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Suits Me: The Double Life of Billy Tipton
Suits Me The Double Life of Billy Tipton
Author: Diane Wood Middlebrook
The jazz pianist Billy Tipton was born in Oklahoma City as Dorothy Tipton, but almost nobody knew the truth until the day he died, in Spokane in 1989. Over a fifty-year performing career, Billy Tipton fooled nearly everyone, including Duke Ellington and Norma Teagarden, five successive "wives" with whom Billy lived as a man, and three children w...  more »
ISBN-13: 9780395654897
ISBN-10: 0395654890
Publication Date: 6/1998
Pages: 326
Rating:
  • Currently 4/5 Stars.
 9

4 stars, based on 9 ratings
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Company
Book Type: Hardcover
Other Versions: Paperback, Audio Cassette
Members Wishing: 0
Reviews: Member | Amazon | Write a Review

Top Member Book Reviews

rolfeswife avatar reviewed Suits Me: The Double Life of Billy Tipton on + 83 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
What an engaging , true but almost unbelievable story, of the life of Billy Tipton..very good book! Totally interesting! Her life, that was lived mostly as an adult, as a MALE, starting when she was born as a girl.
She grew up, very talented, but also poor...taught herself how to play the piano...dressed down, as a man, binding her chest, ( due to a car crash "injury") married 2 or 3 ladies along the way, and made a living as a talent scout/booker agent for talent acts, but always bringing in the bucks by playing in the jazz band.Can you imagine all the various little stories that are in this book? She raised sons, and none ever knew she wasn't DADDY, but "mama"..you will love this story.
reviewed Suits Me: The Double Life of Billy Tipton on + 15 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
Interesting biography. I found it fascinating that he was able to fool so many people for so long.
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reviewed Suits Me: The Double Life of Billy Tipton on + 120 more book reviews
A fascinating look at how a female musician lived as a man and pulled it off until her death.


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