45 SPOTLIGHT: Jackie Shane "Comin' Down" (Sue 788)

Click on the label and listen
the fabolous, the flamboyante, the effeminate
Jackie Shane!

Lounge singer Jackie Shane was considered very risquè during the more subdued Toronto club era of the early 1960's. As a black androgynous soul singer, often backed by Frank Motley And The Hitchhikers (featuring saxophonist King Herbert) at the Sapphire Club, Shane commanded overflow crowds as much for his silky smooth voice as for his flamboyant effeminate stage persona. With constant club engagements throughout Canada and parts of the US as far away as California and Hawaii, Shane was able to release his one and only hit record, "Any Other Way", in April 1963. The song reached No. 2 in Canada and sustained itself on the charts for 9 consecutive weeks. To capitalize on his popularity he also recorded a live album but by the late 1960's drifted into obscurity. Many rumours have circulated over the years about his untimely death but none have ever been confirmed. Shane's whereabouts is unknown.
(from the canadian website jam.canoe.ca )


The pics are gently stolen from the great queermusicheritage a U.S. website about gay & lesbian music.