Selected Compositions Edythe Baker lived both a charmed and cursed life in some ways, and is sadly not all that well remembered except by dedicated fans of Broadway and player piano roll history. While there are a few biographies available on her - actually they appear to have sprung from one central source - there are a few points that could be called into question and a few that are missing. In addition, given the information the author found on her early years, it is understandable how she may not have wanted to talk about them. This essay will hopefully fill in some gaps, but there are still a few questions it cannot answer.
Among those questions is a precise date of birth. While August 3, 1895 has been the accepted date, again, from a central source, there are many good reasons to call this into question. From the time this lovely young girl made it to New York City in 1919, she was clear that her birth year was closer to 1900. Census records from 1900, which were taken before August, do not turn up anything definitive for her or her family. Edythe Baker appears to also have somehow evaded the 1920 census, and was not living in the United States when the 1930 enumeration was completed. Therefore, no Federal Government record pinpointing her year of birth appears to exist. The best record is from three different ship's passenger lists from 1934, 1945 and 1958, in which the date from her U.S. Passport read August 25, 1899. Therefore August 3, as widely reported, is incorrect, and August 25 her actual date of birth, even if 1899 is not the year. Given additional information explained below, August 25, 1899 will be accepted and promoted as her most likely date of birth.
The name is also of question. Edythe is a very uncommon spelling, outnumbered more than tenfold by Edith, but it appears to have been fully changed over once she started to win fame in New York City. The commonly reported middle name Ruth has been hard to verify, and on a marriage certificate she used a middle initial of A. The explanation and source of most of these anomalies was made clear by researcher Nora Hulse who provided the author with an obituary for an E. Ruth Baker, who just happened to be a musician and copyist. However, she was born and raised in Michigan, and later in Illinois. Her presence in the 1930 Federal census clearly differentiates her from the Edythe Baker who is the topic of his essay, and it was her information that appears to have been erroneously applied to the piano roll artist for many years.
Edith was born in Girard, Kansas to laborer Asa Baker and his young wife Gertrude Arnold. She had one brother, Cecil Henry, born on April 10, 1901. By 1905 Asa and Gertrude had divorced and Asa was remarried to Sophronia A. King. It was Sophronia's second marriage, having been widowed by Martin W. King a couple of years prior, and she was around 22 years older than her Asa. In the 1905 Kansas census and a 1906 city directory the Bakers were seen living in Gas, Kansas, a few miles from Iola. By the time of the 1910 enumeration, Sophronia had died. Asa and Cecil were boarding in a home in Humboldt, Kansas, just south of Iola. Edith, now as Edythe, was living with her mother Gertrude and her new husband Paul McDonald, in a Kansas City boarding house Asa and Cecil were still in Humboldt in 1915 for the Kansas census, and Asa had remarried once again.
In a University of Missouri book on The Enchanted Years of the Stage (2007) concerning performers from Kansas City, the following passage not only reinforces the 1900 year of birth, but the probability that her original name was Edith:
[Theater entrepreneur] Joe Donegan was a large man of remarkable generosity, always concerned for the well-being of his performers. When the African American boxing champion Jack Johnson performed at the Century in February 1912, Johnson and his white wife could not stay as registered guests in the hotel proper, so Donegan put them up in Butler's old suite with a view of the stage. In 1915 Donegan hired a fifteen-year-old girl who needed to support her mother [or relative] and brother [Cecil may have joined her]. The girl, Edith Baker, had no musical training, but learned some piano fundamentals from Ernie Burnett, a performer who reportedly composed "Melancholy Baby" at the piano in the Edward cabaret. Miss Baker worked hard at learning to play the piano, including regular visits to the Orpheum to observe the styles of various pianists there. She developed her own "peculiar style" and became a favorite among the cabaret regulars. After a year or so she got a booking on a small-time circuit and eventually landed in Brooklyn. Her "eccentric" playing catapulted her to attention when she substituted for a pianist who was ill. Soon she was on the Orpheum circuit...
While that is the short story to her rise to fame, there is more information that questions this oversimplification of her training. From the age of eight through at least fourteen Edythe received an education at St. Mary's Convent in Independence, Missouri. She was afforded at least some rudimentary musical training there in both piano and voice. Later articles said she was "classically trained," but to what extent is hard to confirm. The first newspaper report of her appeared in the Music Trade Review of September 11, 1915, and counters the previously quoted text to some extent:
Miss Edith Baker, the latest entrant into the piano business in Kansas City, is now employed with the Nowlin Music Co. and has become very expert in the handling of customers in the talking machine department as well as in the piano department. Miss Baker is an accomplished musician.
Whether she was fifteen or sixteen at this time, Edythe (still spelled Edith) had caught the performing bug. With a friend she ventured to Chicago, Illinois, to obtain a theatrical engagement of some kind, playing the piano while her friend sang. This did not pan out as planned. In early 1918 Edythe went out on the road with a local vaudeville troupe associated with the B.F. Keith organization, and eventually worked her way back east to New York City in late 1918 or early 1919. It was there that she reportedly substituted for an ill pianist, was heard, and immediately hired to stay in New York.
One of the first acts she became involved with in New York was "Two Girls and a Piano" with small-time singer Corrine Harris, produced by Lew Leslie. They were seen in vaudeville advertisements from April through July of 1919, and by this time Miss Baker's name was spelled Edythe, either a decision of hers or Leslie's. Later in the year Edythe teamed with singer Nellye De Onsonne on the Orpheum circuit, as noted in the New York Clipper on November 26, 1919:
Programmed as "A Bundle of Blues," Nellye De Onsonne and Edythe Baker, the former singing and the latter playing, came on in the second spot and scored a hit which proved that this girl team is one that any theatre will be glad to receive. Miss De Onsonne's delivery and singing of "blues," easily places her far up in the ranks of this type of singer. And when it comes to playing the piano, Miss Baker, who, by the way, wrote the music and lyrics of the act. can make a jazz band look sick.
Edythe's reputation as a pianist grew exponentially in both the press and the inner circles of the music industry. Several piano rolls showed up under the Wilcox & White label in late 1919, likely the result of just two or three contracted sessions, and possibly in cooperation with Aeolian as some of those performances also appear in their line. Before the fall was out Miss Baker had secured a job playing for the larger Aeolian Company, which also employed rising star George Gershwin, cutting rolls for their Universal and Mel-O-Dee labels. In advertising from December, 1919, Universal touted Baker as "the foremost ragtime pianiste of vaudeville," saying that "Miss Baker's conception of the various kind of 'Blues' so much in vogue at present is considered the most unique of its kind. Her playing is both snappy and artistic, while her charming personality is apparent in everything she interprets." One of those early rolls was of her own composition, I'll Be True to the Girl of My Dreams.
The beginning of the 1920s would be the breakout time for Edythe. The Universal releases started hitting the market, including two more of her own compositions, Dreaming Blues (turned into a song the following year) and the iconic Blooie-Blooie, a late ragtime novelty tune. She was then nabbed by comic performer Harry Fox for his stage show, which also received some press, this from the New York Clipper of February 4, 1920:
...Harry Fox has taken unto himself a female company of six and is back in vaudeville with a new act. The billing of the act is "Harry Fox, with five fascinating beauties, and Edythe Baker..."
Edythe Baker formerly appeared with Nellye De Onsonne, and, in this act, accompanies Fox at the piano, and also renders a few solos. That Fox thinks her work makes her worthy of a more than "and company" billing is evidenced by the fact that the act is billed "and Edythe Baker."
Fox starts the act with some comedy patter in which some stage hands figure. He also tells of his wife, one of the Dolly Sisters, and shows a big picture of the twins, but forgot to tell the audience which one is his wife. In telling about his wife, he states that she has given him permission to work with Edythe Baker and then goes into a glowing eulogy of Miss Baker's talents.
His first number was "Hello Broadway," with Miss Baker at the piano. This was followed by "If All The Girls Were Good Little Girls" and "Profiteering Blues." Miss Baker then did a piano solo so well that she almost stopped the show, and took an encore, which again brought her a big hand. She is a wizard with the ivories.
For the next several years most of Edythe's recordings would appear on the Mel-O-Dee label, with a few selections played for Aeolian's Duo-Art reproducing piano rolls. Aeolian touted her playing of the "bluest of blues," and made it known in no uncertain terms that "Miss Baker is a jazz pianist of unusual ability and with Mr. Fox exhibits her talents to the fullest extent." As early as February 1920 she had recorded Yellow Dog Blues, Joe Turner Blues, St. Louis Blues, and performer Al Jolson's signature song of the moment, You Ain't Heard Nothing Yet. All this was magic to the music press who frequently made the most of her Cinderella story, including this example from the New York Herald of March 21, 1920:
Pianist Wins Her Way in Vaudeville
Miss Edythe Baker, a pretty pianist, who is featured in Harry Fox's new vaudeville act. will play the piano at the Royal Theatre this week. Nineteen years old, she came from Kansas City, Mo., a few months ago alone and without a friend in New York, seeking a career as a concert pianist. A volunteer act got her a hearing and this got her a contract to make piano [rolls] for two years. Since signing the contract she has composed and recorded two numbers and has undertaken a vaudeville engagement in New York.
Just ten days later it was announced the Edythe was leaving Harry Fox (who was starting a new show anyhow) and the vaudeville stage to work on other musical specialties of her own. One of her first assignments was a promotional tour for Aeolian along with her peers, as noted in the Music Trade Review of April 10, 1920:Frank Banta, Edythe Baker and Harry Akst Now Appearing Professionally in Various Cities-Will Call on Melodee Roll Dealers
Several of the popular and exclusive Melodee roll artists are at resent touring the country with vaudeville acts or regular productions, a fact that should prove of much interest to dealers in the sections to be visited... Edythe Baker has left vaudeville and joined the cast of "What's in a Name?" now playing in Kansas City, which company is now on a tour of the Middle West.
Even though it was probably nice to go home flush with success, the tour did not last long, and Edythe was on to much bigger things by May. Columnist and press agent Walter Kingsley was impressed by the girl, and arranged an audition for her with theatrical entrepreneur Florenz Ziegfeld. She was allowed one piano number in his Midnight Frolic, an after-the-show cabaret staged at the rooftop restaurant of the New Amsterdam Theater. If he was impressed Ziegfeld would guarantee her a salary for two weeks. Both Edythe and Walter invited several friends to her public audition, and the ringers helped urge the overall audience to a fever pitch that was "epoch-making." However, the next day it was revealed that Ziegfeld had not been able to attend, and would she like to try again that evening. Given the cost of attending such a show, she could not urge her cheering section to return, but did sufficiently well enough to impress the boss.
As reported in the press in late May, she was signed by Ziegfeld to play for the Midnight Frolic of 1920. She soon became one of the highlights of 42nd Street, as noted in the Music Trade Review of July 10, 1920:
Edythe Baker, the popular vaudeville pianist and exclusive Melodee roll artist, is one of the bright features of the Ziegfeld's Midnight Frolic atop the New Amsterdam Theatre. Her act is entitled "Ten Fingers of Syncopation," and her playing makes it difficult for members of the audience to keep their feet still. The artist is using a Steck baby grand piano furnished by the Aeolian Co.
Before long, a white grand piano would become one of Edythe's stage trademarks, as if her unusual playing style wasn't enough. In addition to the 1920 edition, Ziegfeld extended Baker's contract to cover the Winter 1921 edition of the Nine O'Clock Frolic as well as the Midnight Frolic. During this time she continued making rolls for Aeolian. After making a number of special appearances during 1921, Edythe was tapped for Broadway the following year. Her striking beauty, petite size, red hair and piano skills made her a natural for the stage, and it was found out that she was a capable dancer as well.The first production she was in was The Blushing Bride, which had a relatively good run from February through June of 1922. After another few months of recording, touring, and special performances, Edythe was put back on stage in 1923 in The Dancing Girl, as both a pianist and dancer. A reference to this musical as well as a review of one of her personal appearances was printed in the trade magazine Presto on July 28, 1923:
EDYTHE BAKER MAKES PIANO CONVERSE AT LUNCHEON
In Anticipation of Entertaining Number Club Members Flocked to I. A. C.
In Anticipation of Entertaining Number Club Members Flocked to I. A. C.
Captain Patrick Henry was program chairman of the day at the Monday luncheon this week at the Piano Club of Chicago. It was "Piano Day" at the club and the fiat from the president, J. T. Bristol, was: "Every piano man in the club must show up under penalty of being fired from both his job and the club for lack of interest in the thing that he takes money for selling. We have talked a lot during our lifetime about pianos. Next Monday we are going to have the piano talk back to us."
Under the guidance of Edythe Baker of the "Dancing Girl," now playing at the Colonial, the members were enabled to have a little intimate conversation with the piano. Miss Baker did more than make the piano talk. She made it converse. She proved a wonder at it. No wonder she is the hit of the piece at the Colonial.
Mr. Henry picked a big number and a big attendance showed appreciation to Miss Baker not only for coming to entertain, but also for what she is doing for the good of the business in her entertaining piano act.
Edythe's rolls were getting good press from Aeolian/Mel-O-Dee, and sold briskly once her fame had been cemented. In 1924 she applied her bluesy touch to pieces like Twelfth Street Rag and a derivative composition called the Twelfth Street Blues, in addition to Hard-Hearted Hannah (The Vamp of Savannah) and the soon to be popular Don't Bring Lulu.
She also made it back to the stage, this time in Innocent Eyes which ran through the spring and summer of 1924.
She also made it back to the stage, this time in Innocent Eyes which ran through the spring and summer of 1924.In early 1925 Baker was tapped for an important role in a new Al Jolson comedy, Big Boy. Jolson had been doing mostly revues for a while, so a return to a plot-driven musical comedy, with Jolson as a horse jockey wearing blackface throughout, made the news, as did Edythe's performances playing a female lead. The New York Times of January 8, 1925, was not unkind to the starlet, noting that "The moments in which [Jolson] is not on the stage were probably brief, but they seemed extremely long and terrifically unimportant. Something was done to lighten them, however, by a lissome and dainty young woman named Edythe Baker, who danced with airy grace and played the piano with skill." Baker's name is associated with two different characters during the two runs, so she may have had either multiple or shifting roles.
Following the initial run of Big Boy Edythe turned to the cabarets of New York exploiting both her dancing and playing talents. She teamed with William Reardon, a former partner of fox trot pioneer Irene Castle, and they played at Club Lido for several months, with Edythe also providing piano interludes. This was followed by a second run of Big Boy in the late summer of 1925, with some adjustments made to the score. It was overall a bit more successful than the first round for both the star and the pianist.
Edythe also had done some of her most advanced work yet in 1925. Now mostly recording Duo-Art reproducing rolls, she excelled in performances of Yes Sir! That's My Baby and the Richard Rodgers composition Manhattan. Her association with Rodgers would eventually take her to the next stage of her life. However, she would first take her act on the road again, this time in yet another musical, noted in the Music Trade Review of January 23, 1926:
Edythe Baker, one of Broadway's favorite pianists, whose Duo-Art music rolls have large sale, has quit Al Jolson's Company now that it goes on the road and is the featured player in "Hello, Lola," opening this week in New York. The new musical play is based on Booth Tarkington's comedy, "Seventeen." Edythe Baker, with George Gershwin, author of the score of "Tip Toes"; Phil Ohman, Freddy Rich, Wilbert Robertson, Frank Milne, are the favorite pianists of Broadway who record exclusively for the Duo-Art. The production received fine notices from the New York critics upon its premiere.
After Hello Lola closed due to audience apathy in spite of the reviews, many members of that group sailed for Europe on April 30. For Edythe, this would be the trip that launched a new life for her. She instantly took London society by storm, and was noticed by some important people, including producer Charles B. Cochran and Richard Rodgers. They had been working on a new musical play, One Damn Thing After Another, and had some issues with casting and other elements to bring spark to it.
After making her way through England and Europe for several months, Edythe was tapped to perform in this new play staged at the London Palladium. The production included the Rodgers and Hart song My Heart Stood Still,
which was introduced by newcomer Jessie Matthews and her stage beau, Richard Dohnen. The piece was reprised in the second act by Edythe at her white baby-grand, and became the clear hit of the show. She also interpreted Rodgers and Hart's I Need Some Cooling Off, and Cole Porter's Play Us a Tune. There was also a new song by Bud G. De Sylva, Ray Henderson and Lew Brown, who had been feeding Al Jolson a number of hits. Birth of the Blues became a hit in its own right, and became one of her most asked for interpretations.
which was introduced by newcomer Jessie Matthews and her stage beau, Richard Dohnen. The piece was reprised in the second act by Edythe at her white baby-grand, and became the clear hit of the show. She also interpreted Rodgers and Hart's I Need Some Cooling Off, and Cole Porter's Play Us a Tune. There was also a new song by Bud G. De Sylva, Ray Henderson and Lew Brown, who had been feeding Al Jolson a number of hits. Birth of the Blues became a hit in its own right, and became one of her most asked for interpretations.Rodgers had high regard for Edythe, and mentioned her very kindly in his autobiography, noting her unusual novelty style of performance. Her role in My Heart Stood Still brought enough attention to the piece that Flo Ziegfeld wanted it for his latest Follies. The writers and producer, however, held out for more, and it was interpolated into the U.S. production of A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, where it again became a hit. It didn't hurt that the production was staged by newcomer Busby Berkeley, who would make his fame in movie musicals within a few years.
Having now left Aeolian, and the United States, Edythe ventured into the sound recording field as well, recording her hits from One Damn Thing After Another for Columbia Records in England in July and September. It would be a few years until anything else made it to disc, as Edythe was a bit busy in the romance department.
The attractive redhead obviously had her pick of beaus from around the world, but eventually settled for one in England. Gerard John Regis Leo, Baron d'Erlanger (sometimes seen as D'Erlanger), nicknamed "Pops," was the son of a major British banker, so fairly well off, and evidently quite a ladies' man as well. The news of their pending nuptials first hit the wires in late September 1927:
LONDON, Sept. 24 - Edythe Baker, American actress who made a great success in the Cochran revue, "One Dam [sic] Thing After Another," has become engaged to Gerard D'Erlanger, son of Baron D'Erlanger, according to the Evening News. It is understood the wedding will take place next week.
D'Erlanger, who is the scion of a famous banking family, is tall, dark and handsome. Miss Baker, who is fair and petite, has been a great social as well as a stage success in London.
However, it was more than a week before they would wed. Rather than go through a big wedding that would likely be stalked by he press, the couple chose to do a civil ceremony followed by a reception, as reported in the American papers the day after the event on January 3, 1928:
LONDON, Jan. 2 - The marriage of Edythe Baker, young American revue star, to Gerard d'Erlanger, son of Baron d'Erlanger and member of a famous family of bankers, took place today at the London Registers' office. Miss Baker became a social favorite in London after her appearance on the stage here. The bridegroom is 21 and the bride 27. After a honeymoon in Monte Carlo the couple will reside in London. The bride has announced her intention of giving up her stage career.
While Edythe would not appear on the stage in public again, she was not through with her career, which was simply on hold.
With Gerard she traveled the world from time to time. The couple was seen on a few passenger lists, including one returning from Durban, South Africa, in September, 1930. However, she did not give up her playing, and in late 1931 went back to the recording studios, this time for Decca, where she started on a series of 16 sides that are still regarded as fine performances of otherwise average pieces. Mrs. d'Erlanger was successful in maintaining her social status and that of her husband's while playing jazz at some functions as well as the recordings. Her last session was in February 1933, the height of the Great Depression, and little more would be heard from the fingers of Edythe Baker d'Erlanger.
With Gerard she traveled the world from time to time. The couple was seen on a few passenger lists, including one returning from Durban, South Africa, in September, 1930. However, she did not give up her playing, and in late 1931 went back to the recording studios, this time for Decca, where she started on a series of 16 sides that are still regarded as fine performances of otherwise average pieces. Mrs. d'Erlanger was successful in maintaining her social status and that of her husband's while playing jazz at some functions as well as the recordings. Her last session was in February 1933, the height of the Great Depression, and little more would be heard from the fingers of Edythe Baker d'Erlanger.Trouble had been brewing at home as both Edythe and Gerard - more Gerard according to some reports - had been stepping out from time to time. The childless couple finally divorced in 1934. He soon remarried, but she remained at liberty. Among those she was often seen with, and commented on in the press, was Edward, Prince of Wales and his younger brother George, the Duke of Kent. The speculation raged in January 1936 when Edward was finally crowned King Edward VIII, still a single man. According to the United Press:
Will New King Marry Noble English Girl?
Friendly with many Attractive Americans.
May Marry Whom He Chooses of the Protestant Faith.
Friendly with many Attractive Americans.
May Marry Whom He Chooses of the Protestant Faith.
Speculation among his subjects as to the choice King Edward VIII would make should he renounce his bachelorhood and marry, reached a high pitch tonight as those close to the new Monarch declared that a daughter of some member of the British aristocracy would be the most likely candidate...
There is hardly a marriageable princess in Europe whose name has not been linked with the new King as a possible bride. Throughout his life he has enjoyed the friendship of many charming women. First, there was Mrs. Dudley Ward, one of the earliest acquaintances, with whom he is still on the friendliest of terms. Then Miss Edythe Baker, the American musician, was another. She leads the list of many attractive Americans who have enjoyed the monarch's confidence. Miss Baker was followed by Thelma, Countess Furness, sister of Gloria Vanderbilt, and up until recently, Mrs. Wallis Simpson was another American often seen in King Edward's company.
Mrs. Simpson ultimately won out, but even if Edythe had been the choice, the result would have been same as both she and Mrs. Simpson had ended relationships in divorce; twice for Wallis. It appears that King Edward was destined to abdicate the throne in either case, as it was the noble thing to do to keep the peace among his British subjects who wanted no such scandal accompanying their monarch. He became the Duke of Windsor and Mrs. Simpson the Duchess. But there was still another chance for a royal family association for Mrs. d'Erlanger.
Edythe's relationship with the Duke of Kent, Edward's younger brother George (their brother Albert, the Duke of York, succeeded Edward to the throne as King George VI) was still in play in the press. It had evidently been active since before her divorce from Gerard, and was based on a common love they both had. As reported by the UP in snippets from stories published in early 1937:
Re-hashing stories of the visit of the Duke, accompanied by Mrs. William Allen, to a phrenologist, the News Review article recalls members of the "Duke of Kent's set" at the time he was Prince George. The set included the America Edythe Baker, pianist, who married Gerard d'Erlanger, son of the banker, Baron d'Erlanger.
"With Edythe Baker Prince George had one great taste, a common expertness on the piano which she played professionally before her marriage into banking..."
When the Duke was Prince George, he is said to have moved about in the same "Bohemian" set that his older brother frequented. Both Mrs. Allen and Miss Baker, the former Kansas City girl, were his companions for many a gay evening. King Edward is reported to have felt a closer bond between himself and Kent than between himself and either of his other brothers.
Both Mrs. Allen and Miss Baker are beautiful women who have moved in London's highest social set for years. Mrs. Allen as the former Paul Gellibrand, was England's loveliest, best known mannequin. She was called "Britain's most painted" woman and her photographs and portraits appeared in advertisements in all parts of the British Empire.
Edythe Baker, a stage pianist, is reported by the "Review" to be even dearer in the Duke's affections than Mrs. Allen, largely because she and the Duke have a "great common interest," - piano playing. Miss Baker was born in Kansas City, married the son of Baron D'Erlanger, one of Britain's most important bankers, and now is divorced.
The pianist and some companions took a trip to Trinidad in the spring of 1938 on the Simon Bolivar. After that, by 1939 virtually all mentions of Edythe disappeared from the press, and she had settled to a quiet life in London. She was listed in directories from 1936 through 1944 with the same phone number throughout, MAYfair 5852, at two different addresses. In August 1945, just at the end of World War II, Edythe sailed back to New York on the George H. Pendleton, and evidently resettled in the United States, likely in New York City for a while. She made another trip to England in 1958 aboard the United States, and now at nearly 59 years, listed herself as retired.
Little is known about Edythe past that point. According to a 1971 article in the AMICA newsletter, member Bob Pye had corresponded with her through a mutual friend in England. However, it later appeared unlikely to him that she was still living there, and had possibly resettled in Southern California. As it turns out, she had married Maine native Girard S. Brewer in Orange, California, on December 2, 1961. The couple resided there through the time of Edythe's death, which was noted under both her maiden and married names.
Even before the AMICA article had been published in October, on August 15, 1971, just short of her 72nd birthday, Edythe A. Baker, the piano ingénue from humble beginnings in Kansas and Missouri who rubbed shoulders with famous composers, producers and royalty, passed on in obscurity in Orange, California. She was laid to rest at Pacific View Memorial Park in Corona del Mar. Girard Brewer survived her until October of 1978. Fortunately through the efforts of dedicated piano roll collectors, record restorers and AMICA members, she is not totally forgotten. Hopefully this particular record will bring the lovely Ms. Baker the recognition she deserves for her unique style of piano playing and her overall presence in the world of music.
Most of the information on Edythe Baker, including the newly confirmed dates and places of origin and death, was researched by the author through public records and countless newspapers on two continents, as well as periodicals and a few remembrances, the autobiography of composer Richard Rodgers being of some use in this regard. Thanks as always to historian Nora Hulse who provided the author with some of her original research that explained the mistaken identity, and her initial verification of the data that is presented here for the first time.