page_title: Baby Esther
hierarchical_section_title: Baby Esther
caption_attribution_description: English: Image of Esther Jones (left) with a man in blackface (right), presumed to be Ernst Rolf, Gordon Stretton Jazz or Carlos Gardel.
context_page_description: Esther Lee Jones, known by her stage names "Baby Esther" and "Little Esther", was an American singer and child entertainer of the late 1920s, known for her "baby" singing style. After rising to fame in her hometown of Chicago, she became an international celebrity before leaving the public spotlight as a teenager. Theatrical manager Lou Bolton testified during the Kane v. Fleischer trial that Helen Kane saw Baby Esther's cabaret act in 1928 with him and appropriated Jones' style of singing, changing the interpolated words "boo-boo-boo" and "doo-doo-doo" to "boop-boop-a-doop" in a recording of "I Wanna Be Loved By You." While Kane never publicly admitted her borrowing, Jones' style—as imitated by Kane—went on to become the inspiration for the voice of the cartoon character Betty Boop.
  When Kane attempted to sue Fleischer Studios for using her persona, the studios defended themselves by arguing that Kane herself had taken it from "Baby Esther" Jones. An early test sound film of Baby Esther's performance was used as evidence. In court, it was presumed that Jones was still in Paris.
context_section_description: Esther Lee Jones, known by her stage names "Baby Esther" and "Little Esther" (and variants thereof), was an American singer and child entertainer of the late 1920s, known for her "baby" singing style. After rising to fame in her hometown of Chicago, she became an international celebrity before leaving the public spotlight as a teenager. Theatrical manager Lou Bolton testified during the Kane v. Fleischer trial that Helen Kane saw Baby Esther's cabaret act in 1928 with him and appropriated Jones' style of singing, changing the interpolated words "boo-boo-boo" and "doo-doo-doo" to "boop-boop-a-doop" in a recording of "I Wanna Be Loved By You." While Kane never publicly admitted her borrowing, Jones' style—as imitated by Kane—went on to become the inspiration for the voice of the cartoon character Betty Boop.
  When Kane attempted to sue Fleischer Studios for using her persona, the studios defended themselves by arguing that Kane herself had taken it from "Baby Esther" Jones. An early test sound film of Baby Esther's performance was used as evidence. In court, it was presumed that Jones was still in Paris.
caption: Image of Esther Jones (left) with a man in blackface (right), presumed to be Ernst Rolf, Gordon Stretton Jazz or Carlos Gardel, 1929.
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