November 2002
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Gender Benders

Part 2 t-logoad from 60's?

Playlist:    (airdate 11/25/02)
Richard Thompson-woman or a
   man (1984)
Ruthie & the Ranglers - he's a honky    tonk man who wants to be a honky    tonk woman (1998)
Richard Digance - drag queen
   blues (1972)
Barbarians - are you a boy or are you      a girl (1965)
Jayne County & Electric Chairs -are    you a boy or are you a girl (1984)
Undercover SKA - my girl became a
   dude (1996)

Kinsey Sicks - gay, straight or bi (1999)
David Hallyday - he's my girl (1987)
RuPaul interview clips (1993)
Lux Radio Commercial (1939)
Lord of the Pants - she's a guy (2001)
Jimmy Callaway-clip from his 45 (60's)
Noel McKay - a good man is hard to
   find (New Zealand, 60s)

Battle of the Bette Davis Impersonators:
Arthur Blake -from "Curtain Time," 1957
TC Jones - from "Himself," 1959
Charles Pierce - from "Live at Bimbos,
   San Francisco," 1971

Jimmy James - from "The One & Many
   Voices of Jimmy James," 1999

Charles Aznavour - what makes a man
   a man (1972)

Script

Undercover SKA CD

Below, Kinsey Sicks CDs

Kinsey Sicks CDs

 

Artist Links:
Richard Thompson
Ruthie & the Wranglers
Richard Digance
Jayne County
Undercover SKA
Kinsey Sicks
David Halliday
RuPaul
Lord of the Pants
Charles Pierce Tribute Site
Jimmy James
Charles Aznavour

Dragstravaganza

Above, click on Dragstravanga,
a wonderful site dedicated to
female impersonator artists
who released recordings; with
lots of photos and sound files

 Lord of the Pants CD "Wit Happens"

Above, "Wit Happens" CD
by Lord of the Pants

Jimmy Callaway

Charles Aznavour

Above, Charles Aznavour, one of France's most celebrated singers and cabaret performers

Julian Eltinge sheet musicTom Martell sheet musicKaryl Norman sheet music

Female Impersonator Sheet Music
Left: Julian Eltinge, probably the most famous female impersonator, whose career extended from 1906 on Vaudeville and continuing into silent films, until about 1926.
Center: Tom Martell, in "The Gay Young Bride," with the copy saying "America's Greatest Female Impersonator."
Right: Karyl Norman, known as "The Creole Fashion Plate," also was very successful in Vaudeville in the mid-20's, and considered one of the best female impersonators

Richard Thompson CD

Richard Digance

 

Jayne County

Jayne County

 

David Hallyday 45

Above & below, David Hallyday,
son of French rock 'n roll star
Johnny Halliday and French
actress/singer Sylvie Vartan

David Hallyday...still at it

Noel McKay LP

Noel McKay LP

Above & right, three 60's albums and a 7" EP by Noel McKay, a very popular female impersonator from New Zealand

Ruthie & Wranglers CD

Ruthie & the Wranglers...that's Ruthie, with the long hair...

Above, Ruthie & the Wranglers
Below, The Barbarians' 45 and
LP, "Are You A Boy or Are You
A Girl," from 1965

Jayne County

RuPaul interview CD

RuPaul

 

Above & right, Jimmy Callaway.
Pass cursor over the 45 cover
to see flip side.

Click for more photos and information on Jimmy Callaway

Noel McKay LP

lyrics to
"What Makes A Man A Man"
by Charles Aznavour

My mum and I we live alone
A great apartment is our home
In Fairhome Towers
I have to keep me company
Two dogs, a cat, a parakeet
Some plants and flowers
I help my mother with the chores
I wash, she dries, I do the floors
We work together
I shop and cook and sow a bit
Though mum does too I must admit
I do it better
At night I work in a strange bar
Impersonating every star
I'm quite deceiving
The customers come in with doubt
And wonder what I'm all about
But leave believing
I do a very special show
Where I am nude from head to toe
After stripteasing
Each night the men look so surprised
I change my sex before their eyes
Tell me if you can
What makes a man a man

At 3 o'clock or so I meet
With friends to have a bite to eat
And conversation
We love to empty out our hearts
With every subject from the arts
To liberation
We love to pull apart someone
And spread some gossip just for fun
Or start a rumour
We let our hair down, so to speak
And mock ourselves with tongue-in-cheek
And inside humour
So many times we have to pay
For having fun and being gay
It's not amusing
There's always those that spoil our games
By finding fault and calling names
Always accusing
They draw attention to themselves
At the expense of someone else
It's so confusing
Yet they make fun of how I talk
And imitate the way I walk
Tell me if you can
What makes a man a man

My masquerade comes to an end
And I go home to bed again
Alone and friendless
I close my eyes, I think of him
I fantasise what might have been
My dreams are endless
We love each other but it seems
The love is only in my dreams
It's so one sided
But in this life I must confess
The search for love and hapiness
Is unrequited
I ask myself what I have got
Of what I am and what I'm not
What have I given
The answers come from those who make
The rules that some of us must break
Just to keep living
I know my life is not a crime
I'm just a victim of my time
I stand defenceless
Nobody has the right to be
The judge of what is right for me
Tell me if you can
What make a man a man

Tell me if you can
Tell me if you can
Tell me if you can
What makes a man a man

There are other notable versions of the above song by Marc Almond, Reg Livermore, and Larry Paulette
Bette banner

Arthur Blake

Above, Arthur Blake as Gloria
Swanson; and Below, TC Jones'
"Himself" LP, 1959

TC Jones LP 'Himself"

Arthur Blake LP

Above, Arthur Blake's "Curtain Time"
album from 1951; and below, TC Jones
as himself and Talullah Bankhead

TC Jones

Click for more on TC Jones


Right, the sheet music for a song
recorded by TC Jones in 1959 capitalized
on his female impersonations

Arthur Blake

Click for more on Arthur Blake

 

TC Jones sheet music

Charles Pierce LP

Click the lips for more
photos and information
on Charles Pierce

Charles Pierce

Charles Pierce LP

Far left, "Charles Pierce, Live at
Bimbo's, San Francisco," 1971,
above, "For Pierce'd Ears" LP

Jimmy James

Below, her CD, "Raw"

Jimmy James CD

 

Jimmy James CD

The Many Faces of
Jimmy James

lots of Jimmy

Jimmy James cassette single

Jimmy James

James is perhaps best known
for her superb Marilyn Monroe
impression

Jimmy James

And, in July 2013 I created a video slide show for
"The Battle of the Bette Davis Impersonators"

 

"How many times have I told you not to play with my makeup, Billy?"  "OK, then how about your high heels, Dad?"

No, this isnt my artwork, just
another treasure from the net 

Jewel Box Lounge, Kansas City

 

You may also enjoy these other QMH shows loosely relating to this theme.
Main Interviews are listed next to shows containing them. This is ~33 hours, so far...

August 2000 - Transgender Music Special (1 hour)
October 2002 - Gender Benders, Part 1 (1 hour)
November 2002 - Gender Benders, Part 2 (1 hour)
November 2005 - Three Interviews (2 hours, 10 min) Veronica Klaus, Jessica Xavier,
Georgie Jessup
November 2005 Bonus Show - Transgender Music (2 hours)
May 2007 - TG Music, Part 1 (70 minutes) Lipstick Conspiracy, Terry Noel
June 2007 - TG Music, Part 2 (80 min) Alexandra Billings, Lucas Silviera
July 2007 - TG Music, Part 3 (70 min) Coyote Grace, Joshua Klipp
August 2007 - TG Music, Part 4 (1 hour) Jennifer Leitham
September 2009 - Transgender Artists (3 hours) Radford Bishop, Angela Bucky Motter
October 2009 - Transgender Artists (3 hours) Coyote Grace, Namoli Brennet
August 2011 - The Drag King Show (2 hours) Anderson Toone
September 2011 - Transgender Music (3 hours) Madsen Minax, AJ Bryce
October 2011 - Transgender Music (3 hours) Ryan Cassata
January 2013 - Transgender Music (4 hours) The Shondes, King TuffNStuff, Schmekel
January 2014 - Transgender Music (3 hours, Eli Conley interview)

I did the "math," and over the years on these 15 shows,
I've played 142 different TG artists, and over
350 different songs, some of them several times, and I routinely
include TG artists on most of my other shows