请输入您要查询的百科知识:

 

词条 Billy Tipton
释义

  1. Early life

  2. Career

      Early work    Bandleader  

  3. Personal life

  4. Death, post-mortem outing, and aftermath

  5. Works inspired by Tipton

  6. Discography

  7. References

  8. External links

{{Infobox musical artist
|name = Billy Tipton
|image = Billy Tipton.jpg
|caption =
|background = non_vocal_instrumentalist
|birth_name = Dorothy Lucille Tipton
|birth_date = {{birth date|1914|12|29|mf=y}}
|birth_place = Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S.
|death_date = {{death date and age|1989|1|21|1914|12|29|mf=y}}
|death_place = Spokane, Washington
|instrument = Piano, saxophone
|genre = Jazz, swing
|occupation = Musician, talent agent
|years_active = 1936–late 1970s
|label = Tops
}}

William Lee Tipton{{citation needed|date=December 2018}} (December 29, 1914 – January 21, 1989) was an American jazz musician, bandleader, and talent broker. For decades, Tipton assumed a male gender identity. Tipton's female birth sex was not publicly revealed until after his death, and the revelation came as a surprise to family and friends.

Tipton's music career began in the mid-1930s when he led a band for radio broadcasts. He played in various dance bands in the 1940s and recorded two trio albums for a small record label in the mid-1950s. Thereafter, he worked as a talent broker. Tipton stopped performing in the late 1970s due to arthritis.

Early life

Born Dorothy Lucille Tipton in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Tipton grew up in Kansas City, Missouri, where he was raised by an aunt after his parents divorced when he was four.[1] He subsequently rarely saw his father, G. W. Tipton, a pilot who sometimes took him for airplane rides.{{citation needed|date=December 2018}} As a high school student, Tipton went by the nickname "Tippy" and became interested in music (especially jazz), playing piano and saxophone.[1] As a female, Tipton was not allowed to join the school band at Southwest High School. He returned to Oklahoma for his final year of high school and joined the school band at Connors State College High School.[1]

Around 1933, Tipton started binding his breasts and dressing as a man to fit in with the typical jazz band image of the era.[4] As Tipton began a more serious music career, he "decided to permanently take on the role of a male musician", adopting the name Billy Lee Tipton.[1] By 1940, Tipton was living as a man in private life as well.[2] Two of Tipton's female cousins, with whom Tipton maintained contact over the years, were the only persons known to be privy to Tipton's assigned sex.{{citation needed|date=December 2018}}

Career

Early work

In 1936, Tipton was the leader of a band playing on KFXR radio.[1] In 1938, Tipton joined Louvenie's Western Swingbillies, a band that played on radio KTOK and at Brown's Tavern.[1] In 1940 he was touring the Midwest playing at dances with Scott Cameron's band.[1] In 1941 he began a two and a half-year run performing at Joplin's Cotton Club with George Meyer's band, then toured for a time with Ross Carlyle, then played for two years in Texas.[1]

In 1949, Tipton began touring the Pacific Northwest with Meyer.[1] While this tour was far from glamorous, the band's appearances at Roseburg, Oregon's Shalimar Room were recorded by a local radio station, and so recordings exist of Tipton's work during this time, including "If I Knew Then" and "Sophisticated Swing".[1] The trio's signature song was "Flying Home", performed in a close imitation of Benny Goodman's band.[3]

As George Meyer's band became more successful, they began getting more work, performing at the Boulevard Club in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, sharing the bill with others such as The Ink Spots, the Delta Rhythm Boys, and Billy Eckstine.[1]

Bandleader

Tipton began playing piano alone at the Elks club in Longview, Washington in 1951.[1] In Longview, he started the Billy Tipton Trio, which included Dick O'Neil on drums, and Kenny Richards (and later Ron Kilde) on bass.[1] The trio gained local popularity.{{citation needed|date=December 2018}}

During a performance on tour at King's Supper Club in Santa Barbara, California, a talent scout from Tops Records heard them play and got them a contract.[1] The Billy Tipton Trio recorded two albums of jazz standards for Tops: Sweet Georgia Brown and Billy Tipton Plays Hi-Fi on Piano, both released early in 1957.[1] Among the pieces performed were "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man", "Willow Weep for Me", "What'll I Do", and "Don't Blame Me".[1] In 1957, the albums sold 17,678 copies, a "respectable" sum for a small independent record label.[1][4]

After the albums' success, the Billy Tipton Trio was offered a position as house band at the Holiday Hotel casino in Reno, Nevada, and Tops Records invited the trio to record four more albums.[1] Tipton declined both offers, choosing instead to move to Spokane, Washington, where he worked as a talent broker and the trio performed weekly.[1] He played mainly swing standards rather than the jazz he preferred.{{citation needed|date=December 2018}} His performances included skits in the vaudeville tradition, in which he imitated celebrities such as Liberace and Elvis Presley.{{citation needed|date=December 2018}} In some of these sketches, he played a little girl.{{citation needed|date=December 2018}} He mentored young musicians at the Dave Sobol Theatrical Agency.{{citation needed|date=December 2018}}

In the late 1970s, worsening arthritis forced Tipton to retire from music.[5]

Personal life

Tipton was never legally married, but there were five women who called themselves Mrs. Tipton at various points. In 1934,[2] Tipton began living with a woman named Non Earl Harrell in a relationship that other musicians thought of as lesbian. The relationship ended in 1942.[6][7] Tipton's sex was reportedly concealed from the four women who would later call themselves "Mrs. Tipton".[2] Tipton kept the secret of his extrinsic sexual characteristics from them by telling them he had been in a serious car accident that resulted in damaged genitals and broken ribs.[1]

Tipton's next relationship, with a singer known only as "June", lasted for several years.[7] For seven years, Tipton lived with Betty Cox, who was 19 when they became involved. Cox remembered Tipton as "the most fantastic love of my life."[8] In 1954, Tipton's relationship with Cox ended, and he then entered a relationship with a woman named Maryann.[7] The pair moved to Spokane, Washington in 1958. Maryann later stated that in 1960, she discovered that Tipton had become involved with nightclub dancer and stripper Kitty Kelly.[7]

Tipton and Kelly settled down together in 1961.[7] They adopted three sons, John, Scott, and William.[4] After they separated in the 1970s, Tipton resumed a relationship with Maryann.[7] Maryann reportedly discovered Tipton's birth certificate and asked Tipton about it once, but was given no reply other than a "terrible look".[7]

Death, post-mortem outing, and aftermath

In 1989, at the age of 74, Tipton had symptoms which he attributed to the emphysema he had contracted from heavy smoking and refused to call a doctor. He was actually suffering from a hemorrhaging peptic ulcer which, untreated, was fatal. While paramedics were trying to save Tipton's life, his son, William, learned that his father was a transgender man. This information "came as a shock to nearly everyone, including the women who had considered themselves his wives, as well as his sons and the musicians who had traveled with him".[9] In an attempt to keep Tipton's biological sex a secret, Kitty arranged for his body to be cremated; later, following financial offers from the media, Kitty and one of their sons went public with the story. The first newspaper article was published the day after Tipton's funeral and it was quickly picked up by wire services. Stories about Tipton appeared in a variety of papers including tabloids such as National Enquirer and Star, as well as People,[10] New York Magazine and The Seattle Times. Tipton's family even made talk show appearances.[11]

Tipton left two wills: one handwritten and not notarized that left everything to William Jr.; and the second, notarized, leaving everything to John Clark, the first child the Tiptons adopted.[12] A court upheld the first will, and William inherited almost everything, with John and Scott receiving one dollar each.[13] According to a 2009 episode of the documentary program The Will: Family Secrets Revealed, which featured interviews with all three sons, it was revealed that a final court judgment awarded all three sons an equal share of his wife Kitty Tipton's estate (not Billy Tipton's), which, after lawyers' fees, amounted to $35,000 for each son.[14]

Works inspired by Tipton

  • The 1991 song "Tipton" by folk singer Phranc is a tribute to Billy Tipton.
  • Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man is a 1995 short film based on the life and career of Billy Tipton.
  • In 1998, Diane Middlebrook wrote a biography of Tipton which she titled Suits Me: The Double Life of Billy Tipton. The Houghton Mifflin Company published the 320-page book.
  • Stevie Wants to Play the Blues was a play based on Tipton's life written by Eduardo Machado and performed in Los Angeles, directed by Simon Callow and starring Amy Madigan.[15]
  • The Slow Drag was a play based on Tipton's life by Carson Kreitzer performed in New York City and London.
  • An opera based on Tipton's life, Billy, was staged in Olympia, Washington.
  • Trumpet is a novel by Jackie Kay inspired by Tipton's life.
  • The Opposite Sex Is Neither, a theatrical revue by noted trans woman Kate Bornstein features Billy Tipton.
  • "Billy's Thing" is an unreleased track by Jill Sobule.
  • "The Legend of Billy Tipton," by the punk band The Video Dead, is about the story of Billy Tipton.[16]
  • The Billy Tipton Memorial Saxophone Quartet took its name from Billy Tipton after learning his story.
  • "Kill Me, Por Favor" is a short story with a section about Billy Tipton in Ry Cooder's book Los Angeles Stories (City Lights Books, 2011).
  • Orfão, Jorge (2012). "Female Masculinities: The Tipton/Moody Transgender Case". MA Dissertation in Feminist Studies presented at the Faculdade de Letras da Universidade de Coimbra, coordinated by Professor Doctor Adriana Bebiano. November 8.[17]
  • The singer-songwriter and cabaret artist Nellie McKay occasionally performs an original biographical show about Tipton, "A Girl Named Bill: The Life and Times of Billy Tipton". The first performances were given at the New York nightclub 54 Below on August 5–9, 2014. The show uses music from various genres and periods.
  • Soita minulle Billy [Call me Billy], a Finnish play with Joanna Haartti playing Tipton, presented at Theatre Jurka in 2011[18] and again at the 2012 Helsinki Festival.[19]
  • D. C. Simpson's comic strip Phoebe and her Unicorn is set in a town named for Tipton.[20]

Discography

  • Sweet Georgia Brown Tops Records L1522 (1957)
  • Billy Tipton Plays Hi-Fi on Piano Tops Records L1534 (1957)

References

1. ^10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 {{cite news |last=Blecha |first=Peter |url=http://www.historylink.org/essays/output.cfm?file_id=7456 |title=Tipton, Billy (1914-1989): Spokane's Secretive Jazzman |publisher=HistoryLink |date=September 17, 2005 |accessdate=2007-02-01}}
2. ^{{cite web|url=https://tdn.com/business/local/most-notorious-billy-tipton-was-a-self-made-man/article_0371d18c-21fa-5a82-af0a-2e63a1d5d723.html|title=Most Notorious — Billy Tipton was a self-made man|work=TDN.com|last=Slape|first=Leslie|date=April 23, 2006|access-date=December 16, 2018}}
3. ^{{cite book |last=Middlebrook |first=Diane Wood |author-link=Diane Middlebrook |title=Suits me : the double life of Billy Tipton |publisher=Houghton Mifflin |publication-place=Boston |year=1998 |isbn=9780395957899 |oclc=607072271 |url=https://archive.org/details/suitsmedoublelif00middl |access-date=2018-12-26 |chapter=Born Naked |chapter-url=http://movies2.nytimes.com/books/first/m/middlebrook-suits.html}}
4. ^{{cite news |last=Smith |first=Dinitia |url=https://www.nytimes.com/library/books/060298tipton-biography.html |title=Billy Tipton Is Remembered With Love, Even by Those Who Were Deceived|work=The New York Times |date=June 2, 1998 |accessdate=2007-02-01}}
5. ^{{Cite book |title=Suits Me: The Double Life of Billy Tipton |first=Diane |last=Middlebrook |authorlink=Diane Middlebrook |pages=252–255 |publisher=Houghton Mifflin |year=1999 |isbn=0-395-95789-3 }}
6. ^{{cite news |last=Adams |first=Cecil |url=http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a5_009.html |title=What's the story on the female jazz musician who lived as a man?|publisher=The Straight Dope |date=June 5, 1998 |accessdate=2007-02-01}}
7. ^{{cite news|last=Susannah |first=Francesca |url=http://www.mountainpridemedia.com/oitm/issues/2003/03mar2003/col05_likethat.htm |title=Women Like That: The Transformation of Dorothy Tipton |publisher=Out in the Mountains |accessdate=2007-02-01 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928084633/http://www.mountainpridemedia.com/oitm/issues/2003/03mar2003/col05_likethat.htm |archivedate=2007-09-28 |df= }}
8. ^{{cite news |last=Vollers |first=Maryanne |url=http://www.salon.com/books/sneaks/1998/05/18sneaks.html |title=Suits Me: The Double Life of Billy Tipton |publisher=Salon Books |date=May 18, 1998 |accessdate=2007-02-01 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070516002031/http://www.salon.com/books/sneaks/1998/05/18sneaks.html |archivedate=2007-05-16 |df= }}
9. ^{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/06/02/arts/one-false-note-musician-s-life-billy-tipton-remembered-with-love-even-those-who.html|title=One False Note in a Musician's Life; Billy Tipton Is Remembered With Love, Even by Those Who Were Deceived|first=Dinitia|last=Smith|date=2 June 1998|publisher=|accessdate=20 February 2017|via=NYTimes.com}}
10. ^{{cite web|url=http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20119615,00.html|title=Death Discloses Billy Tipton's Strange Secret: He Was a She – Vol. 31 No. 7|date=20 February 1989|work=people.com|accessdate=20 February 2017}}
11. ^{{cite news |last=Lehrman |first=Sally |url=http://www.stanford.edu/dept/news/stanfordtoday/ed/9705/9705fea601.shtml |title=Billy Tipton: Self-Made Man|publisher=Stanford Today Online |date=May–June 1997 |accessdate=2007-02-01}}
12. ^{{cite news |last=Clark |first=Doug |url=http://www.spokesmanreview.com/breaking/story.asp?ID=15236 |title=Billy Tipton's Estate |publisher=Spokesman Review |date=March 5, 1989 |accessdate=2008-12-09 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090728170013/http://www.spokesmanreview.com/breaking/story.asp?ID=15236 |archivedate=2009-07-28 |df= }}
13. ^{{cite news |last=Brubach |first=Holly |url=https://www.nytimes.com/books/98/06/28/reviews/980628.28brub.html|title=Swing Time|publisher=The New York Times |date=June 28, 1998 |accessdate=2007-02-01}}
14. ^{{cite web|url=http://investigation.discovery.com/videos/the-will-family-secrets-revealed-death-reveals-secret.html|title=Family Secrets Revealed: Death Reveals Secret|work=discovery.com|accessdate=20 February 2017}}
15. ^{{cite web|last1=Drake|first1=Sylvie|title=Stage Review: 'Stevie' Has Jazz and Drama, but Lacks a Subtext|url=http://articles.latimes.com/1990-02-19/entertainment/ca-747_1_jazz-musician|website=Los Angeles Times|accessdate=15 August 2017|date=19 February 1990}}
16. ^{{cite news|last= |first= |url=http://www.bovineclub.com/gasoline/REV20.php?offset=8&entry_id=20 |title=The Video Dead: Brotherhood of the Dead |publisher=Gasoline Magazine |date= |accessdate=2007-04-11 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927062413/http://www.bovineclub.com/gasoline/REV20.php?offset=8&entry_id=20 |archivedate=2007-09-27 |df= }}
17. ^{{cite web|url=http://www.uc.pt/fluc|title=Universidade de Coimbra - Faculdade de Letras|work=uc.pt|accessdate=20 February 2017}}
18. ^{{Cite web|url=http://www.jurkka.fi/index.php?k=224967|title=Soita minulle Billy|last=|first=|date=|website=www.jurkka.fi|language=fi|access-date=2017-02-20}}
19. ^{{Cite news|url=http://www.korjaamo.fi/fi/event/stage-kotimainen-ohjelmisto-soita-minulle-billy|title=Stage / Kotimainen ohjelmisto: Soita minulle Billy|access-date=2017-02-20|language=fi}}
20. ^{{cite web|last1=Simpson|first1=Dana|title=What's in a few names|url=http://danasimpson.com/2016/10/09/whats-in-a-few-names/|website=Dana Simpson|accessdate=15 August 2017|date=9 October 2016}}

External links

{{Portal|Biography}}
  • [https://web.archive.org/web/20021224035304/http://www.dianemiddlebrook.com/tipton/timeline/frames.html Billy Tipton photo timeline]
  • {{Find a Grave|21844|accessdate=August 11, 2010}}
{{Authority control}}{{DEFAULTSORT:Tipton, Billy}}

20 : 1914 births|1989 deaths|American jazz pianists|American male pianists|Deaths from ulcers|American jazz saxophonists|American male saxophonists|LGBT musicians from the United States|LGBT people from Oklahoma|People from Kansas City, Missouri|Musicians from Oklahoma City|Musicians from Spokane, Washington|Transgender and transsexual men|Transgender and transsexual musicians|20th-century saxophonists|20th-century American pianists|Jazz musicians from Missouri|Jazz musicians from Oklahoma|20th-century male musicians|Male jazz musicians

随便看

 

开放百科全书收录14589846条英语、德语、日语等多语种百科知识,基本涵盖了大多数领域的百科知识,是一部内容自由、开放的电子版国际百科全书。

 

Copyright © 2023 OENC.NET All Rights Reserved
京ICP备2021023879号 更新时间:2024/9/22 1:13:18