WILLA MAE BUCKNER

Willa Mae Buckner was born on June 15th, 1922 in Augusta, Georgia. In her days as a touring performer, Buckner was known as “The Wild Enchantress,” “Princess Ejo,” “The Snake Lady,” and “The World’s Only Black Gypsy.” Her tent show performances could enthrall any crowd.

How We Helped:

Willa Mae has received financial assistance from Music Maker with utility bills, food for her snake, and prescription medicine. Music Maker has also recorded Willa Mae’s first tracks, and featured her in the documentary “Living the Blues” and the Music Maker Story film. Additionally, Music Maker helped Willa Mae secure gigs throughout North Carolina and at Carnegie Hall in New York. Willa Mae is featured in the book Music Makers: Portraits and Songs from the Roots of America (2004).

She was a true performer, showcasing herself as a blues singer, burlesque stripper, contortionist and fire swallower. More than anything, she was an articulate, self-educated and fiercely independent woman who blazed her own trail from the day she ran away from home and joined an all-black tent show at the age of 13. Her frank wit and exotic past set the tone when she sings her risque songs.

Willa was among the first recipients of aid from the Foundation’s programs. We were able to provide her money to buy the expensive medicine she had often done without to treat her chronic gout. We bought her heating oil in the winter and placed her in a nursing home when she broke her hip. We transported her to numerous gigs including a performance at Carnegie Hall where she received a standing ovation. We provided comfort in her final days and most sadly arranged her funeral.

Info By : https://musicmaker.org/artists/willa-mae-buckner/

                

                                                 Willa Mae Buckner has been know professionally as The World's Only Black Gypsy, The Princess of Ejo, The Wild Enchantress, Snake Lady, and Billie Ray Buckner. She has worked as a chorus girl, blues singer, exotic dancer, and has operated a traveling snake show. In 1973 she moved to Winston-Salem and was a public transit bus driver for ten years, At 75, Buckner lives in her own home with two pythons over 15 feet long named Siam and Pepe.

Interview (Appeared in Living Blues Magazine, April, 1993.)

The first show I was on was with Jimmy Samson, a minstrel show. A lady named Diamond Teeth Mary was with the show then. I left Winston-Salem with this show. I had the opportunity to meet Ma Rainey. We weren't on the same show, our show was the next town over and a group of us went over to visit the show she was on. I saw Ida Cox. I always did want to be a performer. I went into the minstrel shows, we had a band, we had a chorus line, we had a singer. A minstrel show only had one tent, it was beautiful. I worked in the chorus line, we made our own costumes. Man we worked, eating on the run, that was something.

I sang just regular kind of blues that they were singing out there. I used to do risques, dirty songs. I started playing piano when I was 21, then I switched over to guitar when I was about 35. There was three of us. We used to get together with our instruments. One of us played Hawaiian guitar, the other one played straight. we would have a good time and then we would get a gig at a club. Then we got some men in the band, a clarinet player and a trumpet player. We used to do the minstrel shows-Jimmy Straights, Writhe Arthur, James H. Drew, Setland and Wilson, and a couple of other shows, little shows, you know, which start the season down this way. I was dancing and singing. I worked chorus and sang. The had a girl doing specialty tap dancing, but I didn't do the specialty tap dancing. I would strip, too. You know, what we call the "Midnight Ramble." No children would come in. It would come on about 12 o'clock, that's before we closed. We would do the last show, the starlight show, then everyone had to leave and but more tickets to see the ramble. Some places we were allowed to strip all the way, it wasn't like it is now. You'd strip, you'd take this piece off and throw it away, throw that away. You had to make sure to stay away from the edge of the stage.

Music Maker Relief Foundation, Inc.,4052 Summer Lane, Hillsborough, NC 27278

Email: mmrf1@aol.com Tel:919 643 2456 Fax:919 643 2597

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