NFL
By: Greg Rector
I never cared one iota who anyone loved. In the world of rock and roll, many great artists have been gay or lesbian. This article will focus on these great singers.
Little Richard
Richard Penniman, aka Little Richard, who I call the “Architect of Rock and Roll,” was well known for being bisexual. In May of 1982, long before the laws changed in many parts of the world, Little Richard said on Late Night with David Letterman, “God gave me the victory. I’m not gay now, but you know, I was gay all my life. I believe I was one of the first gay people to come out.”
embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZSx91WBQLpg[/embedyt]
[Yes, because of his religious background, he claimed that being homosexual was an act against God, and his sexuality defined his career. Because his sexuality cost the man millions and millions of dollars.
Dusty Springfield
In Britain, homosexuality was illegal when Dusty Springfield came upon the world of Rock and Roll music. Born as Mary O’Brien, this lady had a beautiful voice, and her songs remain with me to this very day. She was never in a relationship with a man who was known, especially in the British media. “Many other people say I’m bent, and I’ve heard it so many times that I’ve almost learned to accept it … I know I’m perfectly as capable of being swayed by a girl as by a boy. More and more people feel that way, and I don’t see why I shouldn’t.”
“People are people … I want to be straight … I go from men to women, I don’t give a shit. The catchphrase is: I can’t love a man. Now, that’s my hang-up. To love, to go to bed, fantastic, but to love a man is my prime ambition … They frighten me.”
Imagine living that type of nightmare, and for Dusty Springfield, it led her to use drugs and alcohol. It led to her untimely passing away on March 3rd, 1999, at the age of 59.
Late in the 1980s, the Pet Shop Boys fought with their record company to have Dusty Springfield on their record. The fight almost led to the Pet Shop Boys’ most famous songs not being recorded.
Joan Jett
From the time Joan Jett first hit the airwaves with The Runaways and then started her band, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, I knew that Joan Jett was a lesbian or bisexual. Lita Ford left The Runaways because the other members were “all gay,” saying, “First, I found out that Sandy West, the one I had bonded with the most, was a lesbian. Then I found out that Cherie Curry was messing around with Joan. I was so freaked out that I quit the band. When I found out that the girls were all gay in the band, I wasn’t sure how to take it. I didn’t know what it was.”
For years, Jett refused to either confirm or deny rumors that she is lesbian or bisexual. In a 1994 interview with Out magazine, she said, “I’m not saying no, I’m not saying yes, I’m saying believe what you want. Assume away—go ahead.” In 2006, she responded to an interviewer who had asked her when she had “come out” as a lesbian by saying, “I never made any kind of statement about my personal life on any level. I never made any proclamations. So I don’t know where people are getting that from.”
In the world of heavy metal music, Joan Jett set the standard for many women.
Rob Halford
In the realm of heavy metal music, being a gay lead singer was something unheard of. Well, that all changed when Judas Priest lead singer Rob Halford came out in 1998. He had been the lead singer for 25 years at that point and was certainly worried it would affect the band. He broke down in tears, saying,
“It’s a wonderful moment when you walk out of the closet. Now I’ve done that and I’ve freed myself. It’s a great feeling for me to finally let go and make this statement, especially to The Advocate, because this magazine has brought me so much comfort over the years. This is just a wonderful day for me.” His worries ended up being pretty baseless, as fans of Judas Priest have been watching Priest perform for the past 52 years.
Keep on “BREAKING THE LAW!!!”
Freddie Mercury
Queen’s lead singer was bisexual, and he never disappointed me in any way, shape, or form. As you all know, my favorite concert ever happened on July 11th, 1986, when I saw Queen perform at the old Wembley Stadium.
When your voice is as powerful as Freddie Mercury’s and his songs remain as great today as when they recorded Bohemian Rhapsody in 1975, to the day he passed away from AIDS related illness in 1991, Mercury proved to the entire world that one’s sexuality doesn’t define who anyone is.
When he led Queen onto the stage on the day of Live Aid in 1985 at Wembley Stadium, he risked his entire career by going out on that stage. What many people didn’t realize is that he had been hospitalized with a serious throat issue and was told not to give us those great 17 minutes of rock history.
Mellisa Etheridge
Many folks don’t like Etheridge, mostly since she never hid her being a lesbian. When she started out with “Bring Me Some Water” and carried on with hits like “I’m The Only One” and “Come To My Window,” she had not declared her lesbianism. She did, however, come out in a big way as she declared she was a lesbian at the Triangle Ball when President Clinton was first inaugurated as President in 1993.
It was then and there that the world didn’t care who anyone loved. That’s my main message here: IT DOESN’T MATTER WHO YOU LOVE!!!
