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From the Sidelines: Reginald Beane’s Broadway

From the Sidelines: Reginald Beane’s Broadway JULIANNE LINDBERG From the Sidelines : Reginald Beane’s Broadway In 1942 a one-time African American songwriting duo, Reginald Beane and Avon Long, registered the song “(I Ain’t Gonna Be No) Topsy” for copyright. Written for a new Broadway musical, the song was a scath - ing, if satirical, indictment of the limited roles afforded to black women in the entertainment industry. It was first recorded by Marie Bryant (Hub, 1946) and later by Mae Barnes, the belle of New York’s Bon Soir (Atlantic, 1953). Sometime between these recordings and the death of Barnes in 1996, Beane and Long’s connection to the song was forgotten. As early as 1987 and as recently as 2008, sources were citing Irving Berlin as its author One of the most r . ecognizable names in American popular music, Berlin occupies a rarified position in the songwriting firmament; once the song was attributed to him, Beane and Long’s authorship was effectively erased. “Topsy,” in nearly all respects, is far removed from Berlin’s style. While Berlin did write songs from the perspective of black characters, more often than not they were born from minstrel stereotypes. In the same year that Beane and Long registered “Topsy,” Berlin’s http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png American Music University of Illinois Press

From the Sidelines: Reginald Beane’s Broadway

Lindberg, Julianne
American Music , Volume 38 (1) – Apr 3, 2020
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Publisher
University of Illinois Press
ISSN
1945-2349

Abstract

JULIANNE LINDBERG From the Sidelines : Reginald Beane’s Broadway In 1942 a one-time African American songwriting duo, Reginald Beane and Avon Long, registered the song “(I Ain’t Gonna Be No) Topsy” for copyright. Written for a new Broadway musical, the song was a scath - ing, if satirical, indictment of the limited roles afforded to black women in the entertainment industry. It was first recorded by Marie Bryant (Hub, 1946) and later by Mae Barnes, the belle of New York’s Bon Soir (Atlantic, 1953). Sometime between these recordings and the death of Barnes in 1996, Beane and Long’s connection to the song was forgotten. As early as 1987 and as recently as 2008, sources were citing Irving Berlin as its author One of the most r . ecognizable names in American popular music, Berlin occupies a rarified position in the songwriting firmament; once the song was attributed to him, Beane and Long’s authorship was effectively erased. “Topsy,” in nearly all respects, is far removed from Berlin’s style. While Berlin did write songs from the perspective of black characters, more often than not they were born from minstrel stereotypes. In the same year that Beane and Long registered “Topsy,” Berlin’s

Journal

American Music – University of Illinois Press

Published: Apr 3, 2020

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