If you’ve not heard of 60s R&B drummer and vocalist Jackie Shane, it’s not surprising. A Black trans performer who drew crowds and performed with the likes of Little Richard, a young Jimi Hendrix and more, she completely disappeared from public view after 1971. Most assumed she had died, but the documentary, Any Other Way: The Jackie Shane Story, opens up her history with rare phone interviews recorded shortly before her actual death in 2019.
Born in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1940 Jackie made an early name for herself as a precocious young performer. With the support of her family she pursued a music career, expressing her gender identity by wearing make-up and dresses. Working as a studio musician for R&B stars, she became known as an in-demand session musician and band member before fleeing the Jim Crow South for Montreal, Quebec. It was in Canada that Shane’s star rose, recording a hit single, “Any Other Way”, and gaining mainstream attention.
With an absence of footage of Jackie—only a single TV performance exists—filmmakers Michael Mabbott and Lucah Rosenberg-Lee enlist the aid of drag queen Makayla Couture who lip-syncs audio of the phone interviews which are then rotoscoped and animated. The result is effective in both bringing Shane’s presence fully into the narrative and also giving the film a strong and distinctive visual look. These sequences are supported by readings of Jackie’s writings by other Black and trans artists including Sandra Caldwell.
What we get from this deep dive into Shane’s story is the image of a trans woman of incredible personal strength and conviction. Shane reportedly turned down an invitation to appear on The Ed Sullivan Show when producers insisted she perform dressed as a man, and rejected American Bandstand over their segregated audience policy. Even at the risk of derailing her career she stood for what she believed.
There is an element of Malik Bendjelloul’s Searching For Sugar Man in the narrative as Shane’s family go about piecing together the details of her life and rediscovering her musical legacy. Combing through a treasure trove of Shane’s personal belongings—her performance clothes, jewelry, and career memorabilia—they discover a handwritten autobiographical text giving voice to Shane’s personal heartbreak. The fact she died a virtual recluse in Los Angeles haunts her entire narrative.
What remains is a sense of lost opportunities. The music we could have had, and the groundbreaking life Jackie Shane could have lived if only she’d had the chance to live it out fully. Shane was an undeniable talent and Mabbott and Rosenberg-Lee’s film is a beautiful tribute to that.
By Chad Armstrong
Any Other Way: The Jackie Shane Story played on the Opening Night of the 34th annual Melbourne Queer Film Festival. MQFF34 runs November 14th-24th 2024. For the full lineup and to purchase tickets head to mqff.com.au.
So many words and not a single mention of why she vanished after 1971.