Mae's "Frankie & Johnny" Era

It was an ordinary American standard about a heartbreaker called Johnny with a sweetheart named Frankie, whose betrayal finds its finale in the business end of a .44 - - a ballad written well before the Civil War and in the public domain.

• • Frankie and Johnny • •
Frankie and Johnny were sweethearts
O Lordy how they did love!
Swore to be true to each other
Just as true as the stars above
He was her man
He wouldn't do her no wrong.
•
Frankie went down to the corner
Just to get a bucket of beer
She said to the old bartender,
"Say, has my lovin' Johnny been here?
He's my man. He wouldn't do me no wrong."
•
Well, I ain't gonna tell you no story
I ain't gonna tell you no lie
Johnny left here 'bout an hour ago
With a gal named Nellie Bly
If he's your man, he's doin' you wrong . . .

• • Mae West, who resisted downbeat "torch" songs, was drawn to this old favorite perhaps by the can-do spirit of Frankie who, obviously, is not the type to suffer in silence. And let's not forget another appeal: public domain usage of material was free. In 1928, when Mae performed this song in her Broadway blockbuster "Diamond Lil" [set during the 1890s at a Bowery saloon known as Suicide Hall], the homespun song acquired glamour.

• • "Frankie and Johnny" became Mae West's signature song. When the movie version of Mae's play "Diamond Lil" reached the silver screen, the Paramount Pictures title reflected the lyrics: "She Done Him Wrong." Dressed in a gorgeous belle-epoque-era gown, Mae stops the action to take the stage at Gus's to do her number.
• • Immortalized by Mae West, "Frankie and Johnny" attracted the attention of hundreds of well-known entertainers. Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Lena Horne, Sam Cooke, and many others all recorded a version of it.
• • Through the years, Mae West sang and recorded several versions of it herself.
• • Mae West sang "Frankie and Johnny" when the Masquers honored her. Listen to Mae sing it! Click a link at the BOTTOM of Electric Earl's page to hear "Frankie and Johnny" performed by Mae - http://www.electricearl.com/Masquers.html
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Mae West
• • Photo • Mae West sang "Frankie & Johnny" + other songs on this cassette •
NYC
Mae West.