there are times when being queer is just such a natural state for me. such is the case when i first heard frances faye while living in san francisco. i knew, without a doubt, that she was a kindred queer spirit. she's convivial, brassy, baudy, and over the top. if you haven't heard her, i have included a live clip from 1968. they say the rat pack used to close their show and head up to the desert inn to catch hers when she was in vegas. that defines how hot her shows were. cabaret singer and early activist really, she packed houses, liftged spirits, and made queers like you and me feel normal and welcome. god bless ya, frances faye!
Frances Faye: Entertainer, Musician, Pioneer.
At this site Frances Faye, an underrated singer, gay icon and pioneer, is rediscovered, demystified and rescued from obscurity. Curiously, Frances Faye is not even listed in so-called jazz and pop encyclopedias even though she recorded more than a dozen albums for most major labels of her time: Decca, Capitol, Bethlehem, Verve, Imperial; and smaller labels: International, GNP, Regina and A&M. In addition to her recording career, Frances was a bright star on 52nd Street during its heyday and a fixture in major nightclubs around the world for 45 years. She played to sold out houses for weeks and months on end and even shattered Peggy Lee's record run at New York's famous Basin Street East in the early 60's. Her style and sound changed and evolved a great deal over the years but her unique sense of rhythm and timing remained a strong constant. Yet her achievements in jazz are being overlooked and forgotten. Since this website was launched years ago, it has been the source for many new articles, other websites and the liner notes for all the new CDs.
Faye earned a reputation in the press as a social revolutionary because she did not shy away from warmly including references to homosexuals (or "gay kids") in her act and for being publicly known as bisexual at a time when few other performers dared to do the same. "Frances Faye, gay, gay, is there another way?" she would burst out singing in every show.
