Jackie Kay, a fervent fan of jazz, was inspired to write Trumpet by the life of Billy Tipton. Like the fictional Joss Moody, who was born as Josephine Moody and felt that she needed to live her life as a man, Billy Tipton was born biologically female. She was named Dorothy Lucille Tipton, born into an affluent family, and raised in Kansas City.
Dorothy’s musical abilities became apparent early on as she studied organ, piano, and saxophone. She hoped to make it in the jazz world but was conscientious of how restrictive it was for female musicians. Dorothy decided to bind her breasts and wear a prosthetic piece. She obtained a Social Security card as a man and renamed herself Billy, her father’s name. She had several notable relationships with women, none of them aware that Billy was biologically female.
Though the jazz community she worked with early on knew her as a woman, she moved to the West Coast and began completely living as a man. Tipton’s biographer, Diane Middlebrook, explains, “I don't think she thought she was born in the wrong body. That's a contemporary narrative. She's not a lesbian, because the women she was with didn't know she was female. She occupied an undefinable space. She was someone who worked creatively in the gap between biology and gender.”
In 1951 Tipton formed the Billy Tipton Trio in the style of Benny Goodman’s trio and quartet. They played hits and recorded two of their own albums. A few years later Tipton turned down an offer for a recording contract and an opening gig for Liberace in Reno, most likely because he would have been subject to too much scrutiny. He moved to Spokane to play jazz and work as a booker in a theatrical agency.
Tipton met a stripper named Kitty Kelly and the two fell in love. She had an illness that precluded a sexual relationship with him, but the two adopted three children and created a loving family. One of their sons, William, remarked, “He was the only father I ever knew. He was there for us. He didn't go out and get drunk and beat on us. We had a close relationship. We would go to movies. It was more like good buddies. We went out to dinner, or we just sat and talked. It never occurred to me he was a woman.'' The couple experienced more tensions in their marriage as time went on, however, and separated in 1981.
Tipton began experiencing health issues but avoided seeing the doctor. He died from a perforated ulcer in 1989 and years of ill health. It was when the paramedics were trying to resuscitate him right before he died that it was discovered he was biologically female. Though the family, which did not know this, tried to keep this private, the news leaked and was subject to sensationalism.
In regards to whether or not Tipton was transgender or crossing, Making Queer History explains, “Though it is unquestionable that he was queer, there are many things left unanswered, and that is something we have to accept sometimes in the study of queer history. Not everything is clear and obvious. In fact, most things aren't. Historical figures are complex, messy, and near impossible to pin down because they are human. And when looking at Tipton’s life it is clear to see that his path did not follow exactly what the mainstream transgender narrative dictates, but to be fair at that point there wasn’t a clear mainstream transgender narrative.”
