In 1974, as a music journalist and an David Bowie fan, I became
aware of Wayne County in the pages of Hit Parader and Circus
Magazine. While Bowie had seemed sexually threatening as Ziggy, he
paled in comparison to Wayne County. Bear in mind,
in 1974, the Pandora's Box of trans sexuality had not been opened in
rock and roll. Lou Reed had dabbled in it, from a distance. Bowie
and Alice Cooper toyed with the images but because they were
straight, they would never fully embrace it. Rock and Roll was still
waiting for the REAL THING! and then Wayne County showed up, and the
'real thing' had arrived. This recording is from a 'live'
performance at the Westbeth Theatre in Manhattan; the show was
titled Wayne County At the Trucks!, financed and produced by David
Bowie's Mainman organization, which had worked with a solo Mick
Ronson, Lou Reed, Mott the Hoople and Iggy Pop. Since the sight and
sound of Wayne County was generating as much heat on the street as
Bowie himself in the early 70s, Mainman thought it wise to sign
Wayne. This performance was revolutionary in many ways. Wayne County
was the most outrageous and challenging character rock and roll had
ever seen, making Bowie look like John Denver in comparison, and the
setting for Wayne At the Trucks was in keeping with Wayne's previous
tenure as a star of theatre, in Andy Warhol's "Pork" (where Wayne
first caught the eyes of Angie & David Bowie) and other productions.
Wayne At the Trucks brought something new to rock and roll. Every
song had it's own scenery, props, costumes, etc like a Broadway
play. Breaking the rules of rock and roll, the band was off to the
side of the stage, while Wayne stood front and center. The attitude
and subject matter was punk before punk, hip hop before hip hop,
blatant and obscene to a degree never seen before in pop music, at a
time when it was considered totally off the radar. The show opens
with Wayne's backup singers, in homage to the "King Kong" film of
the 30s, summoning Wayne, chanting 'man made woman in the man made
world", in front of a wall of Wayne's painted visage. As they
finish, Wayne emerges from the backdrop and breaks into "Wonder
Woman" ,a bracing rocker that made it clear that Wayne was not a
fake glamster, but the actual item of every glitter fan's fantasies.
The next song, which was accompanied by baby carriages on stage, is
a song that many rock scholars view as a prototype for Bowie's
"Rebel Rebel". The song is "Queenage Baby", and it's the definitive
song of the glitter era, period. Stones-ish riffs and strong
language served as a taste of what NY crowds thrilled to whenever
Wayne County & the Backstreet Boys did a "live' show. Wearing a
'dress" of inflated condoms, with 'shoes' that featured a cock at
the tip and heels in the shape of a pair of balls, Wayne County was
quite a sight to behold, "The Exorcist' with a rock band ,as one
noted critic observed. The realization must have set in with the
MainMan crew that releasing the film of ‘Wayne County At The
Trucks' would make Bowie look and sound like yesterday's news, and
so the footage of this show has never been screened, remaining
captive in the mainman vaults. "Queenage Baby", still a great choice
for a single, is followed by "Stick It In Me", yet another
outrageous song dealing with sleazy, sexy decadence as only Wayne
County could serve. "Queen of the trucks, if you're in luck, and if
you wanna fuck, you can stick it in me!" Nowhere in the history of
rock had such straightforward declarations been pronounced. "Stuck
On You" is another fangs-out rocker, which clearly indicates how
Wayne County was a rival to The New York Dolls in the early 70s, and
an influence on the punk attitude and transgender rock that Wayne
was inventing like a mad scientist in drag during this performance.
The go-go 60s influence can be heard in "I Got The Time", another
psychotic declaration of pervy love from the streets of NY, and
watching the startled faces of critics and audience members was
worth the price of admission, except for the fact that this
performance was 'invite only' for the rock and roll elite of NY. I
was sitting right alongside Johnny Thunders (who remained a County
fan forever) and Sable Starr. During this period of time, Wayne was
writing for Hit Parader, expressing an undying love for The Dave
Clark 5 and all the garage bands of the mid sixties; how appropriate
that the next song on the set list was a cover of "Are You a Boy or
are You A Girl" by The Barbarians. While signed to Mainman, Wayne
had expressed interest in recording an album's worth of 60s cover,
and while Wayne was never given the chance to follow through, Bowie
apparently liked the idea, and ‘Pin Ups' followed, while Wayne was
kept in legal shackles, unable to record for anyone else during that
period. For the big production number, 'You've Gotta Get Laid To
Stay Healthy", Wayne donned a nurse's uniform and the stage was
transformed into a hospital. This hilarious song followed in the
footsteps of 30's star Sophie Tucker (as well as the obvious
connection to another 30s siren Mae West, who might as well have
been a drag queen.)
Wayne County At The Trucks is one of the turning points in rock
music; obviously, Bowie's ‘Diamond Dogs’ tour, which came after "The
Trucks" production, paid attention to the scenery, band off to the
side, costume changes, etc. The 'street language' and generous use
of the word 'fuck' in song lyrics opened the doors for the punk rock
to follow, and the next generation of cosmetic punks (Holly of
Frankie Goes To Hollywood, Pete Burns of Dead Or Alive, Boy George)
all acknowledge Wayne's initial presence as giving them the courage
to do their own thing. I know that's where my courage came from when
I started The Psychotic Frogs. The studio version of "Man Enough To
Be a Woman", which may or may not have been produced by Mick Ronson,
is the ultimate statement about Wayne County, a ground breaking
transgender rocker, who influenced the high and mighty, like Bowie,
and was never given the proper credit. Wayne was thought by many to
be the unacknowledged influence for the film "Hedwig & the Angry
Inch", which failed in it's attempt to create it's own version of
the majestic reality that, these days, is known as the still
rocking, more fierce than ever, Jayne County. Visit the website
www.jaynecounty.com to remain informed on the latest adventures of
this legend, and when she comes to your town, make sure you're in
the front row, with your cock shoes on!
Jimi LaLumia
