Billy Tipton was a famous jazz pianist and bandleader from the 1940s all the way to the 1970s. He toured the country relentlessly with various jazz bands, including his own trio. The Billy Tipton Trip released two albums in 1957, Sweet Georgia Brown and Billy Tipton Plays Hi-Fi On Piano. With the modest success of these records, his trio was offered a sweet residency in Reno, Nevada, and an opening slot for Liberace.
Preferring to follow his own path, Tipton's most famous and final residency was a thrice-weekly gig at Spokane's Tin Pan Alley/Green Monkey. He had put down roots in the Lilac City in 1958. A bit of a ladies man, he'd moved to Spokane with his fourth wife, Maryann. But Billy left Maryann for the fifth Mrs. Tipton, Kathleen Kelly, and the couple adopted three sons... before later returning to Maryann.
Billy died in 1989. Only then was it revealed he was transgender.
We've come a long way to where being trans is no longer a scandalously shocking reveal. While he might appear to be an outlier, Tipton is just but one of many trans people making music in history. While current pop stars like Sam Smith, Teddy Geiger, Ezra Furman and Kim Petras might make trans music seem like a new development, trans musicians have always been here.
While the diversity of trans musicians makes compiling a definitive list of trans artists an impossible task, having a place to start can be a useful tool. In recognition of International Transgender Visibility Day (March 31), here are a few essential trans artists to check out.
WENDY CARLOS
An early pioneer of electronic music, Carlos broke new ground by arranging classical pieces by Bach using Moog synthesizers. Switched on Bach showed how the versatility of synths could bring to any musical style and even open doors to people who didn't like classical music. This album would ultimately land her gigs scoring iconic films like A Clockwork Orange and Tron. Carlos even collaborated with "Weird Al" Yankovic, taking on the children's classical piece "Peter and the Wolf" in the mid-'80s. The three part Brandenberg concerto that closes out Switched On Bach is a good place to start for new listeners.
AGAINST ME!
Excuse me if I get personal on this one. I can still remember where I was when I found out Against Me! frontwoman Laura Jane Grace came out as trans. It was on a bus ride home from work late at night and stumbled upon an E! article saying she had just come out. I too had been wrestling with my gender identity and as a longtime fan of the band, I got really emotional that night. Fast forward two years later, I had been transitioning for over a year, and Against Me! released Transgender Dysphoria Blues. I have never felt so seen by an album. Laura's lyrical output about finally being herself doesn't hold back when it comes to the all-too-real struggles of the trans experience. Tracks like "True Trans Soul Rebel," "Paralytic States" and "Black Me Out" highlight the heartbreak, anger and acceptance in breathtaking detail. In retrospect, Against Me!'s back catalog is actually filled with other songs that Laura had written about her gender identity such as "Bamboo Bones," "The Ocean" and "Pretty Girls (The Mover)." Like many trans folks, she was always telling us her truth, we just needed to listen.
G.L.O.S.S.
Olympia, Wash., has maintained its status as a place of weirdos, hippies and outsiders thanks in some part to Evergreen State College. From the early days of K Records to the rise of riot grrl, the city attained a reputation for finding the pulse of the underground music scene early. Between 2014-2016, Olympia gave us G.L.O.S.S. An all-trans band, G.L.O.S.S can best be described as "what if Minor Threat was all trans people?" They played fast and hard punk, setting the stage for so many trans punk bands that have come since. The group released two EPs and famously broke up instead of "selling out," maintaining their DIY ethos after gaining national attention. Both of these EPs display raw emotions about the reality of being trans and tracks like "G.L.O.S.S. (We're From the Future)," "Transgender Day of Revenge" and "We Live" remain relevant to this day.
SHAMIR
Shamir is a nonbinary singer/songwriter from Las Vegas who's been fairly prolific over the last few years, including releasing two albums in 2020, Cataclysm and Shamir. Both albums have diverse sounds incorporating genres like punk, electronica, hip-hop and soul. But it's the raw emotions in the lyrics that draw listeners into his sound. Standout tracks include "Pretty When I'm Sad", "I Wonder," "Feminine Guy" and "All The Places Nobody Wants To Be." His new 2022 album Heterosexuality hits hard with the tracks like "Cisgender" and "Gay Agenda."
SOPHIE
Mostly known for her production work with pop stars like Madonna, Charlie XCX and Kim Petras, Sophie's own music exemplified the hyperpop explosion of the last five years before she tragically died in January 2021. Oil of Every Pearl's Un-Insides really hits every note of the emotional spectrum. Her musical spirit still lives on in standout tracks like "It's Okay to Cry," "Not Okay" and "Pretending."
There are so many trans artists nowadays, and it's heartening to see. Last year alone saw so many great releases from artists like We are the Union, Ryan Cassata, Evan Greer, Fiona Moonchild and Mykki Blanco. Trans people have always been in music, and we're not going anywhere. ♦
BONUS TRACK PICKS
"They/Them/Theirs" by Worriers: Off the Laura Jane Grace-produced record Imaginary Life, this punk track wrestles with feelings of being outside the gender binary. It's worth a listen for the guitar solo alone.
"Binary" by The Spook School: The Scottish band's best song is get-stuck-in-your-head catchy and earns bonus points for using math as a lyrical convention.
