Mae West: Roots in Ragtime

According to Kevin Thomas, MAE WEST had roots in ragtime.
• • "Something New in Music from Ageless Mae West" • •

• • L.A. Times columnist Kevin Thomas wrote this delightful piece. He began:  HOLLYWOOD, CALIF. — The well-known rock 'n' roll singer, Mae West, uttered a verse of "Doin' the Grizzly Bear," and followed it with a couple of bars of "My Mariooch-A Make-a Da Hoochy-ma-cooch." Her point was than rock 'n' roll, like the monumental Miss West herself, has roots in ragtime. "Should've been doin' rock 'n' roll myself these past 10 years," Miss West remarked. "I like the new beat. The kids have the right idea. They grew up hearing the same old thing — — no wonder they want something new." Who better to hear something new from than the ageless Mae West? She has, in fact, just released a rock 'n' roll album for the holidays. It is called "Wild Christmas" and features such numbers as her own version of "Santa Baby" ("Santa Baby, put a sable under the tree, for me."). This follows her successful album of six months ago, "Way Out West," in which she offered her best known songs. And since it is now a collector's item, why do another?
• • Added Kevin Thomas: But then these fellows came up with some pretty good stuff! ...
• • Source: Syndicated by The Los Angeles Times and reprinted by The Des Moines Register (on page 12); published on Monday, 26 December 1966.
• • On Thursday, 26 December 1946 in The N.Y. Times • •
• • Bosley Crowther wrote an obituary: "W.C. Fields, 66, Dies; Famed as Comedian." Of course, Fields was Mae's co-star in 1940.
• • On Sunday, 26 December 2004 • •
• • Pat Jordan wrote: Between serving in the Navy during World War II and again during the Korean War, Joe Gold (born 1922) lived as a beach bum in Santa Monica, alternating work in the merchant marine as a machinist's mate with play on the beach. It was there, after Korea, that he heard about a casting call for a Las Vegas revue starring Mae West. When Gold and a few of his fellow bodybuilders visited Mae West's apartment, she looked them over and said, ''I'll take all of you.''
• • Pat Jordan added: After Gold finished his cross-country tour with Mae West, he soon returned to Santa Monica, where he used his machinist's skills to design and build his own sophisticated weight-lifting equipment. In 1965 he opened the first Gold's Gym . ...
• • Source: Article: "Body by Joe" written by Pat Jordan for The NY Times Magazine; published on Sunday, 26 December 2004.
• • Overheard in Hollywood • •
• • Mae West also presents a few of her characteristic songs in her new Paramount picture "Goin' to Town." The erstwhile Belle of the Nineties sings "He's a Bad Man," "Love is Love in Any Woman's Heart" and "Now I'm a Lady," a blue tune written in a minor key in which Mae tells us she has reformed.
• • In Her Own Words • •
• • Mae West said: "Lady Godiva was the greatest gambler. She put everything she had on a horse."
• • Quote, Unquote • •
• • The Milwaukee Sentinel discussed Mae West, who was then appearing onstage in "Come On Up" during the Christmas holidays, delighting her Midwest fan base.
• • "When She Whips 'em Off" • •
• • The Milwaukee Sentinel wrote: "It cannot be said that 'Come On Up' is not on the corny side, but it is cheerful, crude, well-plowed corn, grown that way on purpose.  Many women in the audience giggled delightedly ... Miss West's wisecracks are good in spots and almost always seem to be funny when she whips them off."
• • Source: Review in The Milwaukee Sentinel; published on Thursday, 26 December 1946
• • By the Numbers • • 
• • The Mae West Blog was started nine years ago in July 2004. You are reading the 2818th 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/
________
Source:http://maewest.blogspot.com/atom.xml
Mae West
• • Photo: • • Mae West • • Xmas ornament • •
• • Feed — — http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MaeWest
NYC  Mae West