Jackie Shane (May 15, 1940 – February 21, 2019) was an American soul and rhythm and blues singer, who was most prominent in the jazz music scene of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, in the 1960s.

To embody femininity, Shane also mimicked mannerisms and posture cues, drawing inspiration from popular actress Mae West.

While Jackie Shane’s trans identity was a distinguishing aspect of her persona, she was primarily known for her contribution to the music industry, specifically for Rhythm and Blues.

Shane's drumming talent led to studio session work as a drummer, including on Lillian Offitt's "Miss You So", a track which hit #66 pop and #8 R&B on Billboard's US charts in the summer of 1957.

Vowing to escape the "Jim Crow South",[10] in the late 1950s, Shane joined a traveling carnival and arrived in Cornwall, Ontario, in 1959, where she said she felt free for the first time.

When Motley said, "Get that kid up here and let's see what he can do," pianist Curley Bridges invited Shane, then still presenting as a man, onstage for the next set, where she performed songs by Ray Charles and Bobby "Blue" Bland.

[17] The question of whether she was a transgender woman, a drag queen, a masculine lesbian, or a gay man was consistently discussed, but Shane never publicly addressed her gender identity or sexual orientation until the last years of her life.

[citation needed] There were several horrific stories that could have scared Shane out of Nashville, but one incident that stuck with her was when she witnessed a group of white men chase a black man down near the bus stop where she and a friend were waiting.

[citation needed] Jackie Shane constantly reiterated the fact that her experience as a black, trans woman was not as most expected, not filled with violence and verbal threats.

While playing on the playground, she was verbally attacked by a boy, who screamed directly at Shane regarding her gender appearance, and eventually began to throw objects at her as well.

[citation needed] Shane recorded several tracks in 1960, including a cover of Barrett Strong's "Money (That's What I Want)" and a version of Lloyd Price's "I've Really Got the Blues".

[14][21] It was also a hit in several US markets (including St. Louis, and Washington, D.C.), allowing it to place at #124 on Billboard's "Bubbling Under" charts in the U.S. A cover of a song previously recorded and released by William Bell in summer 1962, Shane's version of "Any Other Way" was noted for adding a different spin to the lyric "Tell her that I'm happy/tell her that I'm gay"; while the original lyric intended the word "gay" in its older meaning as a synonym of "happy", Shane played on the word's double meaning, which was not yet in mainstream usage.

[citation needed] In 1962, Shane was performing at Toronto's Saphire Tavern, specializing in covers of songs by Ray Charles and Bobby Bland.

[4] In addition to her own recordings, Shane also appeared on Motley's album Honkin' at Midnight, performing live versions of some of the singles she had released under her own name.

[26] Shane faded in prominence after 1970–71,[4] with even her own former bandmates losing touch with her; soon after returning to Los Angeles, she turned down an offer to be a part of George Clinton's band Funkadelic.

For a time she was rumoured to have died by suicide or to have been stabbed to death in the 1990s,[24] but in fact she had retired from music, and moved home to Nashville from Los Angeles.

With the gay liberation movement's emergence in the 1960s, transgender individuals, as well gender non-conforming people, created a sense of voice that provided strength and unification.

While trans visibility was becoming more common, many transgender people were difficult to identify within society, due to active discrimination that could endanger their lives.

Following the Stonewall riots in the 1970s, several popular queer movements, such as the Gay Liberation Front and the Gay Activist Alliance excluded transgender individuals, which led to the creation of trans inclusive organizations, such as Street Transvestite Action Revolutionaries, Transvestite and Transsexual Activist Organization, and Queens’ Liberation Front.

Her ability and confidence to place herself within the public eye while openly expressing femininity, emphasizes Shane’s overall importance in transgender visibility.

[citation needed] CBC Radio's Inside the Music aired a documentary feature, "I Got Mine: The Story of Jackie Shane", in 2010.

[4] At the time, nobody involved in the documentary, the executive producer of which was Steve Kennedy's wife, had been able to determine whether Shane was still alive;[4] but she was subsequently found, still living in Nashville.

[26] Footage of Shane in performance also appeared in Bruce McDonald's 2011 documentary television series Yonge Street: Toronto Rock & Roll Stories.

In 2015, the Polaris Music Prize committee shortlisted Jackie Shane Live as one of the nominees for the 1960s–1970s component of its inaugural Heritage Award to honour classic Canadian albums.

[15] In the summer of 2017, the reissue label Numero Group announced that they would be releasing a double-LP/CD compilation of Shane's music, Any Other Way, on October 20, 2017.

[36] In a revealing interview with Elio Iannacci of The Globe and Mail,[37] Shane stated she was planning to return to Toronto to perform live for the first time in nearly five decades.

[45] A documentary of her life, Any Other Way: The Jackie Shane Story, directed by Michael Mabbott and Lucah Rosenberg-Lee and co-produced by Elliot Page, premiered at the South by Southwest Festival in March 2024.