Dorothy Dandridge Eyes

Album: The Electric Lady (2013)
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Songfacts®:

  • This song features the American Jazz bassist, cellist and singer, Esperanza Spalding, who was the first-ever Jazz performer to win the Grammy Award for Best New Artist.
  • According to the album's liner notes, the song is inspired by the sequence in the 1954 movie Carmen Jones when a jeep containing Carmen (played by Dorothy Dandridge) and Joe (played by Harry Belafonte) ends up in a river.
  • Dorothy Dandridge (1922 – 1965) was an American actress and singer. Her role as Carmen in Carmen Jones earned her a Best Actress Academy Award nomination – the first ever for an African-American.
  • Monáe explained to Arsenio Hall this tribute to the African actress: "Not only was Dorothy beautiful, but she was an activist," she said. "She really did open up doors for women of color."

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