Esther “Baby Esther” Jones

Esther “Baby Esther” Jones

The real Betty Boop was Esther “Baby Esther” Jones, not Helen Kane.

This Maverick singer was most known by her baby voice and scant lyrics “boo-boo-boo” and “doo-doo-doo.”

This was the inspiration behind the iconic american “Betty Boop” character and one of the first American sex symbols.

After seeing Jones performance in 1928, white jazz singer Helen Kane altered her lyrics only slightly to “boop-oop-a-doop” for her hit single “I Wanna Be Loved.”

Ironically, after Kane sued animator Max Fleischer for profiting off “her” image and claiming to invent the “Boop-oop-a-doop” phrase, did the true details come to light.

When Baby Esther’s manager Lou Walton produced sound film featuring her practicing in her innovative baby voice and “scatting”, Kane was exposed as a fraud and lost the case.

This Black Maverick should be remembered properly for her innovative style and today we celebrate her for contributions to Black History.

Esther Jones had a style that was innovative and new to the world and will always be remembered as the real “Betty Boop.”

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For more information on this Black Maverick follow the link ---> https://www.blackenterprise.com/black-history-month-esther-jones-betty-boop/