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.
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:
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."
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