Gertrude Cox born 1907 into the vaudeville family of Jimmy Cox and his wife, Anna Mae Cox. Gertrude was billed as Baby Cox and was a very popular part of her parent's act. Cox scat singed in song and danced. A newspaper reported that the Cox Trio was getting six encores every night. Baby Cox on the bill in 1910. The next decade of reviews consistently cheer Baby Cox's act in the Theater Owners Booking Association touring circuit.Still very popular and no longer a child in 1923, she had married and had a baby. The family tried to work Gerturde's child into the act as "Baby I Love Cox," but it seems that he didn't have what it takes to be on the stage. Her talents as a singer, dancer, and comedienne brought her the opportunity to join a touring gig with a hugely successful Butterbeans and Susie show in 1927. And within a couple of years she was offered a role in another famous show, Fats Waller's "Hot Chocolates" on Broadway. In the summer of 1928 she was listed with multiple shows and getting rave reviews frequently. This seems to be the height of her career and it was at this point, in the fall of 1928, that Duke Ellington asked her to record.The 1920s ended with Baby Cox on top of Broadway and being sued by one of her minor show producers to keep her from appearing in other shows. In the 1930s, Baby Cox,was living in New York with two children and performing at the famous Connie's Inn. There were rumors of her suffering from "nervous strain" but she assured reporters that it was possible to raise children and have a show-biz career as a single mother. But after a musical theater flop titled "Hummin’ Sam" opened and closed in a single performance on April 8, 1933, the press wrote less and less about Baby Cox. <br /> <br />Betty Boop's Boop-Boop-a -Doop/Scat Singing Origins: <br /> <br />Realistic origins may still be credited to black entertainers Baby Esther Jones or Baby Cox is an open question. Did Helen Kane & Vaughn bump into Esther or Cox? - Just Remember This (Colin Bratkovich - 2014)
