Episode 053—Tippin & Choppin
Let's talk about sex[uality], baby! This week we're making sweet, sweet music with jazz musician, Billy Tipton, and Polish virtuoso, Frédéric François Chopin. But it isn't all about the music, it's about gender expression, sexuality...and music.
Billy Tipton Plays Hi-Fi on Piano Record, 1957
Billy Tipton Performing Sweet Georgia Brown
Portrait of Frédéric Chopin & George Sand by Eugène Delacroix
Chopin’s boyhood friend Tytus Woyciechowski
SOURCES:
Billy Tipton Story:
Wiki, Legacy Project Chicago, NY Times: “One False Note in a Musician’s Life…” by Dinitia Smith, Stanford Today Online, Hyperallergic.com: “A Portrait of Trans Masculinity in the Story of a Jazz Musician” by Caden Mark Gardner, Making Queer History.com
“Death discloses Billy Tipton’s strange secret: He was a she” - Chin, P., and N. Gallo. “Death Discloses Billy Tipton’s Strange Secret: He Was a She.” People, vol. 31, no. 7, Feb. 1989, p. 95. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=f6h&AN=8903200913&site=ehost-live&scope=site.
Chopin Story:
Wiki, CNN, Independent
CREDITS:
Original Theme: Garreth Spinn
Original Art: Sarah Cruz
SPONSORS: This season of Shared History is sponsored by RAYGUN, ECBG Cake Studio & The Banditry Co.