Jackie Shane

Jackie Shane is a former American-Canadian soul and rhythm and blues singer, best known for his 1962 single "Any Other Way".[1] A cover of a song previously recorded by William Bell, Shane's version was noted for adding a different spin to the lyric "Tell her that I'm happy/tell her that I'm gay"; while the original lyric intended the word "gay" in its older meaning as a synonym of "happy", Shane — who was gay in the sexual sense and usually performed in drag — played on the word's double meaning, which was not yet in universal mainstream usage.[2]

Background

Originally from Nashville, Tennessee,[2] he later moved to Canada. Initially based in Montreal, he soon moved to Toronto;[2] as well, he sometimes returned to the United States to perform shows in Nashville and Los Angeles.[2] A fan mythology linked him to Little Richard, including claims that he had been Richard's backing vocalist before moving to Canada or even that he was Richard's cousin, although no verification of either claim has ever been found and no evidence exists that Shane ever made either claim himself.[3] Music critic Carl Wilson has concluded that, while in reality Shane had deep and identifiable roots in the drag traditions of the Southern US Chitlin' Circuit, the mythology emerged because that scene's traditions were not known to Torontonians in the 1960s, and thus Little Richard was the only antecedent for Shane's style that most of his local fan base could identify.[3]

Recording career

He released his first single, a cover of Barrett Strong's "Money (That's What I Want)", in 1962. "I've Really Got the Blues" was the single's B-side.[4] Shortly thereafter, the same label released an alternate version of the single on which "Money" was relegated to the B-side, while a different recording of "I've Really Got the Blues", with a few revised lyrics and the alternate title "Have You Ever Had the Blues?", became the A-side.[4]

He followed up with "Any Other Way" (b/w "Sticks and Stones") later the same year; the song became his biggest chart hit, reaching #2 on Toronto's CHUM Chart in 1962. Follow-up single "In My Tenement" b/w "Comin' Down" received some airplay in upstate New York, but did not chart elsewhere in the US or Canada, and Shane did not record again for several years.

In Toronto, he primarily performed at The Sapphire Tavern, often with rhythm and blues band Frank Motley and the Hitchhikers.[4] In 1965, he made a television appearance in Nashville on WLAC-TV's Night Train, performing Rufus Thomas' "Walking the Dog" in full drag.[4]

In 1967, "Any Other Way" was reissued and became a modest hit across Canada, peaking at #68 on the national RPM chart in March.[3] Shane subsequently returned to recording later that year, issuing the single "Stand Up Straight and Tall" b/w "You Are My Sunshine", and the live album Jackie Shane Live.[4] A final single, "Cruel Cruel World" b/w "New Way of Lovin'", was released in 1969.[2]

In addition to his own recordings, Shane also appeared on Motley's album Honkin' at Midnight, performing live versions of some of the singles he had released under his own name.[5]

He faded in prominence after 1970,[2] with even his own former bandmates losing touch with him; for a time he was rumoured to have committed suicide or to have been stabbed to death in the 1990s,[3] until saxophonist Steve Kennedy found him living in Nashville in 2005.[2] Shane and Kennedy discussed the possibility of organizing and staging a reunion concert, but this never materialized — the next time Kennedy called the same phone number, it had been reassigned to somebody else who had never heard of Shane.[2]

Post-career attention

CBC Radio's Inside the Music aired a documentary feature about him, "I Got Mine: The Story of Jackie Shane", in 2010.[2] At the time, nobody involved in the documentary had been able to determine whether Shane was still living;[2] he was subsequently found still alive in Nashville.[5] Some anecdotal claims have been reported that Shane was still alive as of 2013 and now identifies as a transgender woman, although to date no media outlet has confirmed this.[3]

Footage of Shane in performance also appeared in Bruce McDonald's 2011 documentary television series Yonge Street: Toronto Rock & Roll Stories.[6]

Jackie Shane Live was reissued in 2011 on Vintage Music as Live at the Sapphire Tavern, although the reissue was labelled as being from 1963 instead of 1967.[4] The reissue also included Shane's performances from Honkin' at Midnight as bonus tracks.[5] A compilation album of the studio singles and rarities, Soul Singles Classics, was released the same year.[4]

In 2015, the Polaris Music Prize committee shortlisted Jackie Shane Live as one of the nominees for the 1960s-1970s component of its inaugural Heritage Award to honour classic Canadian albums.[7]

Discography

Singles

Albums

Compilations

References

  1. ↑ "A brief history of queer music in Toronto". BlogTO, November 29, 2014.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "I Got Mine: The Story of Jackie Shane". CBC Radio, February 28, 2010.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Carl Wilson, "I Bet Your Mama Was a Tent Show Queen". Hazlitt, April 22, 2013.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Jackie Shane at CanadianBands.com.
  5. 1 2 3 Jackie Shane at Queer Music Heritage.
  6. ↑ "The Strip's musical heyday; Documentary 'Yonge Street - Toronto Rock &Roll Stories' uncovers an era when 'truth was stranger than the publicity'". The Telegraph-Journal, March 21, 2011.
  7. ↑ "Polaris Music Prize Announces Heritage Prize Nominees". Exclaim!, September 18, 2015.
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