The First Lady Covers Much Ground in Her First 100 Days, and Many Americans Couldn't Be Happier
Life these days for first lady Michelle Obama is a mix of the mom-in-chief role she said she would pursue first and foremost, and the ongoing development of a policy and outreach role.
From gardening to her regal presence, Michelle Obama is a busy First Lady. Here's the video.
"Sometimes they sleep in the girls' rooms, or sometimes they sleep upstairs where there's a TV," the first lady told a group of schoolchildren at the White House last week. "They like sleeping in front of the TV, probably like you all do when you have a sleepover."
The first lady has graced the cover of dozens of magazines, inspired a comic book and a Web site that tracks her outfits daily. The fascination with her fashion began from the moment she made her debut at the inaugural ball in a flowing gown by Jason Wu.
"The biggest thing that she's done is kind of transform the way we think a first lady is supposed to look," said Robin Givhan, the Washington Post's fashion editor.
"One of the most distinctive things is that she dresses in a way that's very contemporary and is not concerned with trying to fit into the traditional costume wears a mix of ready-to-wear basics from stores like J.Crew, with high-fashion pieces from designers such as Isabel Toledo and Jimmy Choo. Her style is decidedly more modern than any of her predecessors, particularly her penchant for sleeveless dresses. Her decision to bear her arms in her official White House portrait raised some eyebrows
"I think it's surprising only because we're so used to first ladies being covered up," Givhan said.
"They're arms of a particular generation. They're about athleticism. They're the arms of a woman who came of age when women went to the gym and they lifted weights and that wasn't deemed as unfeminine, so I think in some ways it's generational."
Beyond the 'Fun Stuff'
The first lady has said on a number of occasions that she has the best job in the White House, because she "gets to do the fun stuff."
But America has yet to hear much from the other side of Michelle Obama, the Harvard-trained lawyer, the executive, the woman who once was President Obama's boss.
Danielle Belton, who blogs for blacksnob.com, said, "She is very careful about what kind of energy she puts out there, about what she has to say. She's very mindful. She's very smart. I feel like she is waiting for the right time."
First lady Hillary Clinton learned the hard way that too strong, too fast, did not work. First lady Laura Bush kept her politics fairly private during her husband's time in office.
When people ask Michelle Obama to describe herself, she doesn't hesitate. First and foremost, she is Malia and Sasha's mom.
But before she was a mother — or a wife, lawyer, or public servant — she was Fraser and Marian Robinson's daughter.
The Robinsons lived in a brick bungalow on the South Side of Chicago. Fraser was a pump operator for the Chicago Water Department, and despite being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis at a young age, he hardly ever missed a day of work. Marian stayed home to raise Michelle and her brother, Craig, skillfully managing a busy household filled with love, laughter, and important life lessons.
A product of Chicago public schools, Michelle studied sociology and African-American studies at Princeton University. After graduating from Harvard Law School in 1988, she joined the Chicago law firm Sidley & Austin, where she later met the man who would become the love of her life.
After a few years, Michelle decided her true calling lay in encouraging people to serve their communities and their neighbors. She served as assistant commissioner of planning and development in Chicago's City Hall before becoming the founding executive director of the Chicago chapter of Public Allies, an AmeriCorps program that prepares youth for public service.
In 1996, Michelle joined the University of Chicago with a vision of bringing campus and community together. As associate dean of student services, she developed the university's first community service program, and under her leadership as vice president of community and external affairs for the University of Chicago Medical Center, volunteerism skyrocketed.
As First Lady, Michelle Obama looks forward to continuing her work on the issues close to her heart — supporting military families, helping working women balance career and family, and encouraging national service.
Michelle and Barack Obama have two daughters: Malia, 10, and Sasha, 7. Like their mother, the girls were born on the South Side of Chicago.
First Grandmother Gives Rare Interview
(April 7) - She's one of the few in-laws to ever live at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Now, Marian Robinson and her daughter, first lady Michelle Obama, open up in a rare joint interview with Essence magazine. The first grandmother talks about her role in the White House and how proud she is of the first lady and President Barack Obama.
First lady Michelle Obama and her mother, Marian Robinson, appear together on the cover of the May issue of Essence magazine, which will hit newsstands Friday. The pair discusses family matters in an exclusive interview. Robinson is one of the few first grandmothers to live in the White House, where she's helping take care of the Obamas' young daughters.
"To me, it's overwhelming," Marian Robinson said in the interview. "I never doubted that she could do this. She is doing it with such grace and dignity. So I am just proud."
Angela Burt-Murray, the editor-in-chief of Essence magazine, told NBC's 'Today' show on Tuesday that Marian Robinson seems to be "very, very happy with her son-in-law these days. I think she’s less impressed with the presidency and more impressed that her son-in-law is a good father and a good husband."
Robinson, 71, retired from her job as a bank executive secretary to help care for her granddaughters, Malia, 10, and Sasha, 7, at the White House.
Barack and Michelle Obama are the nation's first African-American first couple. They are products of two very different backgrounds. Michelle Robinson is from a closely knit Chicago family. Barack Obama was born to a globetrotting mother from Kansas and a father from Kenya. Click through for a look at the Obama family.
"Mrs. Robinson is very clear that she will stay as long as her son-in-law and her daughter want her to be there and as long as Sasha and Malia need her," Burt-Murray said. "She’s very excited. She said it’s an easy job for her to be a grandmother when her children are doing such a great job being parents."
For her part, the first lady said her mother had played a huge role in influencing who she is today.
"She completely underestimates her role in who I am. She always says, 'You came here that way, I just stayed out of your way.' That's not how I saw it. My mom is an incredibly intelligent and insightful person about life in general," Mrs. Obama said.
"From the time we could talk, she talked to us endlessly about any and everything with a level of openness and fearlessness that made us believe that we were bright enough to engage with an adult, that we were worthy enough to ask questions and to get really serious answers--and she did it with a level of humor."
Read more of Burt-Murray's take on the interview on the 'Today' show Web site. Then, read excerpts from Marian Robinson's and the first lady's interview at Essence.com.
Two Stylish First Ladies: Michelle Obama, left, and Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, the wife of French President Nicolas Sarkozy, visit a museum April 4 in Strasbourg, France. As The New York Times put it, Obama went "heel to heel" with Bruni-Sarkozy, an Italian-born singer and an ex-model, as the Obamas visited Europe for the G-20 summit.
Anita Baker (born January 26, 1958 in Toledo, Ohio) is an American R&B and soulsinger-songwriter. To date, Baker has won eight Grammy Awards, and has earned four platinum albums and three gold albums to her credit.
Baker released her debut album, The Songstress, in 1983. Produced by Patrick Moten and Otis Smith, the album was released on a small label, Beverly Glen Records. The album went largely ignored by the record buying public but found minor success on the R&B chart. Baker herself co-wrote the album's opening track, "Angel".
Baker's third album, Giving You the Best That I Got, was released in October 1988. She again worked with Powell, and the album became a critical and commercial success, reaching number one on the Billboard 200 chart and selling five million copies worldwide (including three million in the U.S. alone). It featured such hits as "Just Because" and the title track, which became Baker's biggest pop hit, reaching number three on the Billboard Hot 100 while topping both the R&B and adult contemporary charts.[1]
Compositions (1990)
Baker returned to the studio in 1990 for her fourth album (her third for Elektra), entitled Compositions. Once again produced by Powell, this time Baker became more involved in the songwriting and production process and began to experiment with jazz influences. Baker wrote or co-wrote seven of the nine songs on the album, including the hits "Talk to Me", "Fairy Tales", "No One to Blame", and "Whatever It Takes" (written with Gerald Levert). The album was mostly cut "live", in that the rhythm section was playing as Baker sang. The album included musicians Greg Philinganes, Nathan East, Paulinho da Costa, Vernon Fails, Ricky Lawson, and Stephen Ferrone.
Though the three singles from Compositions all failed to reach the top forty of the Billboard Hot 100 ("Talk to Me" came closest at number forty-four), they still became top twenty hits on the R&B chart and were also moderate adult contemporary hits. Compositions peaked at number five on the Billboard 200, number three on the BillboardTop R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, and number four on the Billboard Top Contemporary Jazz Albums, and was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. The album also earned Baker her seventh Grammy Award.
Following Compositions, Elektra Records secured the rights to Baker's debut album The Songstress from 1983, and re-released it with a new cover artwork in 1991.
After almost five years of touring, performing, and recording non-stop, Baker took a break, only entering the studio to record the jazz standard "Witchcraft" with Frank Sinatra for his 1993 Duets album.
Rhythm of Love (1994)
Baker's fifth album, Rhythm of Love, was issued in September 1994. After ending her successful partnership with Powell, Baker produced most of the album herself along with many famous producers such as George Duke, Arif Mardin, Barry J. Eastmond, and Tommy LiPuma. Rhythm of Love was mainly recorded at Baker's home due to her pregnancy at the time, and she wrote five of the album's twelve songs. The album was another commercial success, peaking at number three on the Billboard 200 and number one on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, and eventually being certified double platinum by the RIAA. The first single, "Body and Soul", became Baker's first U.S. top forty hit in over five years. Baker won the award for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance for the single "I Apologize" at the 1996 Grammy Awards, her fifth Grammy Award in this category and her eighth overall.
Two years later, in March 2004, Blue Note Records announced that they had signed Baker to an exclusive recording contract that would result in at least two albums. Bruce Lundvall, president and CEO of EMI Jazz & Classics, signed her after she approached him to record for Blue Note. At the same time Rhino Records released A Night of Rapture: Live, a compilation that contained nine live tracks and three multimedia videos recorded in the late 1980s.
In September 2004, a decade after her last studio album, Baker released a new album, entitled My Everything. Co-produced by Barry J. Eastmond and Baker herself, she wrote or co-wrote nine of this album's ten tracks, including a duet with Babyface, "Like You Used to Do". Though she had been out of the limelight for some considerable time, the album was a success and debuted at number four on the Billboard 200 and number one on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. The album was certified gold by the RIAA, denoting sales in excess of 500,000 units in the U.S.
In 2007, Baker appeared on Dave Koz's album At the Movies. She sang "Somewhere" from the broadway musical, West Side Story.
Baker embarked on a concert tour in 2008, entitled An Evening with Anita Baker. Her performance at DTE Energy Music Theatre in Clarkston, Michigan, on July 12, 2008, was recorded and Baker has announced plans to release a new DVD and/or CD live album in early 2009.
On September 19, 2008 BusyBoy Productions filmed her entire An Evening with Anita Baker concert at Mystic Lake Casino Hotel in Prior Lake, Minnesota, for Baker's up-and-coming DVD and B-roll footage for promotional purposes.
Baker married Walter Bridgforth Jr. on Christmas Eve 1988. As of October 2007 they are finalizing their divorce.[4] They have two sons, Walter Baker Bridgforth (born January 1993) and Edward Carlton Bridgforth (born May 1994). Baker currently lives in Grosse Pointe, Michigan.
b. Anita D. Baker, 26th January 1958, Toledo, Ohio, U.S.A.
Anita Baker was born in Toledo, Ohio in 1958.
She was the grand-daughter of a minister, and, consequently, at the age of 12, she began singing a gospel choir.
By the age of 16 she was performing with several local bands in Ohio.
In 1975, she successfully auditioned for the Soul Group, Chapter 8.
Anita featured on the groups first album for the Ariola imprint in 1979, simply entitled 'Chapter 8'.
anita in 1979
Recorded at the Cloudborn Studios, Grosse Pointe, Michigan, that album was produced by Derek Dirckson and Michael Powell and featured the songs 'I Just Wanna Be Your Girl' and the modern dancer, 'Let's Get Together'.
By the early Eighties Anita had left Chapter 8, after Ariola was taken over by Arista, and was working in a law firm.
In 1982, Otis Smith (who had worked with Chapter 8) contacted Anita about recording for his new label Beverly Glen.
She was reluctant at first, but eventually flew out to the West Coast to record her debut album, 'The Songstress', in 1983.
Produced by the late Patrick Moten and Otis Smith, 'The Songstress' was a highly regarded debut and Anita relocated from Beverly Glen to Elektra Records.
She teamed up with her old Chapter 8 colleague Michael Powell for her second solo offering, the highly successful 'Rapture'.
Anita funded the album partly from her own purse which allowed her to act as an Executive Producer, additionally.
The album contained the songs 'Sweet Love', 'Caught Up In The Rapture' and the popular 'Same Ole Love'.
Two years later, she released 'Giving You The Best That I Got', whose title track received heavy rotation on the Soul radio stations.
Anita won two Grammys for Best Female R & B vocal and best R & B song, for the title track.
The album also contained the excellent 'Good Enough'.
In 1987, she appeared on the Winans album 'Ain't No Need To Worry' and in 1990 duetted with former Shalamar singer Howard Hewett.
By 1990, the album 'Compositions' was released.
A 'live' studio recorded album, most of the songs were penned by Anita herself.
'Compositions' featured Greg Phillinganes on keyboards, ex-Average White Band Steve Ferrone on drums, along with the drummer Ricky Lawson, and Nathan East on bass.
Anita's fourth Elektra album, the 'Rhythm Of Love', was released in 1994, there being a slight release delay due to the birth of her first child.
She concentrated on family chores for the latter part of the 1990's.
Anita then became involved with contractual disputes with Elektra, differences which eventually led her to pay Elektra in order to move to Atlantic Records.
She began working on a new album in 2000.
Anita then hit a setback and she ended up filing a suit in the US District Court in Detroit against Zomba Recording Corp. and its Dreamhire division, whom she alleged supplied her with a 24-track tape recording machine that left popping noises all over tracks she'd been recording.
Despite all attempts to save the music she had to start the project again.
Further troubles hit her personal life with her mother developing Alzheimers disease and her father developing bone cancer.
They both passed away within a 3 and a half year period (her mother passing in 2002) at the beginning of the new millennium.
A new album was in the offing, although Anita stated 'I just could not write. I was at the nursing home every day. The stuff that I did write during that time, it was so dark that I just kind of threw it in the fireplace. I do regret that I wasn't able to sing for them.'
In 2003, Anita sang the national anthem at the Pistons' NBA playoff games in Detroit.
She joined Blue Note Records and has a new album completed, produced by George Duke and Barry Eastmond.
'My Everything' was released in 2004 and the Christmas album, 'Christmas Fantasy' followed in 2005.
Thesedays Anita is known as Anita Baker Bridgeforth.
anita in 1979
