Butler May | |
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![]() Butler and Sweetie May | |
Background information | |
Birth name | Butler May Jr. |
Also known as | String Beans "The Elgin Movements Man" |
Born | Montgomery, Alabama, U.S. | August 18, 1894
Died | November 17, 1917 Jacksonville, Florida, U.S. | (aged 23)
Genres | Vaudeville, blues |
Occupation(s) | Entertainer, comedian, singer, songwriter |
Instrument | Piano |
Years active | 1909–1917 |
Formerly of | Will Benbow Sweetie May Butterbeans and Susie |
Butler "String Beans" May (August 18, 1894 – November 17, 1917) was an American vaudeville performer, singer, pianist and comedian. He has been described as "the greatest attraction in African-American vaudeville, the first recognizable blues star," and was known "for his streetwise humor, contortive vernacular dancing, and outrageous blues piano playing."[1] He was said to have been the highest-paid black entertainer in the country at the time of his accidental death at the age of 23, and has been claimed as "the model for Jelly Roll [Morton], at least as a stage entertainer and perhaps even as a blues pianist".[2] No recordings of May exist.