Jackie Shane: Transwoman Soul Singer of Colour
by Siobhan Donegan
Some of you who have hopefully enjoyed reading my articles may have noticed that I started out by writing a number of biographical pieces and then switched to writing about subjects which I have found intellectually more challenging. However, ever since I discovered the truly brilliant Jackie Shane it has been my intention to write an article about her.
Jackie Shane was a Transgender Woman of colour and iconic American Soul-Rhythm and Blues singer who sadly died recently, of natural causes, at the age of 78 on February 21st 2019. The name Shane is actually inherited from Jackie’s mother Jessie’s maiden name, who reverted to this name after she split from Jackie’s father. She is rightly considered a ‘pioneer Transgender performer’ and described by the Guardian as a ‘ground-breaking Trans Soul singer’ and having her vocal style described as one of ‘sublime confidence’. She was active as a performer in the early 1960’s music scene in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Her most famous hit was the single ‘Any Other Way’, which was a top ten hit locally in 1962 Toronto. This No.2 hit-soulful ballad interestingly had the hidden coded message-for those within the community that were conversant in it, knowing exactly what it meant ‘Tell ‘em I’m gay’.
Shane was unfortunately described-written off- by many sources as a ‘man’ and some sources mislabelled her as a ‘Drag Queen’. This no doubt due to the fact that her appearance was often in ‘ambiguous clothing’ in which she was obviously endeavouring to express her femininity. In fact when Shane was performing in the clubs of Nashville and Toronto, some of the audience actually thought she was a lesbian, no doubt due to her bouffant hairstyle, makeup and sequined top over pantsuit. Early sources that included Shane actually talking about her specific gender identity are rare. In fact in this context Shane would simply dodge questions on her gender identity. Considering the fact that the U.S.A was undoubtably racist, and in Shanes case also transphobic, at the time, it should come as no surprise that Shane identified herself as Male in early quotes of the ‘Toronto Star’. However, when music journalist Elio Iannacci interviewed Shane for the ‘Globe and Mail’ in 2017, her identity was at last confirmed as a Transwoman by a media outlet.
Shane was born on May 15th 1940, and was originally from Nashville, Tennessee. She started to dress in feminine clothes early in life and even wore dresses publically, also growing her hair out. She was perceived as a smart child who knew her mind. In fact she has also been described as ‘self-assured’, to such an extent that adults would treat her as an equal from a young age. Interestingly enough, as it isn’t always the case, Shane’s family, and close friends, were in fact very supportive and knew that as regards her gender identity, she identified as a Transwoman. Taking into consideration the fact that Transgender people were ‘universally vilified’ at the time, it is a mark of the courage of this trailblazing Transwoman to appear on television in Nashville and of course in Toronto, where she headlined in clubs.
Having a natural love for performing and a ‘beautiful voice’ she perhaps inevitably joined a Church Choir. However, she would leave before the Priest started speaking, having no interest in what he was about to say. She eventually began to have some success singing and already in the 1950’s she wore her hair long with makeup and jewellery whilst performing locally. She ended up joining a travelling carnival as a means of escape, finally ending up at Cornwall, Ontario in 1959. Eventually her success as a performer led to her sharing the stage with such Soul legends as Jackie Wilson, Etta James and the Impressions. It was the Southern Soul Star Joe Tex who recognising Shane’s talent advised her to pursue her career elsewhere. She thus first moved to Boston, then Montreal and finally Toronto.
It is at this juncture that I would like to talk about a curious myth that became attracted into the orbit of the personality of Jackie Shane. This is that she was the cousin of Little Richard, and also at one time a backing singer for the Rock and Roll Star. Now according to one source that I found she was apparently friends with and influenced by Little Richard and it isn’t of course that improbable that she may have rehearsed with him. However, it would seem that this was/is an apocryphal legend as there is apparently no verification or evidence that Shane herself made such a claim. It would thus seem that this ‘fan myth’ emerged purely from a similarity of performing style of these two flamboyant R&B Artists.
As already mentioned Jackie Shane was a black Transwoman who performed in the American South in the 1950’s which was a particularly dangerous time and location to make such a radical stand. In fact there were ‘rigid laws’ that more or less made Jackie a veritable outlaw. However, amazingly enough there was a certain amount of space for ‘gender ambiguity’ on the Rhythm and Blues scene at the time; to name but a few who fit into this category, the above mentioned Little Richard, Esquerita-feminine pianist, Patsy Vidalia and Bobby Marchan.
Unfortunately Shane quit the music scene in the 70’s as she preferred to be close and presumably look after her aging mother Jessie Shane. Also, as a singer she was little known outside of Canada her adopted country. When Shane disappeared from the music scene rumours began to develop as many simply made the assumption that she had been the victim of violence-or even making an escape from the threat of violence. However, the truth turned out to be a lot more mundane; Shane having looked after her mother in Los Angeles, ‘retired’ to Nashville, for the most part keeping herself to herself.
However, fortunately what some could describe as a miracle, especially if like me you happen to be a fan 60’s Soul the ever elusive Shane, who has been described as indulging in ‘aggressive reclusiveness’-in contradistinction to the fact that at the same time she was ‘radically visible’, was convinced by the archival record company, Numero Group, to sanction an official compilation of her 1960’s work/legacy.
In the context of her recording history Shane recorded a live album that was released in 1967 and reissued in 2015. Interestingly Shane it would seem preferred the raw sound and power of live performances to studio recorded tracks. However, part of the reason for this was because taking into consideration her fantastic stage presence and her powerful Soul vocals, she inevitably drew interest into her orbit from such legendary soul labels from the time as Motown and Atlantic. But Jackie deliberately resisted the temptation to record a studio album due to her fear of being manipulated by the big music labels. In practical terms this meant that she was worried that one of the Soul labels would probably want to streamline and ‘re-package’ what could be described as her ‘Queer’ or ‘Trans’ image to a more acceptable ‘Male’ public friendly image.
I would like to end this article by simple quoting Jackie Shane herself: “When you’re different, people are not sure how to approach you, so what I’ve done is I’ve loved them first. I had to”.
