. It contains news, reviews, opinion, features, and recruitment advertising, mainly directed at those wh ...

'', 5 August 1993. she gained recognition for her popular songs such as "There's Something in the Air" and movie appearances including in the films '' Tanz in der Sonne'' and ''An jedem Finger zehn'' in 1954, as well as starring in ''

Porgy and Bess ''Porgy and Bess'' () is an English-language opera by American composer George Gershwin, with a libretto written by author DuBose Heyward and lyricist Ira Gershwin. It was adapted from Dorothy Heyward and DuBose Heyward's play '' Porgy'', itse ...

'' for East German television. Baptiste was married to Michael Carle, whom she had met in London; after his death in a car accident in 1958 when their son Marcel was aged five, she retired. In 1972 she moved to Ireland, where her second husband was from, and in the 1970s she tried to make a comeback, which was unsuccessful. After suffering a stroke, she died aged 65, on 25 June 1993 in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

, Ireland, where she had lived for thirty years with her second husband, Liam Morrison."Mona Baptiste"
The Windrush Generation at ''Historycal Roots''. (Her place of death was erroneously reported as Krefeld in ''

Der Spiegel ''Der Spiegel'' (, lit. ''"The Mirror"'') is a German weekly news magazine published in Hamburg. With a weekly circulation of 695,100 copies, it was the largest such publication in Europe in 2011. It was founded in 1947 by John Seymour Chaloner ...

''.) She was buried in

Deans Grange Cemetery Deans Grange Cemetery (; also spelled ''Deansgrange'') is situated in the suburban area of Deansgrange in the Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown part of the former County Dublin, Ireland. Since it first opened in 1865, over 150,000 people have been burie ...

In popular culture

Baptiste is the subject of a 2022 picture book, ''We Sang Across the Sea: The Empire Windrush and Me'', written by

Benjamin Zephaniah Benjamin Obadiah Iqbal Zephaniah (born 15 April 1958)Gregory, Andy (2002), ''International Who's Who in Popular Music 2002'', Europa, p. 562. . is a British writer and dub poet. He was included in ''The Times'' list of Britain's top 50 post-wa ...

and illustrated by Onyinye Iwu. Also in 2022, a full-length biography of Baptiste was published, entitled ''What about the Princess?' The Life and Times of Mona Baptiste'', written by Bill Hern and David Gleave, with a foreword by

Arthur Torrington Arthur Torrington CBE is a Guyanese-born community advocate and historian who is Director and co-founder of the London-based Windrush Foundation, a charity that since 1996 has been working to highlight the contributions to the UK of African and C ...

Discography

*1953: "Merci Beaucoup" / "Wer Mich Küßt, Ist Gefangen" (Shellac, 10") *1954: "Wo Ist Der Eine?" / "Ja, Das Küssen" (7", Single) *1954: Mona Baptiste,

Bully Buhlan Bully Buhlan (3 February 1924 – 7 November 1982) was a German musician and actor.Barnett p.180 Filmography References Bibliography * Barnett, David. ''A History of the Berliner Ensemble''. Cambridge University Press, 2015. External links * ...

, Michael Jary Film-Orchester* – "Es Liegt Was in Der Luft" / "Liebesgeständnis (Aber Bei Nacht)" (Shellac, 10", Single) *1955: "O Jackie-Joe" (7", Single, Mono) *1956: ''Mona Baptiste Presents'' (7", EP) *1956: Mona Baptiste, Bully Buhlan – "Eine Frau Muß Man Küssen" (7", Single) *1956: "A Woman's Love Is Never Done" / "You're Wrong, All Wrong" (Shellac, 10") *1956: ''Mona Baptiste Presents Volume 2'' (7", EP) *1956: "Vorbei..." / "No, No, No" (7", Single) *1957: Mona Baptiste, Roberto Del Gado Y Su Conjunto – ''Tales of the Caribbean'' (7", EP) *1959: "Die Mädchen Aus Der Mambo-Bar" • "Boy, Komm Und Küß Mich" (7", Single, Mono) *1970: "When Joey Comes Around" / "Baby, This Is Fate" (7") *1971: "Come And Live in My World" (7", Single)

Filmography

* '' The Telephone Operator'' (1954) * '' Tanz in der Sonne'' (1954) * ''

Ten on Every Finger ''Ten on Every Finger'' (German: ''An jedem Finger zehn'') is a 1954 West German musical comedy film directed by Erik Ode and starring Germaine Damar, Erich Auer and Loni Heuser.Bock & Bergfelder p.136 It was shot at the Spandau Studios in West Be ...

'' (1954) * ''

How Do I Become a Film Star? ''How Do I Become a Film Star?'' (German: ''Wie werde ich Filmstar?'') is a 1955 West German musical comedy film directed by Theo Lingen and starring Nadja Tiller, Harald Juhnke and Bibi Johns.Bock & Bergfelder p.290 It was shot at the Wandsbek St ...

'' (1955) * '' The Star of Rio'' (1955) * ''Symphonie in Gold'' (1956) * ''

Girls for the Mambo-Bar ''Girls for the Mambo-Bar'' (german: Mädchen für die Mambo-Bar) is a 1959 West German crime film directed by Wolfgang Glück and starring Kai Fischer, Gerlinde Locker and Jimmy Makulis.Lembach p.323 The film's sets were designed by the art ...

'' (1959)

References

External links