The Drag King Show….in two parts. First, the modern history, including interviews with Anderson Toone, Leigh Crow, and for a local touch, Robin Mack of the Houston Gendermyn. Part 2 honors the male impersonators, and others, who were the forefathers of modern Drag Kings. I'm calling it Drag Kings, The Prequel. Lots of often-neglected history, and gender issues, in these shows.

Part 1 - 68:28
Betty Thornton - Vice Versa (1945)
Rev. J.M. Gates - Manish Women (1930)
Bucktooth Varmints - Billy the Dykeabilly (~1993-1995)
Anderson Toone Interview
Bucktooth Varmints - Brillcreem Blues (~1993-1995)
Hillbillies on the Moon - Swing Like a King (1996)
Murray Hill commercial (2007)
Hillbillies on the Moon - Hillbillies on the Moon (1996)
Leigh Crow Interview
Mighty Slim Pickins - Red Headed Woman (2007)
Mighty Slim Pickins - 13 Times (2008)
King TuffNStuff - 3-Hour Man (2008)
Sister George - Handle Bar (2000)
Robin Mack Interview
Wood - The Devil Went Down to Georgia (live, 2007)
Bitch & Animal - Drag King Bar (2000)

Part 2 - 65:45
Bill Meyerl & Gwen Farrar - Masculine Women &
      Feminine Men (1926)
Vesta Tilley - Good Luck to the Girl Who Loves a Soldier (1915)
Vesta Tilley - Where Are the Girls? (1917)
Vesta Tilley - The Girls I Left Behind Me (~1917)
Ella Shields - If You Knew Susie Like I Know Susie (1925)
Ella Shields - Burlington Bertie from Bow (1934)
Ella Shields - Everybody's Singing (1927)
Hetty King - Piccadilly (1934)
Hetty King - Fill 'Em Up (1934)
Original Bessie Brown - Senorita Mine (~1927)
Lillyn Brown - Badland Blues (1921)
Gladys Bentley - Worried Blues (1928)
Gladys Bentley - Thrill Me Till I Get My Thrill (1945)
Billy Tipton - Blue Skies (1956)
Billy Tipton - Rubber Dolly (1949)
Beverly Shaw - I'm Nobody's Baby (~1950)
Storme Delaverie - There Will Never Be Another You (1987)
Faith Nolan - Mannish Gal (2008)

Click on Artist Name for Website or Reference

Other Links of Interest:

Drag King Timeline
Drag King Magazine
SF Drag King Contest
Dante DiFranco DK Links
Venus Boyz Filmsite



Below, ashtray from Mona's 440, and upper right, photo from that club; below that, early male impersonator sheet music

"Drag Kings @ the Diner" San Francisco, 1997
photo by Del LaGrace Volcano, from "The Drag King Book"
left to right, Leigh Crow, Harriet Dodge, Alix Izen, Anderson Toone

Houston Gendermyn
Below left, Robin Mack, aka Clint Torres
Below right, l to r, Riffle L Coxxx, Koomah, Pedro Asty, UVAndy, and Clint Torres, June 2011

  

How the College Boys Imitate the Fair Sex

Below, a telling full-page article from the Washington Post, 1924,
concluding that boys can "masquerade" as a girl better than the reverse.
Click on it to see it.

Click on the photo to Check out a Special Bonus Feature

No, I'm sure they didn't call themselves "Drag Kings" then, but I found a
fascinating 9-page articles on this, from a 1963 issue of "Female Mimics"

 

Click for my Impersonator Sheet Music Gallery

Below, too late for this show, but Ethan Daniel Davidson has a
terrific song that would have fit: "Gus, T.M.D.Q," from his
2000 CD "Ring Them Bells"

You may also enjoy these other QMH shows loosely relating to this theme.
Main Interviews are listed next to shows containing them. This is ~33 hours, so far...

August 2000 - Transgender Music Special (1 hour)
October 2002 - Gender Benders, Part 1 (1 hour)
November 2002 - Gender Benders, Part 2 (1 hour)
November 2005 - Three Interviews (2 hours, 10 min) Veronica Klaus, Jessica Xavier, Georgie Jessup
November 2005 Bonus Show - Transgender Music (2 hours)
May 2007 - TG Music, Part 1 (70 minutes) Lipstick Conspiracy, Terry Noel
June 2007 - TG Music, Part 2 (80 min) Alexandra Billings, Lucas Silviera
July 2007 - TG Music, Part 3 (70 min) Coyote Grace, Joshua Klipp
August 2007 - TG Music, Part 4 (1 hour) Jennifer Leitham
September 2009 - Transgender Artists (3 hours) Radford Bishop, Angela Bucky Motter
October 2009 - Transgender Artists (3 hours) Coyote Grace, Namoli Brennet
August 2011 - The Drag King Show (2 hours) Anderson Toone
September 2011 - Transgender Music (3 hours) Madsen Minax, AJ Bryce
October 2011 - Transgender Music (3 hours) Ryan Cassata
January 2013 - Transgender Music (4 hours) The Shondes, King TuffNStuff, Schmekel
January 2014 - Transgender Music (3 hours, Eli Conley interview)

I did the "math," and over the years on these 15 shows,
I've played 142 different TG artists, and over
350 different songs, some of them several times, and I routinely
include TG artists on most of my other shows