After years of mystery, Jackie Shane tells her life story posthumously in new doc
A year before her death in 2019, Jackie Shane decided it was finally time to tell her life story.
The trailblazing transgender soul singer was a mystery ever since vanishing from the spotlight in 1971 after dominating the Toronto music scene throughout the 1960s. For decades following her retirement, the Nashville-born artist lived in obscurity until a 2017 retrospective album, which earned a Grammy nod, catapulted her back into public attention.
- Download our app to get local alerts on your device
- Get the latest local updates right to your inbox
“That's when the world and I found out she was still alive, so I spent a year trying to get through to her and I finally did,” Edmonton-born filmmaker Michael Mabbott says.
After numerous ignored phone calls and emails, Shane eventually responded to Mabbott in 2018, agreeing to let him make a movie about her.
“I spent a year talking with her over the phone, and part of that was her telling me her life story and then also telling me what a film about her would look like in her eyes and what she wanted an audience to feel.”
Soul singer Jackie Shane is seen performing in this undated image. (Courtesy of the Estate of Jackie Shane)
The resulting documentary, “Any Other Way: The Jackie Shane Story” - which Mabbott co-directed with Toronto's Lucah Rosenberg-Lee and is executive produced by Elliot Page - will have its Canadian premiere at Hot Docs on Saturday. It fills in the blanks of Shane's life, providing a full account of how she became one of music's first Black transgender performers.
Mabbott's fascination with Shane began when he heard her 1967 album “Jackie Shane Live,” which captured one of her impassioned live sets at Toronto's Saphire Tavern, where she played frequently.
“I was just blown away that this music was made in Toronto at that time,” says Mabbott, best known for his 2005 mockumentary film “The Life and Hard Times of Guy Terrifico.”
“I wanted to know everything I could about who this was. She disappeared immediately after making this album, and nobody knew anything about what happened to her, which just intrigued me more.”
Jackie Shane performs in this undated photo. (Numero Group)
The film, co-produced by Banger Films and the National Film Board, captures Shane as a soul star on her own terms. She was a force in the Nashville R&B scene during the 1950s but sought refuge in Canada from the discrimination she faced for her gender identity. In Toronto she found a more inclusive and accepting environment, headlining packed clubs where she would don makeup, sequined tops and wigs.
“I remember feeling like I was born in the wrong body, but everyone around you is telling you that doesn't exist,” Rosenberg-Lee, a Black trans man himself, says.
“One thing that makes Jackie so amazing is not only did she have those same feelings, but she was allowing herself to be female in her own mind before trans was even a term. In that way, I think she is a really big trailblazer.”
Mabbot spent “hundreds of hours” on the phone with Shane, who was back living in Nashville, to get her backstory, with the intention of eventually interviewing her on camera. She died before that could happen.
This 1960s image shows Jackie Shane at The California Club in Los Angeles. Shane's ‚"Any Other Way" has been nominated for best historical album at this year's Grammy Awards on Feb. 10. (Jackie Shane via AP)
As a result, her phone recordings provide a narrative thread throughout the film, while rotoscope animations portray her performances and the calls from her home.
“She was a Black trans woman born into the Jim Crow south, and she faced a lot of struggles, a lot of ignorance, a lot of evil. But the amount of laughter in these conversations was surprising,” Mabbott says.
“She looked at the ignorant people and didn't as much consider them evil. She said, 'These are scared people. They're scared to be themselves.”'
After Shane died, Mabbot recruited Rosenberg-Lee, who helmed 2015 short doc “Passing,” to help him make the film, noting similarities between his work and the “intimate and beautiful” type of art Shane said she liked.
At the height of her popularity, Shane turned down several high-profile opportunities, including an invitation to perform on “The Ed Sullivan Show” because its producers wouldn't allow her to wear makeup on TV. Mabbott believes she retreated from the public eye because it was the only way she could live authentically.
“Jackie was not able to be her true self when she was under the spotlight, and so she had to leave it,” he says.
“In order to live on her own terms, at least for her, it meant that her world got smaller and smaller.”
After leaving the stage, Jackie moved to Los Angeles with her partner at the time to live her life as a woman. She eventually moved back to Nashville to take care of her ailing mother and remained there for the rest of her life. But she often reflected on her time in Toronto with fondness.
“Jackie always talked to me about returning to Toronto. She regretted leaving in some ways, and she wanted to come back. She wanted to play shows. She wanted to play at Massey Hall. She wanted to play Pride,” Mabbott says.
“Unfortunately, that didn't happen because she passed away. But I think having her voice and having her music play at theaters here gets us some way to that dream.”
From left to right: MP Marci Ien, MPP Kristyn Wong-Tam, Andrenee Majors Douglas, Amanda Burt, James Baley, and Coun. Chris Moise attend the unveiling of a plaque dedicated to transgender soul singer Jackie Shane in Toronto on June 23, 2023. (Heritage Toronto/Oscar Akamine)
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 26, 2024.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
From outer space? Sask. farmers baffled after discovering strange wreckage in field
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
Pearson gold heist suspect arrested after flying into Toronto from India
Another suspect is in custody in connection with the gold heist at Toronto Pearson International Airport last year, police say.
Justin and Hailey Bieber are expecting their first child together
Hailey and Justin Bieber are going to be parents. The couple announced the news on Thursday on Instagram, both sharing a video that showcases Hailey Bieber's growing belly.
New analysis of Beethoven's hair reveals possible cause of mysterious ailments, scientists say
High levels of lead detected in authenticated locks of Ludwig van Beethoven's hair suggest that the composer had lead poisoning, which may have contributed to ailments he endured over the course of his life, including deafness, according to new research.
Debate on abortion rights erupts on Parliament Hill, Poilievre vows he won't legislate
A Conservative government led by Pierre Poilievre would not legislate on, nor use the notwithstanding clause, on abortion, his office says, as anti-abortion protesters gather on Parliament Hill.
B.C. man used Bobcat as 'weapon' while chasing away homeless people, judge says
A B.C. man has been convicted of assault with a weapon after using a skid-steer Bobcat to chase two homeless people from his lawn, injuring one of them in the process.
Ontario family receives massive hospital bill as part of LTC law, refuses to pay
A southwestern Ontario woman has received an $8,400 bill from a hospital in Windsor, Ont., after she refused to put her mother in a nursing home she hated -- and she says she has no intention of paying it.
Flat tire on a highway? Here's why you shouldn't try to fix it
If you're cruising down a highway and realize you have a flat tire, you may want to think twice before stopping to fix it on the side of the road.
Miss Teen USA steps down just days after Miss USA's resignation
Miss Teen USA resigned Wednesday, sending further shock waves through the pageant community just days after Miss USA said she would relinquish her crown.