GLADYS BENTLEY

Biography

Gladys Alberta Bentley (August 12, 1907 – January 18, 1960) was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to a working-class family with an African American father and Trinidadian mother. At age 16 in 1925, she moved to Harlem, New York, seeking opportunities in the vibrant nightlife scene. She began her career playing piano and singing at rent parties and underground establishments, quickly gaining notice for her deep, growly voice and boyish attire. Her big break came at Harry Hansberry’s Clam House, a notorious gay speakeasy on 133rd Street in 'Jungle Alley,' where she performed in a tuxedo and top hat, singing raunchy, improvised lyrics to popular tunes while flirting with women in the audience.[1][2][3][4][5]

Fun Facts

• Bentley weighed around 250 pounds and was known as the 'Brown Bomber of Sophisticated Songs' in her later San Francisco performances at Mona’s Club 440.
• She appeared on Groucho Marx’s 'You Bet Your Life' in 1958, performing at the piano and claiming Port-au-Prince as her origin due to her mother's Trinidadian roots.
• During the McCarthy era, she publicly denounced her lesbianism, shifting to heterosexually themed recordings on labels like Excelsior.
• Langston Hughes described her as 'an amazing exhibition of musical energy' in his 1945 autobiography.

Musical Connections

Key Collaborators

• Drag performers/queens - backing chorus line during headline performances (Ubangi Club shows) [early 1930s]

Artists Influenced

• Carl van Vechten - based a fictional blues singer character on her (novel (unspecified)) [1920s-1930s]
• Langston Hughes - praised her in his autobiography as an amazing exhibition of musical energy (1945 autobiography) [1945]

External Links

• Spotify
• Wikipedia