Mae West: Bob Dylan

MAE WEST released "Way Out West" in 1966, a rock 'n' roll studio album. Mae was 73 years old when she covered the most popular rock hits at the time. One track was her cover of "If You Gotta Go, Go Now," a song written by Bob Dylan in 1964. It's interesting that this song was never a hit for Dylan nor was it a chart-topper in the United States, however, it reached number 2 status in the United Kingdom in 1965 for Manfred Mann, a British group.

• • Born in Duluth, Minnesota, Dylan's real name is Robert Allen Zimmerman and the singer came into the world during May — — on 24 May 1941. He is 71 years old today. Happy Birthday to you, Bob Dylan.  

• • Duke Ellington [29 April 1899 — 24 May 1974] • •

• • Born in Washington, D.C. on 29 April 1899, Duke Ellington met Mae West during the 1920s at Owney Madden's speakeasy. An autographed photo of Mae given to the "Duke" was among his most cherished possessions.

• • Always a champion of the African-American talents she met, Mae insisted that the studio hire him to play and also appear in her movie "Belle of the Nineties" (in production from 19 March 1934 until June 1934).

• • Duke Ellington died in New York City on 24 May 1974 in New York City.  He was 75.

• • On Friday, 24 May 1918 in Variety • •

• • In their issue dated for Friday, 24 May 1918, Variety Magazine announced that "Mae West, known in vaudeville for some seasons as a 'single,' is going into Arthur Hammerstein's forthcoming musical play 'Sometime,' which starts rehearsals in July."  Variety added this odd [incorrect] note: "It will be her first appearance [sic] in the legitimate."

• • Mae, age 25, played an enticing flapper Mayme Dean who couldn't land a man. One of Mae's musical numbers — — written by Rida Johnson Young — — was "Vampire with No One to Vamp."  Mae West learned a lot about comic timing by observing Ed Wynn.

• • On Friday, 24 May 1929 • •

• • It was 1929 and Broadway star Mae West was feeling fine, touring from coast to coast with "Diamond Lil" — — specifically on Friday, 24 May 1929. And when a news man for a Midwestern tabloid approached, she agreed to an interview. She told him that she had performed with Van Tenni's Arab Acrobatic Troupe. "I lifted three of the Arabs in the pinwheel formation," Mae affirmed, "and did other acts which required great strength." She credited the hands-on training in gymnastics and acrobatics she received, coached by her father to develop her strength to the point where (she would claim later on) she was able to lift 500 pounds and support three athletes.

• • On Saturday, 24 May 2003 in the Sun Sentinel • •

• • Sun Sentinel staffer Ivette M. Yee wrote: "Red Grooms delved in 3-D, and his celebrities often appear like caricatures in a pop-up book.  In Mae West Visits New England, the voluptuous bombshell's breasts protrude from a slinky dress, drawing more attention then her sparkling diamond necklace.  ..."

• • In Her Own Words • •

• • Mae West said: "White men can't play black music."

• • Quote, Unquote • •

• • An article about Hollywood biographies mentioned a book on Mae West.

• • Chris Petit wrote:  Compared to Brando, Beatty, or Stewart Granger, actress Mae West was a paragon of the Protestant work ethic. Few worked harder in Hollywood. Her famous sexual innuendo and throwaway style were the products of much rewriting and rehearsal. She remains a theatrical, and rather Victorian, figure and the film career was limited by censorship battles and studio politics, but, as Simon Louvish's biography shows, she is unique, and heroic in the history of Hollywood for putting her espousal of the pleasure principle into her work.  ...

• • Source: Review: "Bad old boys'' written by Chris Petit for The Guardian [UK]; published on Friday, 30 December 2005    

• • By the Numbers • •
• • The Mae West Blog was started seven years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 2310th blog post. Unlike many blogs, which draw upon reprinted content from a newspaper or a magazine and/ or summaries, links, or photos, the mainstay of this blog is its fresh material focused on the life and career of Mae West, herself an American original.

 

• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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