Eliot King Smith Teams Up With Audrey Martells (Chic) To Bring To Life The Story Of Josephine Baker

In the 1920s, faced with the grinding poverty and segregation of East St. Louis, Josephine Baker took her dancing and musical talents first to New York, and then, at 19, arrived in Paris to perform with the Folies Bergère. Entranced by her reception and treatment by French society, she rose to stardom almost immediately at the Folies. She starred in multiple films, and scored a big hit song that summed up her reverence for the freedom she experienced as a French citizen in contrast to the discrimination and segregation that black performers were subjected to in the US. Now Eliot King Smith has teamed up with Audrey Martells (Chic, Celine Dion, Whitney Houston) and producer Wade Tonken (Jane Oliver, Robert Lamb, etc…) to bring you their song “Josephine”.

Eliot King Smith is a Seattle-born musician and composer whose parents were both concert pianists. His first public recital was at age 6 and he is a big fan of R & B and artists like BB King and Aretha Franklin. Audrey Martells was born in London England, and has performed extensively on stage, on film and as a singer/songwriter. Her recording credits include Whitney Houston, Brandy, Britney Spears and Celine Dion. She is currently on tour with Nile Rodgers and Chic. Wade Tonken is a Producer, Composer, Recording Engineer, Sound Designer and Multi-Instrumentalist. Wade opened the NYC-based Noize Factory recording studio where he collaborated with many artists including Jane Oliver, L L Cool J, and Robert Lamb of Chicago. His work has appeared on HBO, ABC, Nickelodeon, PBS, Sesame Workshop, CNN and Disney.

As they all state, “Our song, ‘Josephine’ is a celebration of her life and a tribute to her courage, pride, and resilience in a tradition of black women’s resistance and creativity.” The line-up on “Josephine” is as follows: Audrey Martells; lead vocal, vocal arranger, LaJuan Carter; background vocal, Layonne Holmes; background vocal, Eliot King Smith; keyboards, Wade Tonken; guitars, Ralph Rolle; drums, Keir Ellison; bass, and Cliff Lyons; alto saxophone.