Gladys Bentley
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Gladys Alberta Bentley (August 12, 1907 – January 18, 1960) was an American
blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...
singer, pianist, and entertainer during the Harlem Renaissance. Her career skyrocketed when she appeared at Harry Hansberry's Clam House in New York in the 1920s, as a black, lesbian, cross-dressing performer. She headlined in the early 1930s at Harlem's Ubangi Club, where she was backed up by a chorus line of
drag queen A drag queen is a person, usually male, who uses drag clothing and makeup to imitate and often exaggerate female gender signifiers and gender roles for entertainment purposes. Historically, drag queens have usually been gay men, and part of ...
s. She dressed in men's clothes (including a signature
tail coat A tailcoat is a knee-length coat characterised by a rear section of the skirt, known as the ''tails'', with the front of the skirt cut away. The tailcoat shares its historical origins in clothes cut for convenient horse riding in the Early Mode ...
and
top hat A top hat (also called a high hat, a cylinder hat, or, informally, a topper) is a tall, flat-crowned hat for men traditionally associated with formal wear in Western dress codes, meaning white tie, morning dress, or frock coat. Traditionally m ...
), played piano, and sang her own raunchy lyrics to popular tunes of the day in a deep, growling voice while flirting with women in the audience. On the decline of the Harlem
speakeasies A speakeasy, also called a blind pig or blind tiger, is an illicit establishment that sells alcoholic beverages, or a retro style bar that replicates aspects of historical speakeasies. Speakeasy bars came into prominence in the United States ...
with the repeal of
Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic ...
, she relocated to southern
California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
, where she was billed as "America's Greatest Sepia Piano Player" and the "Brown Bomber of Sophisticated Songs". She was frequently harassed for wearing men's clothing. She tried to continue her musical career but did not achieve as much success as she had had in the past. Bentley was openly
lesbian A lesbian is a Homosexuality, homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate n ...
early in her career, but during the
McCarthy Era McCarthyism is the practice of making false or unfounded accusations of subversion and treason, especially when related to anarchism, communism and socialism, and especially when done in a public and attention-grabbing manner. The term origina ...
she started wearing dresses and married, claiming to have been cured by taking female hormones.


Early life

Bentley was born August 12, 1907 in
Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
, Pennsylvania, the daughter of George L. Bentley, an American, and his wife, Mary Mote, a
Trinidad Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...
ian. In Bentley's ''
Ebony Ebony is a dense black/brown hardwood, coming from several species in the genus ''Diospyros'', which also contains the persimmons. Unlike most woods, ebony is dense enough to sink in water. It is finely textured and has a mirror finish when pol ...
'' article, she wrote about trouble in the home as she was growing up and the relationship between her and her mother. She was the eldest of four children in a low-income family living at 1012 W. Euclid Ave. in North Philadelphia and always felt unwanted or rejected because her mother desperately wanted her to have been born a boy: "When they told my mother she had given birth to a girl, she refused to touch me. She wouldn't even nurse me and my grandmother had to raise me for 6 months on a bottle before they could persuade my mother to take care of her own baby." She believed that growing up feeling rejected shaped her behavior; she never wanted a man to touch her, hated her brothers, wore boys' clothes, and had a crush on one of her female teachers in elementary school.


Clothing choices

In an interview with ''Ebony'' magazine, Bentley stated that "It seems I was born different. At least, I always thought I was." From an early age, Bentley defied gender normative behaviors and
femininity Femininity (also called womanliness) is a set of attributes, behaviors, and roles generally associated with women and girls. Femininity can be understood as socially constructed, and there is also some evidence that some behaviors considered fe ...
. She was larger in size and preferred to wear her brother's suits instead of dresses or blouses. As a result of her lack of gender conformity, she was teased by her classmates and often ostracized by her family and peers. Bentley recalled dreaming and being infatuated with her primary school female teachers but did not understand those feelings until later on in her life. Bentley's behavior was seen as abnormal and "unladylike" which led to her family sending her to doctors to fix Bentley's desires. Later psychiatrists would coin Bentley's non-
heteronormative Heteronormativity is the concept that heterosexuality is the preferred or normal mode of sexual orientation. It assumes the gender binary (i.e., that there are only two distinct, opposite genders) and that sexual and marital relations are most ...
behavior as "extreme social maladjustment." Due to her inability to feel conformable and her family's inability to accept her as she was, Bentley ran away from home at the age of 16 to begin her life in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
.


Career

She moved from Philadelphia to Harlem, a neighborhood in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
in 1925 at the age of 16. She heard that Harry Hansberry's Clam House on 133rd Street, one of the city's most notorious gay
speakeasies A speakeasy, also called a blind pig or blind tiger, is an illicit establishment that sells alcoholic beverages, or a retro style bar that replicates aspects of historical speakeasies. Speakeasy bars came into prominence in the United States d ...
, needed a male pianist. This is when she began performing in men's attire ("white full dress shirts, stiff collars, small bow ties,
oxfords An Oxford shoe is characterized by shoelace eyelets tabs that are attached under the vamp, a feature termed "closed lacing". This contrasts with Derbys, or bluchers, which have shoelace eyelets attached to the top of the vamp. Originally, Oxf ...
, short Eton jackets, and hair cut straight back"), and here she perfected her act and became popular and successful. Her salary started at $35 per week plus tips and went to $125 per week, and the club was soon renamed Barbara's Exclusive Club, after her stage name at the time, Barbara "Bobbie" Minton. She then began performing at the Ubangi Club on Park Avenue, got an accompanist on piano, and was successful enough to own a "$300/month apartment in Park Ave. With servants and a nice car" (although some have said that she was living in the penthouse of one of her lesbian lovers).Duckett, Alfred. "The Third Sex". ''The Chicago Defender'', March 2, 1957. She toured the country, some destinations being
Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
,
Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...
,
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...
, and
Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...
, where she was well liked by
Cesar Romero Cesar Julio Romero Jr. (February 15, 1907 – January 1, 1994) was an American actor and activist. He was active in film, radio, and television for almost sixty years. His wide range of screen roles included Latin lovers, historical figures in c ...
,
Hugh Herbert Hugh Herbert (August 10, 1885 – March 12, 1952) was an American motion picture comedian. He began his career in vaudeville and wrote more than 150 plays and sketches. Career Born in Binghamton, New York, Herbert attended Cornell Univers ...
,
Cary Grant Cary Grant (born Archibald Alec Leach; January 18, 1904November 29, 1986) was an English-American actor. He was known for his Mid-Atlantic accent, debonair demeanor, light-hearted approach to acting, and sense of comic timing. He was one o ...
,
Barbara Stanwyck Barbara Stanwyck (; born Ruby Catherine Stevens; July 16, 1907 – January 20, 1990) was an American actress, model and dancer. A stage, film, and television star, during her 60-year professional career she was known for her strong, realistic sc ...
, and other celebrities. Bentley had great talent as a piano player, singer, and entertainer. Her performances were "comical, sweet and risqué" for the era and the audience. In her music, she called out men and openly sang about sexual relationships which was seen as risqué behavior at the time. Even more, she often sang about "sissies" and "bulldaggers" and, through innuendo or more literally, about her female lovers, and she flirted with women in the audience. She mostly played the blues and parodies of popular songs of the time: "mocking 'high' class imagery with 'low' class humor, she applied aspects of the sexually charged 'black' blues to demure, romantic 'white' ballads, creating a culture clash between these two music forms". Bentley was known for taking popular songs and putting a promiscuous spin on them. She sang loud, and her vocal style was deep and booming, sometimes using a growling effect and imitations of a horn. In August 1928, she signed with
Okeh Records Okeh Records () is an American record label founded by the Otto Heinemann Phonograph Corporation, a phonograph supplier established in 1916, which branched out into phonograph records in 1918. The name was spelled "OkeH" from the initials of Ott ...
company and recorded eight sides over the course of the next year up until 1929. In 1930 she recorded a side with the Washboard Serenaders for
Victor The name Victor or Viktor may refer to: * Victor (name), including a list of people with the given name, mononym, or surname Arts and entertainment Film * ''Victor'' (1951 film), a French drama film * ''Victor'' (1993 film), a French shor ...
, and later recorded for the
Excelsior Excelsior, a Latin comparative word often translated as "ever upward" or "even higher", may refer to: Arts and entertainment Literature and poetry * "Excelsior" (Longfellow), an 1841 poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow * ''Excelsior'' (Macedo ...
, and Flame labels. Her vocal range was wide, as can be heard in her recordings. She mostly sang in a deep, low range, but also reached high notes. Bentley's performances appealed to black, white, gay, and straight audiences alike, and many celebrities attended her shows.
Langston Hughes James Mercer Langston Hughes (February 1, 1901 – May 22, 1967) was an American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist from Joplin, Missouri. One of the earliest innovators of the literary art form called jazz poetry, Hug ...
recorded his reaction to the beginning of Bentley's career success:
For two or three amazing years, Miss Bentley sat, and played piano all night long … with scarcely a break between the notes, sliding from one song to another, with a powerful and continuous underbeat of jungle rhythm. Miss Bentley was an amazing exhibition of musical energy – a large, dark, masculine lady, whose feet pounded the floor while her fingers pounded the keyboard – a perfect piece of African sculpture, animated by her own rhythm.
On the decline of the Harlem speakeasies with the repeal of
Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic ...
, she relocated to southern California, where she was billed as "America's Greatest Sepia Piano Player" and the "Brown Bomber of Sophisticated Songs". She tried to continue her musical career by playing in a number of gay nightspots but did not achieve as much success as she had had in the past. As times progressed and federal laws continued to change, there became a point where Bentley had to carry special permits to allow her to perform in men's clothing. She was frequently harassed for wearing men's clothing. She claimed that she had married a white woman in
Atlantic City Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, Boardwalk (entertainment district), boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020 United States censu ...
. Bentley was openly
lesbian A lesbian is a Homosexuality, homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate n ...
early in her career, but during the
McCarthy Era McCarthyism is the practice of making false or unfounded accusations of subversion and treason, especially when related to anarchism, communism and socialism, and especially when done in a public and attention-grabbing manner. The term origina ...
, she started wearing dresses and married (within five months of meeting) Charles Roberts, age 28, a cook, in a civil ceremony in
Santa Barbara, California Santa Barbara ( es, Santa Bárbara, meaning "Saint Barbara") is a coastal city in Santa Barbara County, California, of which it is also the county seat. Situated on a south-facing section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coas ...
, in 1952. Roberts later denied that they had ever married. On May 15, 1958 she appeared as a contestant on ''
You Bet Your Life ''You Bet Your Life'' is an American comedy quiz series that has aired on both radio and television. The original and best-known version was hosted by Groucho Marx of the Marx Brothers, with announcer and assistant George Fenneman. The show deb ...
'', engaging in discussion with host
Groucho Marx Julius Henry "Groucho" Marx (; October 2, 1890 – August 19, 1977) was an American comedian, actor, writer, stage, film, radio, singer, television star and vaudeville performer. He is generally considered to have been a master of quick wit an ...
before accompanying herself on piano as she sang "
Them There Eyes "Them There Eyes" is a jazz song written by Maceo Pinkard, Doris Tauber, and William Tracey that was published in 1930. One of the early recorded versions was performed by Louis Armstrong in 1931. It was made famous by Billie Holiday, who recorde ...
". Bentley also studied to be a minister, claiming to have been "cured" by taking female hormones. In an effort to describe her supposed "cure" for homosexuality she wrote an essay, "I Am a Woman Again", for ''
Ebony Ebony is a dense black/brown hardwood, coming from several species in the genus ''Diospyros'', which also contains the persimmons. Unlike most woods, ebony is dense enough to sink in water. It is finely textured and has a mirror finish when pol ...
'' magazine in which she stated she had undergone an operation, which "helped change her life again".


Legal battle

In 1933, Bentley found herself in the middle of a Supreme Court battle with Harry Hansberry and Nat Palein. Hansberry and Palein sued Bentley to prohibit her from taking her musical to the Broadway division. Hansberry insisted that the club had been built around the popularity of Bentley's success and that he owned a five-year contract over Bentley and her raunchy songs. The duo insisted that Bentley left them high and dry at the rise of the club and wanted to pursue other interests that she could financially benefit from. The same year, she attempted to move her act to Broadway, despite legal issues. There she received many complaints about her raunchy performances which resulted in the police locking up the doors of places she performed. Unable to express her talent on Broadway, she was forced to move back to Harlem in 1934, where she then played at the Ubangi Club for three years before it closed in 1937.


Personal life and death

In 1930, Bentley lived with a woman named Beatrice Robert. In 1931, Bentley had a civil ceremony in New Jersey, in a public union with a white woman whose identity is unknown. When Bentley relocated to
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
, she allegedly married J. T. Gibson, who died in 1952, the same year in which she married Charles Roberts, a cook in
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
; they were married in
Santa Barbara, California Santa Barbara ( es, Santa Bárbara, meaning "Saint Barbara") is a coastal city in Santa Barbara County, California, of which it is also the county seat. Situated on a south-facing section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coas ...
, went on a honeymoon in
Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
. Gibson denied ever marrying her. Bentley died of pneumonia unexpectedly at her home in Los Angeles on January 18, 1960, aged 52. It was initially believed to be the Asian flu but later turned into "pneumonia". At the time of her death, she had been more involved in the church and had just been ordained as a minister despite never getting her official paperwork. She is buried beside her mother at Lincoln Memorial Park in
Carson, California Carson is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, in the South Bay region of Los Angeles, located south of downtown Los Angeles and approximately away from Los Angeles International Airport. Incorporated on February 20, 1968, ...
.


Legacy

Aside from her musical talent and success, Bentley is a significant and inspiring figure for some in the LGBT community and African Americans, and she was a prominent figure during the Harlem Renaissance. She was revolutionary in her masculinity: "Differing from the traditional male impersonator, or drag king, in the popular theater, Gladys Bentley did not try to 'pass' as a man, nor did she playfully try to deceive her audience into believing she was biologically male. Instead, she exerted a 'black female masculinity' that troubled the distinctions between black and white and masculine and feminine". Fictional characters based on Bentley appeared in Carl Van Vechten's novel ''Parties'', Clement Woods' novel ''Deep River'', and Blair Niles' novel ''
Strange Brother ''Strange Brother'' is a gay novel written by Blair Niles published in 1931. The story is about a Platonic love, platonic relationship between a heterosexual woman and a gay man and takes place in New York City in the late 1920s and early 1930s. ...
''. In 2016, musician Shirlette Ammons released an album entitled ''Twilight for Gladys Bentley'', that paid tribute to Bentley's legacy and "reimagined" Bentley in relationship to hip hop culture. In 2019, ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' newspaper began a series called "Overlooked No More," in which the editorial staff aims to correct a perceived bias in reporting by republishing obituaries for historical minorities and women. Bentley was one of the featured obituaries in Overlooked No More.


Venues

Bentley appeared at: * The Mad House, 133rd Street, Harlem, New York City, New York * Harry Hansberry's Clam House ("Gladys' Clam House"), 133rd Street, Harlem, Harlem, New York City, New York * Ubangi Club, Harlem, New York City, New York * Connie's Inn ("Jungle Alley"), 2221 Seventh Street, Harlem, New York City, New York *
Apollo Theatre The Apollo Theatre is a Grade II listed West End theatre, on Shaftesbury Avenue in the City of Westminster, in central London.
, Harlem, New York City, New York * The
Cotton Club The Cotton Club was a New York City nightclub from 1923 to 1940. It was located on 142nd Street and Lenox Avenue (1923–1936), then briefly in the midtown Theater District (1936–1940).Elizabeth Winter"Cotton Club of Harlem (1923- )" Blac ...
, Harlem, New York City, New York * Joaquin's El Rancho,
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
, California *
Mona's 440 Club Mona's 440 Club was the first lesbian bar to open in San Francisco, California in 1936. It continued to draw a lesbian clientele into the 1950s. Mona's and the gay bars of that era were an important part of the history of LGBT culture in San Fr ...
, North Beach,
San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
, California


Discography

Okeh Records Recorded August 8 and 31, 1928 *"Worried Blues" / "Ground Hog Blues" (August 1928) #8610 *"
How Long, How Long Blues "How Long, How Long Blues" (also known as "How Long Blues" or "How Long How Long") is a blues song recorded by the American blues duo Leroy Carr and Scrapper Blackwell in 1928. It became an early blues standard and its melody inspired many later ...
" / "Moanful Wailin' Blues" (August 1928) #8612 Recorded November 15, 1928, and March 26, 1929 *"Wild Geese Blues" / "How Much Can I Stand" (November 1928, with piano, not released) *"Wild Geese Blues" / "How Much Can I Stand" (November 1928, with guitar) #8643 *"Red Beans and Rice" / "Big Gorilla Man" (March 1929) #8707 Victor *"Washboards Get Together" / "Kazoo Moan", #38127, scatting vocal on A-side only (title often listed as "Washboard Get Together"), with the Washboard Serenaders, recorded March 1930; reissued twice, as Bluebird B-5790 (circa 1934) and B-6633 (circa 1936) Excelsior Records As Gladys Bentley Quintette, 1945 *"Boogie'n My Woogie" / "Thrill Me Till I Get My Fill", #164 *"Red Beans & Rice Blues" / "Find Out What He Likes (and How He Likes It)" #165/166 *"Big Gorilla Blues" / "Lay It on the Line", #166/165 *"Boogie Woogie Cue" / "Give It Up", #168 *"Notoriety Papa" / "It Went to the Girl Next Door", #169 Swingtime Records *"Jingle Jangle Jump", #321, vocals for
Wardell Gray Wardell Gray (February 13, 1921 – May 25, 1955) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist who straddled the swing and bebop periods. Biography Early years Gray was born in Oklahoma City, the youngest of four children. He spent his early chil ...
and the
Dexter Gordon Dexter Gordon (February 27, 1923 – April 25, 1990) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist, composer, bandleader, and actor. He was among the most influential early bebop musicians, which included other greats such as Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gi ...
Quintet, 1952 *"July Boogie" / "Gladys Could Play", #337, as Fatso Bentley, July 4, 1953 Flame Records *"Easter Mardi Gras" / "Before Midnight", Flame 1001, Cincinnati, early 1950s, label misspells name as Gladys Bently; mentioned in her August 1952 article in ''Ebony'' and thus recorded in 1952 or earlier


References


External links

*
Collection of newspaper clippings and recording information about Gladys Bentley, from Queer Music Heritage
by JD Doyle *. {{DEFAULTSORT:Bentley, Gladys 1907 births 1960 deaths 20th-century African-American women singers American blues singers Deaths from pneumonia in California American drag kings LGBT African Americans American lesbian musicians Bisexual women Musicians from Philadelphia Singers from New York City People from Harlem Harlem Renaissance 20th-century American singers Singers from Pennsylvania LGBT people from Pennsylvania LGBT singers from the United States Infectious disease deaths in California 20th-century American women musicians 20th-century American women singers 20th-century LGBT people