Mae West: Irish

On her father's side, Mae West had Irish ancestry - - and a good time to mention this is on St. Patrick's Day.
• • Mae was named for her paternal grandmother Mary Jane Copley, who was born in Ireland. And her familiarity with Irish dialects gave Mae a tremendous advantage in vaudeville, where she was often cast as an Irish maid and sang Irish novelties such as Tommy Gray's comical song "They Are Irish," to which Mae added a few more choruses, each in a different accent.
• • But the music Mae West was most attracted to was either written by black composers or about black subjects. The cover Mae West is most associated with - - and who doesn't know this? - - is "Frankie and Johnny," which she sang in her Broadway hit "Diamond Lil" [1928] and continued singing and recording until the 1970s.
• • Mae West sings "Frankie and Johnny" in a new play "COURTING MAE WEST," heading to an off-Broadway theatre in New York City.
• • An old standard in the public domain, "Frankie and Johnny" is not credited to a composer.
• • However, the true tale about Frankie, a gutsy black female who confronts Johnny, her cheating lover, on his barroom date with another hottie, appealed to Mae's sensibility. She always felt that black women were especially strong, resilient, and admirable.
• • Returning to an Irish theme on St. Patrick's Day, the most famous illustration of Frankie's saloon showdown with Johnny was painted by the Scotch-Irish artist Thomas Hart Benton [15 April 1889 - 19 January 1975] during the early 1930s - - and here it is.
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Mae West
• • Artwork: • • Mae West's theme song • • "Frankie & Johnny" by Benton • • 1930s • •
NYC
Mae West.