Who is Beverly Glenn-Copeland?
In recognition of Trans Day of Visibility.
Trans Day of Visibility was Wednesday, which felt like a great reason highlight one of my favorite artists, a person who made the very first, handwritten list of “newsletter subjects” months ago, Beverly Glenn-Copeland.
Despite making music since the ‘70s, Glenn-Copeland didn’t find a fanbase until 2015, when, according to a recent New York Times Magazine feature, Japanese record collector Ryota Masuko discovered and reissued his 1986 album Keyboard Fantasies.
The short interview is worth a read, as it details how the pandemic derailed the 77 year-olds plans for his very first tour after a 40+ year career in music. Glenn-Copeland also talks about the courage, resilience, and compassion it takes to navigate a white, heteronormative world as a Black, transgender person.
These themes are a powerful part of his catalog. Glenn-Copeland’s music is deeply spiritual, praising and calling to action the Divine within all of us. His compositions and lyrics are rooted in the human experience while transcending the inherent suffering with love and grace.
My tendency when describing or critiquing an artist is to add a qualifier to a well-known artist. For Glenn-Copeland, I tried “a groovier Joni Mitchell” and “a new-age-keyboard Carley Simon.” But Glenn-Copeland, despite being a contemporary of these women, is entirely unique. His work is often distilled into the “new-age” category, but I feel like his breadth of sound defies any one label.
1970’s “Song from Beads” certainly evokes Mitchell, and 1980’s At Last! EP (especially track Journeyman) has big Simon vibes. But 1986’s Keyboard Fantasies, mostly devoid of vocals, is an peaceful, other-worldly set of “new-age” keyboard compositions both entirely fitting for the time period in which they were released and timeless.
Glenn-Copeland remains active. He put out a live album and a career-retrospective complication in 2020 and single “Luckey” in February of this year.
I’ve put some of my favorites in one playlist. Promise me you’ll play the first song, “In the Image,” and really listen to the words. Dance to it, if you’d like to—the song is just right for moving and loving your fallible, ever-changing but steadfastly divine form.
Until next week,
Elizabeth
This newsletter is just one facet of Zhuzh, my platform dedicated to conscious consumption and making space for delight. I offer secondhand-and-vintage-based wardrobe and interior styling services, art curation, and super chill life coaching. Keep up with me on Instagram and learn more at www.zhuzhlife.com.