etymology of "wannabe"

[Benjamin Bailey]

Does anyone know anything about the etymology of "wannabe". Smitherman
(1994) includes it in her lexicon of AAVE. It is certainly used by many
African Americans to mean, as she writes, "a person trying to act as if
he/she is a member of any group or has achieved a particular status than
he/she does not have".

Does anyone know of origins or uses by groups other than African Americans?

Thanks,

Benjamin Bailey, PhD
Center for the Study of Human Development
Box 1938, Brown University
Providence, RI  02912

e-mail: Benjamin_Bailey at brown.edu
telephone: (401) 273-6047