PRIDE 2024
Queer Personalities of The Jazz Era
Josephine Baker
born June 3, 1906 St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.
died April 12, 1975 Paris, France
Josephine was a world renowned dancer, singer, and civil rights activist who captivated audiences across the world with her dance performances which emphasized the beauty and power of the black body.
In 1925 she fled highly segregated America and settled in Paris; quickly becoming one of the highest paid performers on the continent after only 2 years.
Josephine was a passionate activist. She refused to perform at segregated venues and in 1963 she returned to the US to speak at the March on Washington. She worked with the Red Cross and is even said to have spied on Nazis during WWII.
Throughout her whole career she was openly bisexual and upended stereotypes with her performances.
“I am not immoral, I’m only natural.” - Josephine Baker
Billy Strayhorn
born November 29, 1915 Dayton, Ohio, U.S.
died May 31, 1967 New York City, U.S.
Billy Strayhorn was an American composer, pianist, and arranger best known for his longtime collaboration with bandleader and musician Duke Ellington.
In 1939 Duke Ellington asked Billy for an impromptu backstage audition. Billy left a good impression and soon was writing arrangements for Ellington’s Orchestra.
When he first joined the band Billy lived with Eillington and some bandmates in Harlem. He soon moved out to live with his partner, Aaron Bridgers. Billy became the first openly gay jazz musician unafraid of public commentary on his identity.
Billy’s strong beliefs led him to work within the Civil Rights Movement where he became friends with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
He stayed in Duke Ellington’s band for 29 years and his compositions helped keep the band at the top of the charts.
Ethel Waters
born October 31, 1896 Chester, Pennsylvania, U.S
died September 1, 1977 Chatsworth, California, U.S.
Ethel Waters was a popular blues singer and actress who sang at many famous night clubs across the world including the Cotton Club in Harlem where, according to her autobiography, she “sang ‘Stormy Weather’ from the depths of the private hell in which [she] was being crushed and suffocated.”
In 1933 she became the first Black woman to integrate Broadway’s theater district and soon after became the highest-paid performer on Broadway after being cast as the starring role in the Broadway musical ‘As Thousands Cheer.’
She then moved into film and television soon becoming the first African American to star in her own television show and to be nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award.
Waters identified as bisexual privately but never made a public announcement about her sexuality. Though during the 1920s she openly lived with her girlfriend Ethel Williams.
Alberta Hunter
born April 1, 1895 Memphis, Tennessee, U.S.
died October 17, 1984 Roosevelt Island, New York, U.S.
Alberta was a successful blues singer and songwriter from the early 1910s - 40s. After her mother’s death in 1957, she retired from singing for 20 years to work as a nurse in NY before making a comeback in the 1970s, performing at a club in Greenwich Village until her death.
In her early career she was known to be a skilled improviser; spontaneously creating lyrics to satisfy the audience. She first toured Europe in 1917, performing in Paris and London and gained notoriety in the 20s and 30s; appearing in clubs and on stage in musicals in both New York and London.
In 1927 she sailed for France accompanied by Lottie Tyler. Alberta and Lottie had met in Chicago a few years earlier and their relationship lasted until Lottie’s death, many years later.
Alberta never publicly acknowledged her sexuality but she is believed to have been a lesbian.
Cole Porter
born June 9, 1891 Peru, Indiana U.S.
died October 15, 1964 Santa Monica, California U.S.
By the 1930s Cole Porter was one of the major songwriters for teh Broadway musical stage, with his most successful work being ‘Kiss Me, Kate (1948).’ Unlike many successful Broadway composers, Cole wrote the lyrics as well as the music for his songs.
Many artists have recorded Porter’s songs including jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald who released the album ‘Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Cole Porter Songbook.’
During WWI Porter moved to Paris and served in several different relief organizations and legions. He also threw many parties which were said to have “much gay and bisexual activity, Italian nobility, cross-dressing, international musicians and a large surplus of recreational drugs.”
In 1918 he met Linda Lee Thomas and the couple married the following year. She was well aware of Porters homosexuality but admitted that the marriage was mutually advantageous.
Bessie Smith
born April 15, 1894 Chattanooga, Tennessee, U.S.
died September 26, 1937 Clarksdale, Mississippi, U.S.
Bessie Smith was an openly bisexual blues singer and songwriter nicknamed the “Empress of the Blues.” She is widely regarded as the most popular blues singer of the 1930s.
In the 1920s Bessies became a headliner on the Theatre Owners Booking Association (T.O.B.A) circuit and rose to become its top attraction. She soon became the highest paid Black entertainer of her day and began traveling in her own 72 ft long railroad car.
Bessie’s music stressed independence, fearlessness, and sexual freedom, implicitly arguing that working-class women did not have to alter their behavior to be worthy of respect.
Bessie married Jack Gee, a security guard, in 1923 at the very beginning of her rise to fame. The marriage was strained due to infidelity on both sides and ultimately resulted in the two separating in 1929.
