Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Billy Tipton - The Houdini Secret of Musician's

Every now and then we come across a compelling story that is almost too fantastic to believe. The story of Billy Tip might just be one of those luring stories that one reads like a motorist gawk while passing an accident. Oddly enough, they gawk yet still they look even whilst afraid of what might horrify and quake our soul. Billy Tipton lived as a man from the age of 21. Billy was born a woman and actually had three adopted children that didn't know the truth about their mothers gender until the day she died.

Tipton's story would be one of a rather normal life as a jazz musician of modest ambition and success if it weren't for the discovery that he was not who we had thought. Both a piano and saxophone player Billy never seemed to take the path to success. We can only speculate about why Billy did what she did but it seemed like a life of torment. Ultimately, severe arthritis brought Billy's career to an end and she died of emphysema amongst squalor in a trailer park.

Incidentally, a movie was made about Billy Tipton. The whole tale is rather pathetic but I thought I'd throw in a little trivia in my blog for a change.

To me this sort begs a question. Who might be out there now, famous or otherwise that is living a similar life?

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