Live / Sound Board
|
Billy's Thing
Recorded by Tony Camas at Club Cafe, Pittsburgh, 7/13/02
Submitted by Tony Camas; posted on 7/16/02
Jill wrote this song quite a while ago but has just started performing it live. It's based on the life of Billy Tipton, a Jazz musician who was born Dorothy Tipton in 1914. At about age 20, Dorothy began dressing as a man, taking the name of her younger brother and performing as Billy Tipton. Initially, his bandmates knew his "secret," but after moving to another town at around the age of 25, Billy began living life as a man. He married, adopted children, and made a living as a musician in Spokane, Washington. Remarkably, Billy successfully hid his true gender from everyone, his family included, for nearly fifty years, until his death at age 74. Jill's song about Billy was recorded live off the sound board at Club Cafe. For more information on Billy Tipton, check out the web site of his biographer, Diane Middlebrook.
|
