Freddie Mercury (Queen) - "I Want To Break Free"

In support of National Pride Month, for the entire month of June I will only post artists who Identify as somewhere on the LGBTQI Spectrum. We are loud, we are proud, and we deserve to be heard. 

He was a legend, an Icon, a star and a poet. He was able to hold hundreds of thousands enthralled in the palm of his hand. He was raw, he was tender, he was wildly sexual, and he was unapologetic. He earned his rightful place in the Pantheon of Musical Gods & Goddesses, and he will never be forgotten. 

Freddie Mercury  was born born Farrokh Bulsara on September 5th 1946 An incredible singer, songwriter and record producer,  he was best known as the lead vocalist of the rock band Queen. He was known for his flamboyant stage persona and four-octave vocal range. Mercury wrote numerous hits for Queen, including "Bohemian Rhapsody", "Killer Queen", "Somebody to Love", "Don't Stop Me Now", "Crazy Little Thing Called Love", and "We Are the Champions". He led a solo career while performing with Queen, and occasionally served as a producer and guest musician for other artists.

Mercury was born of Parsi descent in the Sultanate of Zanzibar, and grew up there and in India before moving with his family to Middlesex, England, in his teens. He formed Queen in 1970 with guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor. Mercury died in 1991 at age 45 due to complications from AIDS, having confirmed the day before his death that he had contracted the disease.

In 1992, Mercury was posthumously awarded the Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to British Music, and a tribute concert was held at Wembley Stadium, London. As a member of Queen, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001, the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2003, and the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2004. In 2002, he was placed number 58 in the BBC's 2002 poll of the 100 Greatest Britons. He is consistently voted one of the greatest singers in the history of popular music.

As the first major rock star to die of AIDS, Mercury's death represented an important event in the history of the disease. In April 1992, the remaining members of Queen founded The Mercury Phoenix Trust and organised The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert for AIDS Awareness, to celebrate the life and legacy of Mercury and raise money for AIDS research, which took place on 20 April 1992. The Mercury Phoenix Trust has since raised millions of pounds for various AIDS charities. The tribute concert, which took place at London's Wembley Stadium for an audience of 72,000, featured a wide variety of guests including Robert Plant (of Led Zeppelin), Roger Daltrey (of The Who), Extreme, Elton John, Metallica, David Bowie, Annie Lennox, Tony Iommi (of Black Sabbath), Guns N' Roses, Elizabeth Taylor, George Michael, Def Leppard, Seal, Liza Minnelli, and U2 (via satellite). Elizabeth Taylor spoke of Mercury as "an extraordinary rock star who rushed across our cultural landscape like a comet shooting across the sky". The concert was broadcast live to 76 countries and had an estimated viewing audience of 1 billion people.

So today, bold and brash and you please, I choose Freddie Mercury (Queen)'s "I Want To Break Free" as my, break open and shine, no one can hold you down, the only chains that bind you are the ones you create, song for a, dare to be different, stand out from the crowd, yours is the life that can only be lived by you, Friday.

Happy Pride Los Angeles.

Boy George (The Culture Club) - "Karma Chameleon"

In support of National Pride Month, for the entire month of June I will only post artists who Identify as somewhere on the LGBTQI Spectrum. We are loud, we are proud, and we deserve to be heard. 

He challenged masculinity out of the gate. He was a warrior in makeup and braids and he told the world you don't have to listen, but you can't make be shut up. Soft spoken in his daily life he lights up the stage.  There were other queer artists on the cutting edge of music, but there are none like Boy George. 

 He is the lead singer of the pop band Culture Club. At the height of the band's fame, during the 1980s, they recorded global hit songs such as "Karma Chameleon", "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me" and "Time (Clock of the Heart)" and George is known for his soulful voice and androgynous appearance. He was part of the English New Romantic movement which emerged in the late 1970s to the early 1980s.

His music is often classified as blue-eyed soul, which is influenced by rhythm and blues and reggae. He was lead singer of Jesus Loves You during the period 1989–1992. His 1990s and 2000s-era solo music has glam influences, such as David Bowie and Iggy Pop. More recently, he has released fewer music recordings, splitting his time between songwriting, DJing, writing books, designing clothes, and photography. In 2015, Boy George received an Ivor Novello Award from the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors for Outstanding Services to British Music

When George was with Culture Club, much was made of his androgynous appearance, and there was speculation about his sexuality. Although he never flatly denied that he was gay, when asked in interviews about his sexual orientation, George gave various answers. In 1985, when asked by Barbara Walters about his sexual orientation, George said he was bisexual and had various girlfriends, as well as boyfriends, in the past. He gave a famous, oft-quoted response to an interviewer that he preferred "a nice cup of tea" to sex.

In Take It Like a Man, George stated that he had secret relationships with punk rock singer Kirk Brandon and Culture Club drummer Jon Moss. He stated many of the songs he wrote for Culture Club were about his relationship with Moss.

In 2006, in an episodic documentary directed by Simon George titled The Madness of Boy George, George declared on camera he was "militantly gay". In a 2008 documentary Living with Boy George, he talks about his first realisation he was gay, and when he first told his parents. He discloses that he understands why men fall in love with one another as well as with women.

Concurrently with developing his career as a DJ in the late 1990s, George adopted a macrobiotic diet, which he had been attempting to follow since 1988. In 2001, he published the Karma Cookbook, co-written with Dragana Brown, a private macrobiotic cook and teacher who George met in 1986.

So today, with warriors and angels all around me, I choose Boy George & The Culture Club's "Karma Chameleon" as my, burn brightly, shout from the rooftops, do not hesitate to be yourself song for a, who can stop me, let them try, you are stronger and more courageous than you know, Thursday.

Matt Alber - "House on Fire"

In support of National Pride Month, for the entire month of June I will only post artists who Identify as somewhere on the LGBTQI Spectrum. We are loud, we are proud, and we deserve to be heard. 

So my admiration for Matt Alber is exponential. He’s a grammy winning vocalist, he’s a classical musician and he happens to be an out and proud gay singer/songwriter (and member of the Bear Community), and beyond all those incredible attributes, he is an amazing artist. He sits somewhere between the Rufus Wainwright and Ben Folds, he has a voice like Johnny Cash; “Steady like a Freight Train and Sharp like a Razor”, and his songs are so brutally and unabashedly honest that you can’t help but feel every bit of emotion he puts into them. So yeah, I like him a little.

I’ve written about him more extensively here:

http://www.song-and-soul.com/www.Song-and-Soul.com/Song_%26_Soul/Entries/2014/11/3_Matt_Alber_-_Handsome_Man.html 

You should definitely check him out. His music is honest, and raw, and beautiful. I dare you to listen and not fall in love. 

Today’s choice, however, is about letting yourself fall into the scary places of love. Letting yourself believe that each little step you take is in the right direction. Fear can make you not want to step into the wild wonderful world of love, but then it wins. Let yourself find beauty in the matching of opposites. Let yourself fall for the person you didn't expect. Let yourself take the chance.  Love is about taking a chance when you feel like all your chances have been taken. It’s the choice to do something you’re afraid of, to take a risk, to step up to the ledge and one last time, leap, and hope that this time you’ll fly. Second chances aren’t the only ones worth getting, sometimes you need 4th, 5th, and 32nd chances too. Opportunities don’t stop coming, you simply stop believing they can give you the outcome you want.

So today, with wonder and hope all around me, I choose the incredible Matt Alber's "House on Fire" as my, light me up, let us shine, warmth through the cold nights, song for a, this is what you've been waiting for, chin up young person, three coins in a fountain - make it mine, Wednesday. 

Sylvester - "You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)"

In support of National Pride Month, for the entire month of June I will only post artists who Identify as somewhere on the LGBTQI Spectrum. We are loud, we are proud, and we deserve to be heard. 

Sylvester James Jr. who used the stage name of Sylvester, was an American singer-songwriter. Primarily active in the genres of disco, rhythm and blues, and soul, he was known for his flamboyant and androgynous appearance, falsetto singing voice, and hit disco singles in the late 1970s and 1980s.

Born in Watts, Los Angeles, to a middle-class African-American family, Sylvester developed a love of singing through the gospel choir of his Pentecostal church. Leaving the church after the congregation expressed disapproval of his homosexuality, he found friendship among a group of black cross-dressers and transgender women who called themselves The Disquotays. Moving to San Francisco in 1970 at the age of 22, Sylvester embraced the counterculture and joined the avant-garde drag troupe The Cockettes, producing solo segments of their shows which were heavily influenced by female blues and jazz singers like Billie Holiday and Josephine Baker. During the Cockettes' critically panned tour of New York City, Sylvester left them to pursue his career elsewhere. He came to front Sylvester and his Hot Band, a rock act that released two commercially unsuccessful albums on Blue Thumb Records in 1973 before disbanding.

Focusing on a solo career, Sylvester signed a recording contract with Harvey Fuqua of Fantasy Records and obtained three new backing singers in the form of Martha Wash, Izora Rhodes – the "Two Tons O' Fun" – and Jeanie Tracy. His first solo album, Sylvester (1977), was a moderate success. This was followed with the acclaimed disco album Step II (1978), which spawned the singles "You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)" and "Dance (Disco Heat)", both of which were hits in the U.S. and Europe. Distancing himself from the disco genre, he recorded four more albums – including a live album – with Fantasy Records. After leaving this label, he signed to Megatone Records, the dance-oriented company founded by friend and collaborator Patrick Cowley, where he recorded four more albums, including the Cowley penned hit Hi-NRG track "Do Ya Wanna Funk." An activist who campaigned against the spread of HIV/AIDS, Sylvester died from complications arising from the virus in 1988, leaving all future royalties from his work to San Francisco-based HIV/AIDS charities.

During the late 1970s, Sylvester gained the moniker of the "Queen of Disco" and during his life he attained particular recognition in San Francisco, where he was awarded the key to the city. In 2005, he was posthumously inducted into the Dance Music Hall of Fame, while his life has been recorded in a biography and made the subject of both a documentary and a musical.

Sylvester has been described as having a "flamboyant and colourful" public persona, wearing both male and female gendered clothes as part of his attire, with his biographer Joshua Gamson opining that for Sylvester, "gender was an everyday choice". Sylvester described his public persona as "an extension of me, the real me". Sylvester's friend and publicist Sharon Davis described him as "a quiet, often thoughtful, caring guy, who put others before himself, and was generous to a fault, having little regard for money. His policy was you only live once, so enjoy!" She also noted that he could be "unpredictable", being "stubborn as a mule" and "always speak[ing] his mind". Sylvester was considered to be a prima donna by members of the Hot Band and could be temperamental and difficult with those whom he worked with. He found it difficult saving the money that he earned, instead spending it as soon as he obtained it, both on himself and on his lovers, friends, and family.

Sylvester was openly gay, with Gamson noting that he tended to enter into relationships with men who were "white, self-doubting and effeminate." In 1978, he entered into a relationship with a young white model named John Maley; Sylvester later devoted the song "Can't Forget the Love" from his Too Hot to Sleep album to his young lover. Maley ended the relationship to move to Los Angeles, later recollecting that Sylvester "was a lovely man, and I owe him a lot." In 1981, Sylvester entered into a relationship with a slim brunette from Deep River, Connecticut named Michael Rayner, but unlike his predecessors, he did not move into Sylvester's house; their partnership ended when Rayner admitted that he had not fallen completely in love with Sylvester. Sylvester's next major relationship was with Tom Daniels, a hairdresser whom he met in 1982, but their romance ended after six months when Daniels discovered that Sylvester had been having sex with other men while on tour.The singer's final partner, the architect Rick Cranmer, was a six-foot two blonde, and the duo moved into a house together in the hills. Cranmer died of AIDS-related complications in 1987, the year before Sylvester succumbed to the virus.

As an openly gay man throughout his career, Sylvester came to be seen as a spokesman for the gay community. He informed a journalist that "I realize that gay people have put me on a pedestal and I love it. After all, of all the oppressed minorities, they just have to be the most oppressed. They have all the hassles of finding something or someone to identify with – and they chose me. I like being around gay people and they've proven to be some of my closest friends and most loyal audiences."Elsewhere, he nevertheless remarked that he felt his career had "transcended the gay movement. I mean, my sexuality has nothing to do with my music. When I'm fucking I'm not thinking about singing and vice versa." He was openly critical of what he perceived as divisive tendencies within the gay community itself, noting that "I get this conformist shit from queens all the time. They always want to read me. They always want me to do it their way. I am not going to conform to the gay lifestyle as they see it and that's for sure". He was particularly critical of "clones" – gay men who dressed alike with boots, boot-cut jeans, checked shirts and handlebar mustaches – stating that all too often they judged those gay people who were flamboyant or extravagant.

Davis characterized Sylvester as an "absolute perfectionist". He was very self-conscious about his physical appearance, and when he obtained enough money from the successful Step II album, he spent part of it on cosmetic surgery to remove a bump on his nose, inject silicone into his cheeks, and have cosmetic work done on his teeth. He would also insist that all pictures of himself were meticulously airbrushed.

Sylvester was born and raised into the Pentecostal denomination of Christianity, and remained a Christian throughout his life. He often compared the ecstatic feelings that accompanied his onstage performances with the feelings experienced in a gospel choir in a Pentecostal church. When performances reached a certain level of heightened emotion, he would comment that "we had service." In later life, he joined the Love Center Church in East Oakland, a ministry founded by the preacher and former gospel singer Walter Hawkins in the 1970s. He had been introduced to the church by Jean Tracie in the 1980s and would soon become a regular churchgoer, enjoying the place's welcoming attitude towards societal outcasts. Sylvester requested that his funeral be undertaken by the ministry at the Love Center.

So today, with boldness and bravery abounding, I choose Sylvester the "Queen of Disco"'s "You Make Me Fee (Mighty Real)", as my, be unabashedly yourself, lift off the ground, do not let them tell you that you are less than, song for a, stand up, stand out, never blend in, Tuesday.

Tracy Chapman - "Fast Car"

In support of National Pride Month, for the entire month of June I will only post artists who Identify as somewhere on the LGBTQI Spectrum. We are loud, we are proud, and we deserve to be heard. 

Born in Cleveland, Ohio, on March 30, 1964, Tracy Chapman began writing music and performing in Boston, where she recorded songs at the WMFO radio station. She caught her big break in 1986, when a friend's father introduced her to a manager at Elektra Records, and soon recorded Tracy Chapman (1988). The album's most popular single, "Fast Car," landed at No. 5 on the U.K. charts and No. 6 on the U.S. charts. Several years later, Chapman released New Beginning (1995),another widely acclaimed album, which was carried by the hit song "Give Me One Reason." Though her 1995 success has yet to be matched, Chapman stays busy as an activist, speaking and performing on behalf of various organizations.

Chapman is widely regarded as a politically and socially active musician. In a 2009 interview with American radio network NPR, she is quoted as saying: "I'm approached by lots of organizations and lots of people who want me to support their various charitable efforts in some way. And I look at those requests and I basically try to do what I can. And I have certain interests of my own, generally an interest in human rights." 

This interest in human rights can be seen lyrically in her music. Songs such as 1988's "Talkin' 'Bout a Revolution" highlight the importance of speaking up against injustice: “Don't you know, talking 'bout a revolution sounds like a whisper / when they're standing in the welfare lines.”

Chapman's song "Fast Car" also brings awareness to the struggles of poverty, with lyrics such as: “I know things will get better / you'll find work and I'll get promoted / we'll move out of the shelter / buy a bigger house and live in the suburbs”

Chapman's activism extends further than her lyrics. She has performed at numerous socially aware events, and continues to do so. In 1988, she performed in London as part of a worldwide concert tour to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights with Amnesty International.The same year Chapman also performed in the Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute, an event which raised money for South Africa's Anti-Apartheid Movement and seven children's charities. More recently, in 2004 Chapman performed (and rode) in the AIDSLifeCycle event

In 2004, Chapman was given an honorary doctorate in Fine Arts by her alma mater, Tufts University, recognizing her commitment to social activism.

“I'm fortunate that I've been able to do my work and be involved in certain organizations, certain endeavors, and offered some assistance in some way. Whether that is about raising money or helping to raise awareness, just being another body to show some force and conviction for a particular idea. Finding out where the need is - and if someone thinks you're going to be helpful, then helping.”

—Tracy Chapman

Chapman often performs at and attends charity events such as Make Poverty History, amfAR and AIDS/LifeCycle, to support social causes. She identifies as a feminist.

She may be what seems like an odd pick for the list of influential artists, but her influence is one of the first african american artists to extend her struggle from just racial equality to equal human rights as well as help for those living with HIV/AIDS.

So, today, with Desperate Hope and Growing Love I choose Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car” as my, make yourself a promise to keep, hope that every dream is a chance, be grateful for every little moment - for they are all too fleeting, song for a, it’s the smallest details that matter, it’s the hope that every time something changes - something gets better, it’s the idea that the fostering of the growth of love is as important as the love itself Wednesday.

Keep going. You're going to make it. You're doing great!

P!nk - "What About Us" & "Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken"

Because last night's concert was pure fire and gasoline! I've been a fan of Alecia Moore since her debut album, and have supported her incredibly voice ever since. She's been bold, brave and brash, and she's always stood up for the different, the forgotten, the marginalized. She stood out, and so she stood for those who stuck out. 

I watched her fly through the air and belt her face off, but the moment she brought the audience in is when she sang from her heart, for a short set in between the big hits, she called out these two songs and it was glorious.

Sitting behind little 9 year old Ella, a trans girl with pink cornrows braided into her hair and her first heels and lipstick on, I was in tears at the thought that these are our champions, and this is the generation we are bringing forward.

I cannot think of a better way to kick off PRIDE month than with these gems. As someone who stand on just the other side of the gender spectrum from her: I see her, and I salute her. 

So today with lightning and laughter, I choose P!nk's "What About Us" & "Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken" as my, we are bold, we are brave, we are becoming ourselves, song for a, fear nothing, fight for something, stand for yourself, Friday.

Janelle Monáe - "Make Me Feel"

Now admittedly I was resistant to this song, this album, these videos, just the whole darn thing. I'd given all her previous records a chance, buying them and listening in the hopes that they would click, and they all felt rather disjunct to me; I couldn't get all the way into them. I loved her single "Tightrope" and her duet with Fun, and I could see and support the talent, but it's almost like she was a fruit that hadn't ripened yet. But it is here, in this most recent album where all of her splendor arrives. Like a mango at it's sweetest, ripest, and juiciest on a hot summer day. Her artistry shines, and she IS an artist. An incredible artist at that. 

As an LGBTQ musician myself, I have to believe that somewhere in the breakout performances from Midnight and Hidden Figures, and breaking those barriers she was able to stop performing and come out of the closet. Of course I would never say that this is the sole reason she's lit up the way she has, but I can't help but imagine, now that she isn't wasting anymore time or energy hiding part of her away, how that energy might be focused into her incredible artistry. She's finally able to invite her fans all the way in, into the honest and true parts of herself, and we are eating it up. 

Janelle Monáe Robinson is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, record producer, actress, and model. She is signed to her own imprint, Wondaland Arts Society, and Atlantic Records. After her first unofficial studio album, The Audition, she publicly debuted with a conceptual EP titled Metropolis: Suite I (The Chase), which peaked at number 115 on the Billboard 200 in the United States.

In 2010, Monáe released her critically acclaimed first full-length studio album The ArchAndroid, a concept album sequel to her first EP. It was released by Bad Boy Records and reached the number 17 spot on the Billboard 200. Monáe featured as a guest vocalist in "We Are Young" by fun., which reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100, her first appearance in the chart. In August 2012, Monáe became a CoverGirl spokeswoman. Her second studio album, The Electric Lady, was released in September 2013, to critical acclaim. In 2016, Monáe had roles in two feature films, Hidden Figures and Moonlight.

Monáe's third studio album, Dirty Computer, was released on April 27, 2018, preceded by the singles "Django Jane", "Make Me Feel", "I Like That", and "Pynk". Monáe has received six Grammy Award nominations.

So today, with truth, light, and sensuality abounding, I choose Janelle Monáe's "Make Me Feel" as my get your groove back, find the light, with nothing to weight you down, song for an, it's a ditty, it's a bop, it's a time to get this $#*! started, Wednesday.

Years & Years - "Shine"

British synthpop band Years & Years was founded in London, United Kingdom. The band consists of Olly Alexander, Mikey Goldsworthy and Emre Türkmen. Years & Years' music has been described as electropop, mixing R&B and 1990s house elements. The band's debut studio album, Communion, debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart in July 2015 and was the fastest-selling debut album of the year from a UK signed band.

Their biggest hit single "King" reached number one in the UK Singles Chart in March 2015, and peaked within the top ten of the charts in Australia, Austria, Bulgaria, Denmark, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, the Republic of Ireland and Switzerland.

This song in particular talks about waiting for someone else who inspires you to shine. Well, I think we should all shine on our own, but it never hurts to have someone around you makes you want to shine a little brighter. 

So today, with a sparkle in my step, I choose Years & Years' "Shine" as my, here goes nothing, why not now, open up the way, song for a, gates of gold and pearl, hearts of glass and stone, walls of air and earth, Tuesday.