In the 1960s, Jackie Shane took Toronto by storm. With her mesmerizing, soulful voice, wild moves like James Brownâs and an electric stage presence like Little Richardâs, the Nashville, Tenn. native was a tour de force: a transgender woman playing loud and proud -- sequined gowns, high heels, makeup and all -- at a time when âtransgenderâ wasnât even a term.
âI would describe Jackieâs sound as completely free, seemingly effortless and like a natural channelling of a kind of almost gospel spiritual energy,â record producer Douglas Mcgowan told CTVNews.ca. âTo me, itâs like the definition of soul music: itâs like thereâs something bigger speaking through her.â
Born in 1940, Shane first performed in Toronto in 1961. She would become a mainstay of the cityâs flourishing music scene, recording a string of singles and a live album here before disappearing completely and mysteriously from the public eye in 1971.
For years, rumours swirled about her whereabouts and fate. Shane became the stuff of music legend while her recorded output became the stuff of record collectorsâ dreams. Then, just a little less than four years ago, Mcgowan -- a Los Angeles-based producer and A&R rep -- managed to track Shane down in Nashville.
âI knew that if there was a legitimate artist-approved reissue of this record, that it would be a hit,â Mcgowan said.
Now, nearly 50 years after her last performance, Jackie Shane lives again in the form of : a 25-track, two-disc retrospective that encompasses all six of Shaneâs studio singles and B-sides as well as a live LP recorded in 1967 in Torontoâs now-shuttered Sapphire Tavern. Released on the Chicago-based record label Numero Group and produced by Mcgowan, Any Other Way hits stores today.
Mcgowan says that for Shane, Toronto became a âsanctuaryâ from the intolerance she experienced south of the border; a place where she could truly let her talent shine.
âSheâs been very, very outspoken about the fact that she considers Toronto her home and that Toronto was the only city that was ever good to her,â Mcgowan said. âSheâs eternally grateful.â
But despite consistent praise from the LGBTQ community, Shane, Mcgowan adds, has never seen herself as any kind of transgender rights pioneer.
âShe does not think in terms of any movement or any historical context,â he said. âI donât even think that sheâs totally into the idea of any type of labels at all -- I think she would prefer to just be considered as a human being who identifies as female, and thatâs it.â
Shaneâs worldview is perhaps best surmised in a spoken interlude during her live cover of the 1959 Motown hit, âMoney (Thatâs What I Want).â
âYou know what my slogan is?â Shane asks her Toronto audience, voice full of fire as the band plays behind her. âBaby, do what you want -- just know what youâre doing. As long as you donât force your will and your way on anybody else, live your life, because ainât nobody sanctified and holy.â
As for whatâs next for Shane, itâs anybodyâs guess. While she remains intensely reclusive (for example, the closest Mcgowan has ever been to her is talking through her front door), Mcgowan firmly believes that weâll be able to see Shane revel in all this newfound attention.
âI believe that Jackie is going to be on stage,â Mcgowan said. âAnd for sure, if it happens, the first show is going to be in Toronto.â