Beverly Glenn-Copeland


Beverly Glenn-Copeland is a singer and songwriter who was born in Philadelphia, but has spent most of his life and career in Canada. He is a trans man.
In 1961 Glenn-Copeland became one of the first black students to study at McGill University in Montreal.
Glenn-Copeland started his career as a folk singer incorporating jazz, classical, and blues elements. He also performed on albums by Ken Friesen, Bruce Cockburn, Gene Murtynec, Bob Disalle, and Kathryn Moses, and was a writer on Sesame Street. He spent twenty-five years entertaining children as a regular actor on Canadian children's television show Mr. Dressup.
His 1986 electronic album, Keyboard Fantasies, recorded using equipment including a Yamaha DX7 and a Roland TR-707, was rediscovered and given further attention in the 2010s. Before his gender transition was made public, the album was selected as one of the 70 greatest recordings by women by The Stranger. Keyboard Fantasies: The Beverly Glenn-Copeland Story, a documentary directed by Posy Dixon, was released in 2019.
Planned 2020 international tours to Australia, the United Kingdom, and other European destinations were rescheduled to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A fundraising campaign was then started to help Glenn-Copeland and his wife after the loss of their house that resulted from these changes; the campaign raised over $90,000.