The Many Sides of Zebedy Colt

Zebedy Colt was born Edward Earle Marsh and had two parallel careers. As Edward Earle, he was active in theatre, with several small Broadway roles, and many more regional theatre credits. And he was a musician, and that work included appearing on one of Ben Bagby's albums in 1967. Those albums paid homage to the forgotten music of major composers and there a whole series. The LP I found him on was "Ben Bagby's Noel Coward Revisited," and on it he gave us the only full-song version I know of for Coward's "Green Carnations." That was originally was from "Bittersweet," in 1929, and that made it a very early lyrically gay song.

The other side of Zebedy Colt attracted much more attention. Of interest to me was his 1969 LP "I'll Sing For You," of mostly standards, with those songs intended to be sung by women...but this time sung man to man, and without any campy nuances, they were done...er, straight. Included are the songs "The Man I Love" and "I'm in Love With a Wonderful Guy." Now this was not the first time an album of standards were done in this fashion...I give "Love Is A Drag," from 1962, that honor. But it certainly was a very early approach considering the young genre of "gay music."

By the mid-1970's, Colt had found an additional career, in straight porn, with "The Story of Joanna," (1975) being his best known title. This was at the same time he was appearing on Broadway, under the name Edward Earle. His cast-mates in the Royal Theatre Company were quite surprised when they went to the film and recognized Zebedy as their fellow actor Edward. There's a lot more info at the link. 

QMH Zebedy Colt Tribute Section

Mike Rickard: Regular or Hi-Test?

I first became a fan of the music of Atlanta artist Mike Rickard in 2004 when he released his debut CD "Shaken Not Stirred." Then came his next release, in 2009, called "Sweat." I interviewed him for my show Queer Music Heritage (April 2010) and he told me:

"You know, 'Sweat' is about…I would say more about living in the moment. The songs and stories talk a lot about being in a particular situation at that moment and what you feel about it, and just living life to the fullest. There's a definition of 'sweat' that I really like, that says 'to labor or exert oneself so as to cause perspiration.' And I think you can just either go through the motions in life and it kind of runs you, or you can run your life and accomplish some of the things you want to and have fun while doing it, and that's some of the thought process behind the CD."

Well, I think that in addition to the energy of the music of that album, there is also a lot of "meat" to the lyrics. When I mentioned that to him, he replied, "Well, thank you, I would say that I tend to be one who's a bit analytical and always questioning and searching and trying to grow, and I think that probably just comes out in the lyrics. But I did want to balance where I felt that the last CD…some of the content might have been a little darker, a little more introspective, I wanted this to still be…be more in the moment but still really have something to say."

Hear the Interview

The songs in particular that really spoke to me were "Stupid Stuff Like That" and "When the Hot Cools Down." This artist can write about relationships and the music reaches out to you.

Okay, so why am I writing about this today? Well, Mike has just released an EP of remixes of some of the songs from "Sweat," taking them to a new level, and then some. That's where I came up with the blog title "Regular or Hi-Test." I think you'd like both, and hope you check out his music.

Mike Rickard Website

 

Frankie "Half-Pint" Jaxon

In the late 20's and all of the 30's, blues and innuendo seem to go hand in hand, and from the gay perspective that perfectly fit Frankie "Half-Pint" Jaxon. He was "Half-Pint" as he was 5'2" and he started honing his craft as a teenager, joining a touring company when he was only 15 (in 1910). By 1919 he was in demand for producing revues at the Apollo Theatre, and during this time he started performing as a female impersonator, which would be incorporated into his act throughout his career. By 1927 he ended up in Chicago, his base for the next thirteen years.  On one of his first recording sessions (1927) he demonstrated his versatility with the song "I'm Gonna Dance Wit De Guy Wot Brung Me," in which he sang both the guy and girl parts in a dancehall sketch.

Listen to "I'm Gonna Dance Wit De Guy Wot Brung Me" (Gennet 6244, 1927)

Jaxon recorded extensively, for the labels Decca, Vocalion, and others and also sang vocals on a number of recordings for blues great Tampa Red. Naturally, my interest is drawn to the tracks where he plays a woman, as the sexual innuendo and double entendres come to the surface from a gay angle. I picked two more for you to check out:

Listen to "How Can I Get It" (Vocalion 1257,1928)

Listen to "Operation Blues" (Vocalion,unissued, 1929)

You'll note that "Operation Blues" was at the time not released, for good reason. It features Jaxon playing the "female" patient and the "examination" turns into doctor/patient sex. Subtlety was not brought into this operation.

There are many Frankie Jaxon songs on YouTube, and that's where I found my favorite by him, and the double meanings are loud and clear. It's one he sang vocals on for Tampa Red's Hokum Jazz Band, in 1929, "My Daddy Rocks Me With One Steady Roll."

View the Video

QMH Frankie "Half-Pint" Jaxon Tribute Pages

for Lots More Information

and also see

Jaxon on RedHotJazz Site
 

Sissy Man Blues

 

I wish I had a better image of this rare 78 rpm record, or even that I owned a copy. 
It's "Sissy Man Blues," written and sung by Kokomo Arnold, in early 1935. It has a special place in the history of "gay" blues songs, with its famous line, 

"Lord, if you can't send me no woman, 

please send me some sissy man." 

It became a popular song with three other versions recorded within the next two years, by Josh White (then known as Pinewood Tom), George Noble, and Connie McLean's Rhythm Kings. The lyrics may have varied a bit between the four recordings, but the punch like was always there. You can compare the lyrics exactly, and hear all the versions, and find more info on this page of my site:

QMH Sissy Man Blues Tribute Page

 

Just one of the many compilations featuring versions of the song