Sometimes I think about various artists that have been right in the publics face,

throwing all they have into their work and creating a persona for all to see. 

 

Long before Pete Burns and plastic surgery, artists have been throwing their sexuality, personality and clothing style at us.

 

 

Listened to Jackie Shane long before I even had an image of the fella(?) and was surprised eventually to see him(?)

 

 

Little Richard always rocked it up, you just had to pay attention to the guy...

 

 

Screamin Jay Hawkins, in most cases would be deemed a mental case...

 

 

This is only three artists, I am sure you can add to it.

 

Were these artists hard to control by their employees? They give away an aroma that they would be difficult to work with on any level.

 

 

Any more Liberace type individuals?

 

 

Esquerita aka Eskew Reeder

 

Jackie Shane ................

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUYW2iwimBw

Sylvester ..............

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oigd_qs4rNY

Tony Washington, lead singer of the Dynamic Superiors, would sometimes go on stage in drag .....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48qzAfw5MeA

No doubt there were many more but in those days most gay people - especially black gay people - kept their sexuality secret or hidden to a degree.
 

I don't personally know any "eccentric" gay artists but when I ran the Ardent and Zing labels in the late 1980s and early 1990s we worked with four artists who were gay. That's a high proportion but it's just the way it was.

 

And on Shotgun I've issued a record by an artist who is gay.

So it's no big deal but we couldn't make an accurate list because so many gay artists want to keep their sexuality private. That applied to Luther Vandross, for example, but a lot of people "outed" him after he died.

 

The same thing happened with Ronnie Dyson.

 

Paul

Edited October 30, 201311 yr by Paul

Bobby Marchan was another gay (I assume) soul singer who did female impersonations on stage.

Regardless of sexuality, I am thinking more flamboyant and their persona on and off the stage. 

 

Were some of these artists carrying their stage presence into real life. 

 

Where did they think it would get them if it was only an act, did they think the people wanted these type of acts, did the money men think it would be a money spinner?

Tony Washington definitely had the courage to be "out" and if you look at the early pictures of the superiors he's not wearing makeup. He wasn't putting on a show when he did wear makeup.

 

Also, not gay, but Wayne Cochran was pretty flamboyant being the white James Brown:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xULvj8kgYGg

 

the footage of him on future shock in the '70s is way crazier. when he went out not performing he was dressed like that.

 

tons of people had crazy personas with the line between their "real life" and stage life not that clear.

 

also, the most obvious person to mention is george clinton.

Good question.

Flamboyant entertainers and female impersonators don't appeal to me - gay or straight, real or acted - but I suppose enough people must have found it entertaining because it seems these kind of acts were popular.

 

Most of the artists mentioned here were known to be gay and I doubt many straight male artists would do female impersonations (unless it was comedy) but some artists will obviously do almost anything for attention.

 

It's ironic, by the way, that any gay artists I've known would act straight on stage, most people being unaware of their private sexuality.

 

It's a mixed up world.

 

 

Wilbur Hi-Fi White was a comedian and female impersonator. Also played the transvestite Sweet Pea in the film Penitentiary

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bobby Marchan was another gay (I assume) soul singer who did female impersonations on stage.

 

I think he looked quite tasty ... until I put my hand up his skirt that is  

The cross-dressing Jerri / Jerry Jones .... she started out in show biz up in Ohio (though she wasn't originally from there), moved on to Miami (where she hooked up with some reggae guys on PAL) before finally settling in Jamaica  .......

She was quite blatant with her cross dressing till she moved to Kingston, then she had to tone her image down a lot (lots of homophobia down in Jamaica).