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Queer Trivia
She was an American blues singer during the Harlem Renaissance.
She was born on August 12, 1907, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to an American father and a Trinidadian mother. In a 1952 Ebony magazine article, she reflected on the difficulties of her upbringing, particularly the strained relationship with her mother. The eldest of four children, she grew up in a low-income household at 1012 W. Euclid Avenue in North Philadelphia, often feeling unwanted.
Her mother had longed for a son and was so disappointed by her birth that she refused to touch or nurse her; it was her grandmother who fed and cared for her during the first six months of life. This early rejection, she believed, profoundly shaped her identity—she resented her brothers, dressed in boys’ clothes, was repelled by male touch, and developed a crush on one of her female teachers in elementary school.
From a young age, she rejected traditional notions of femininity and gender norms. She didn’t fit the early twentieth-century beauty ideal of being slender and boyish and instead chose to wear her brother’s suits rather than dresses or blouses. Her refusal to conform led to frequent teasing from classmates and alienation from both her family and peers.
Unable to feel comfortable in her own home and rejected by her family, she ran away at the age of 16 to start a new life in New York City. She had heard that Harry Hansberry's Clam House on 133rd Street, one of the city's most infamous gay speakeasies, was looking for a male pianist. It was there that she began performing in men's clothing: white dress shirts, stiff collars, small bow ties, oxfords, short Eton jackets, and her hair slicked straight back. At the Clam House, she honed her act, gained popularity, and laid the foundation for her success.
In her music, she boldly criticized men and openly sang about sexual relationships, behavior considered highly risqué at the time. She frequently included references to "sissies" and "bulldaggers," and often sang, whether through innuendo or more direct language, about her relationships with women. She also flirted openly with female audience members.
Her performances centered on blues and comedic parodies of popular songs. She became known for reworking mainstream songs with a provocative, often promiscuous twist.
After the decline of Harlem speakeasies following the repeal of Prohibition, she moved to Southern California, where she was promoted as “America’s Greatest Sepia Piano Player” and the “Brown Bomber of Sophisticated Songs.” Despite her talent, she faced frequent harassment for wearing men’s clothing. She attempted to continue her music career but never regained the level of success she had previously enjoyed.
Though she had been openly lesbian early in her career, the pressures of the McCarthy Era led her to adopt a more conventional appearance. She began wearing dresses, got married, and publicly claimed she had been “cured” by taking female hormones.
She died unexpectedly of pneumonia at her home in Los Angeles on January 18, 1960, at the age of 52.
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