Mae Barnes (born Edith Mae Stith, possibly January 23, 1907 – December 13, 1996) was an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

singer, dancer and comic entertainer. She was responsible for introducing the Charleston dance to

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

in the 1924

revue A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatre, theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance, and sketch comedy, sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural pre ...

''Runnin' Wild''. After her career as a dancer ended, she became a successful

nightclub A nightclub or dance club is a club that is open at night, usually for drinking, dancing and other entertainment. Nightclubs often have a Bar (establishment), bar and discotheque (usually simply known as disco) with a dance floor, laser lighti ...

singer and recording artist.

Biography

She was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. There is some uncertainty over her year of birth. Most sources give 1907, but blues researchers Bob Eagle and Eric LeBlanc give 1892, based on

1900 As of March 1 ( O.S. February 17), when the Julian calendar acknowledged a leap day and the Gregorian calendar did not, the Julian calendar fell one day further behind, bringing the difference to 13 days until February 28 ( O.S. February 15 ...

and 1910 US census records, though the 1892 date would suggest that she died at the age of 104. Around 1919, she left school, purportedly to move to

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...

, but instead started working as a

chorus girl A chorus line is a large group of dancers who together perform synchronized routines, usually in musical theatre. Sometimes, singing is also performed. While synchronized dancing indicative of a chorus line was vogue during the first half of th ...

. Developing expertise as a singer and

tap dancer Tap dance (or tap) is a form of dance that uses the sounds of tap shoes striking the floor as a form of percussion; it is often accompanied by music. Tap dancing can also be performed with no musical accompaniment; the sound of the taps is its ow ...

, she worked in

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...

and toured the

south South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both west and east. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...

in such shows as ''Bon Bon Buddy Jr.'' and ''Dinah''. In 1924, she made her Broadway debut in ''Runnin' Wild'', in which she introduced the Charleston dance, and became known as "the bronze Ann Pennington". On her second tour, in ''Shuffle Along'' (1927), the entertainer

Bill "Bojangles" Robinson Bill "Bojangles" Robinson (born Luther Robinson; May 25, 1878 – November 25, 1949), was an American tap dancer, actor, and singer, the best known and the most highly paid black entertainer in the United States during the first half of the 20 ...

called her "the greatest living female tap dancer". She in the 1927

production of '' Rang Tang,' as well as the

production of ''Rainbow,'' with

Charlie Ruggles Charles Sherman Ruggles (February 8, 1886 – December 23, 1970) was an American comic character actor. In a career spanning six decades, Ruggles appeared in close to 100 feature films, often in mild-mannered and comic roles. He was also the e ...

, wherein she danced an "insanely comic" version of the Black Bottom.'' She continued to perform as a dancer and entertainer in Broadway shows, including the ''

Ziegfeld Follies The ''Ziegfeld Follies'' were a series of elaborate theatrical revue productions on Broadway in New York City from 1907 to 1931, with renewals in 1934, 1936, 1943, and 1957. They became a radio program in 1932 and 1936 as '' The Ziegfeld Foll ...

'' and ''Hot Rhythm'', and toured on the

Keith vaudeville circuit Benjamin Franklin Keith (January 26, 1846 – March 26, 1914) was an American vaudeville theater owner, who played an important role in the evolution of variety theater into vaudeville. Biography Early years Keith was born in Hillsborough, ...

through most of the 1930s. Opal Louis Nations, "The Mae Barnes Story", ''Doctor Jazz Magazine''
Retrieved 25 October 2016 Biography by Scott Yanow, ''Allmusic.com''
Retrieved 25 October 2016 Mark Knowles, ''The Wicked Waltz and Other Scandalous Dances: Outrage at Couple Dancing in the 19th and Early 20th Centuries''. McFarland, 2009, p.226
/ref> In 1938, she broke her

pelvis The pelvis (: pelves or pelvises) is the lower part of an Anatomy, anatomical Trunk (anatomy), trunk, between the human abdomen, abdomen and the thighs (sometimes also called pelvic region), together with its embedded skeleton (sometimes also c ...

in an automobile accident. This effectively ended her career as a dancer, and she diverted her energies into singing. She sang in

s in

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

Honolulu Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...

, and

, including a seven-year residency at the Boite in

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village, or simply the Village, is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street (Manhattan), 14th Street to the north, Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the s ...

, and at clubs in

Park Avenue Park Avenue is a boulevard in New York City that carries north and southbound traffic in the borough (New York City), boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx. For most of the road's length in Manhattan, it runs parallel to Madison Avenue to the wes ...

. In the late 1940s she featured at parties including those hosted by

socialite A socialite is a person, typically a woman from a wealthy or aristocratic background, who is prominent in high society. A socialite generally spends a significant amount of time attending various fashionable social gatherings, instead of having ...

Elsa Maxwell Elsa Maxwell (May 24, 1883 – November 1, 1963) was an American gossip columnist and author, songwriter, screenwriter, radio personality and professional hostess renowned for her parties for royalty and high society figures of her day. Max ...

, and gave fundraising benefit shows for hospitals. She toured Europe in 1950, and stayed in London to take the lead in

Jack Hylton Jack Hylton (born John Greenhalgh Hilton; 2 July 1892 – 29 January 1965) was an English pianist, composer, band leader and impresario. Hylton rose to prominence during the British dance band era, being referred as the "British King of Jazz ...

's revue, ''Knight of Madness''. After returning to New York in 1951, she became the main attraction at the Bon Soir club on Eighth Street, accompanied by a vocal group, the Three Flames ( Tiger Haynes, Roy Testamark and Averill Pollard). They attracted the attention of

Ahmet Ahmad () is an Arabic male given name common in most parts of the Muslim world. Other English language, English spellings of the name include Ahmed. It is also used as a surname. Etymology The word derives from the root (Ḥ-M-D, ḥ-m-d), f ...

and

Nesuhi Ertegun Nesuhi Ertegun ( Turkish spelling: Nesuhi Ertegün; November 26, 1917 – July 15, 1989) was a Turkish-American record producer and executive of Atlantic Records and WEA International. Early life Born in Istanbul in the Ottoman Empire, Nesuhi ...

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over the course of its first two decades, starting from the release of its first recor ...

, who issued Barnes's first EP in 1953 and an LP, ''Fun with Mae Barnes'', the following year. She was accompanied by

Garland Wilson Garland Lorenzo Wilson (June 13, 1909 – May 31, 1954) was an American jazz pianist who accompanied Nina Mae McKinney. Wilson was a boogie-woogie and stride pianist. Life and career Garland Wilson was born in Martinsburg, West Virginia, Unite ...

and the Three Flames, and the songs included "(I Ain't Gonna Be No) Topsy", a celebration of

black pride Black pride is a movement which encourages black people to celebrate their respective cultures and embrace their African heritage. In the United States, it initially developed for African-American culture and was a direct response to white ...

, and "

On the Sunny Side of the Street "On the Sunny Side of the Street" is a 1930 song composed by Jimmy McHugh with lyrics by Dorothy Fields. Some authors say that Fats Waller was the composer, but he sold the rights to the song. It was introduced in the Broadway musical '' Lew Lesli ...

", which became her

signature song A signature (; from , "to sign") is a depiction of someone's name, nickname, or even a simple "X" or other mark that a person writes on documents as a proof of identity and intent. Signatures are often, but not always, handwritten or styliz ...

. She became well known for her "sassy" song interpretations, and for "her irreverent interpolations into familiar lyrics". Stephen Holdenjan, "Mae Barnes, 89, Jazz Singer Famous for the Charleston", ''New York Times'', January 18, 1997
Retrieved 25 October 2016 Frank Cullen, ''Vaudeville old & new: an encyclopedia of variety performances in America, Volume 1'', Psychology Press, 2009, p.68
/ref> In the mid-1950s she appeared regularly on TV

variety show Variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is entertainment made up of a variety of acts including musical performances, sketch comedy, magic, acrobatics, juggling, and ventriloquism. It is normally introduced by a comp� ...

s, and headlined at the

Apollo Theatre The Apollo Theatre is a listed building, Grade II listed West End theatre in Shaftesbury Avenue in the City of Westminster, in central London.

. She recorded another album, ''Mae Barnes'', on which she was backed by a jazz group led by trumpeter

Buck Clayton Wilbur Dorsey "Buck" Clayton (November 12, 1911 – December 8, 1991) was an American jazz trumpeter who was a member of Count Basie's orchestra. His principal influence was Louis Armstrong, first hearing the record " Confessin' that I Love You" ...

, in 1958 for

Vanguard Records Vanguard Recording Society is an American record label set up in 1950 by brothers Maynard and Seymour Solomon in New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the so ...

. Although it was not successful, she continued as a popular live act, and in 1960 the Erteguns recorded her performance at the

Playboy Club The Playboy Club was initially a chain of nightclubs and resorts owned and operated by Playboy Enterprises. The first Playboy Club opened in Chicago in 1960. Each club generally featured a Living Room, a Playmate Bar, a Dining Room, and a Club ...

for a further album, although it remained unreleased. In 1959 she appeared in the Harry Belafonte film "Odds Against Tomorrow" as a club singer. She continued to perform in clubs through the 1970s and 1980s, and featured in a

documentary A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

, ''Wild Women Don't Have the Blues'', in 1987. "Mae Barnes 1958", ''Jazz, Blues, Female Vocalists and More...''
Retrieved 25 October 2016 Mae Barnes died from cancer in hospital in New York in 1996 (not

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

in 1997, as reported in some sources). She left no close relatives.

Discography

* ''Fun with Mae Barnes'' (Atlantic, 1954) * ''Mae Barnes'' (Vanguard, 1958)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Barnes, Mae 1907 births 1996 deaths American blues singers American vaudeville performers American women jazz singers American jazz singers 20th-century American singers Singers from New York City 20th-century American women singers Jazz musicians from New York (state)