Jayne County (born June 13, 1947) is an American singer,
songwriter, actress and record producer whose career has spanned five
decades. She was the vocalist of influential proto-punk band Wayne County & The Electric Chair and has been known for her outrageous and unpredictable stage antics. She went on to become rock's first openly transgender singer.
Born in 1947, County left her hometown of Dallas, Georgia, in 1968 to move to New York City, where she became a regular at the Stonewall Inn and took part in the historic riots. In 1969 County was asked by Warhol superstar and playwright Jackie Curtis to appear in her play, Femme Fatale. Patti Smith also starred in the play. Andy Warhol cast her in his own theatrical production of Pork, which was adapted and directed by Tony Ingrassia. After a run in New York, the play was performed in London with the same New York cast. David Bowie went to see the play in London.
In
1972 County formed Queen Elizabeth, one of the pioneering proto-punk
bands. County was signed to MainMan Artistes, David Bowie's management
firm, but no records were ever produced. The company spent
over $200,000 to film the 1974 stage show, "Wayne at the Trucks", but
footage has never been released. The show featured numerous costume
changes and some of County's raunchiest material. Eight songs from the
show were released on the 2006 album, Wayne County At the Trucks, on
Munster Records. County claims the show was the inspiration for Bowie's
Diamond Dogs tour. In particular, County maintains that the song
"Queenage Baby" was a prototype for Bowie's song "Rebel Rebel".
In 1974 County formed Wayne County and the Backstreet Boys, which recorded three tracks for Max's Kansas City: New York New Wave, a compilation that also featured Suicide, Pere Ubu, Cherry Vanilla and The Fas. Wayne County and The Backstreet Boys played regularly at CBGB and Max's Kansas City, where County was also a DJ. In 1976, she appeared in the film The Blank Generation, directed by Amos Poe and Ivan Kral. The film, the recording and the shows were the beginnings of what came to be known as punk rock, and helped define the movement.
In
1977 County moved to London, where the English punk scene was just
emerging, and formed Wayne County & The Electric Chairs. County
released the EP Electric Chairs 1977, plus a single on Illegal Records.
This was followed by "Fuck Off", recorded as a single for Safari
Records and supported with a European tour.
While in London, County met Derek Jarman, who cast her in the seminal punk film Jubilee. County and band are also featured in The Punk Rock Movie, by Don Letts, containing part of a 1977 performance at The Roxy club in London.
In 1978, Wayne County and The Electric Chairs recorded their first, eponymous album, as well as another EP, Blatantly Offensive, which contained "Fuck Off" and "Toilet Love." After their touring in support of these releases was done, they recorded Storm the Gates of Heaven. Their next album, released in 1979, was Things Your Mother Never Told You, which featured several songs based on County's experiences in Germany.After it was released, the band broke up and County, along with guitarist Eliot Michaels, returned to the U.S.
When County moved to Berlin in 1979, she changed her stage name to "Jayne County", publicly identifying as a woman for the first time. County's release of Rock and Roll Resurrection (In Concert) on Safari Records was under this new name.
