Jackie Shane - "Any Other Way"

In June we will be featuring all LGBTQ+ artists in honor of LGBTQ Pride Month

Before Sylvester, before Alex Newell, there was Jackie Shane. Nashville raised and Toronto famous, she was Canada’s Patti LaBelle, Etta James, or Tina Turner. With sounds like the Crystals or the Shirelles, I can only imagine what would have happened if Phil Spector had gotten his hands on her.

Jackie Shane was a black transgender soul singer who packed nightclubs in 1960s Toronto before she stepped out of the spotlight for decades, only to re-emerge with a Grammy-nominated record in her 70s.

Almost five decades passed between Ms. Shane’s 1960s career in Canada and her 2018 Grammy nomination for best historical album, for “Any Other Way.” The record introduced her to a new generation of fans, and today her face is part of a towering mural in downtown Toronto.

“I do believe that it’s like destiny,” Ms. Shane told the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation this month. “I really feel that I have made a place for myself with wonderful people. What I have said, what I have done, they say it makes their lives better.”

Jackie Shane was born in Nashville on May 15, 1940, and grew up as a black transgender child in the Jim Crow South. But she made her name after she moved to Toronto around 1959, becoming a force in its music scene and packing its nightclubs.

She scored the No. 2 spot on the Canadian singles chart in 1963 with her silky cover of William Bell’s “Any Other Way.” The song is about putting on a brave face for the friend of an ex-girlfriend, but Ms. Shane gave it a subversive twist when she sang, “Tell her that I’m happy, tell her that I’m gay.”

Ms. Shane said she identified as female from the age of 13, but throughout her 1960s career she was publicly referred to as a man. Speaking to The New York Times in 2017, she said she sometimes described herself to peers as gay.

“I was just being me,” she said. “I never tried to explain myself to anyone — they never explained themselves to me.”

Ms. Shane told the CBC this month that she had moved to Canada after witnessing a group of white men attacking a black man one night in Nashville.

“One cannot choose where one is born,’’ she said, “but you can choose your home.”

In Canada, Ms. Shane mingled with music royalty, sharing a stage with Etta James, Jackie Wilson and the Impressions and other stars. But in 1971 she abruptly left it all behind.

In the following decades she became a cult heroine and a legend online, where fans speculated about where she had gone. The answer, it turned out, was Los Angeles.

She told The Times in 2017 that she had left Toronto to be with her mother, Jessie Shane, who was living alone after the death of Ms. Shane’s stepfather in 1963.

Ms. Shane watched history march on from the comfort of relative anonymity. In her interview with The Times, she shared her thoughts on the legalization of same-sex marriage (“We’ve had to fight for everything that should have already been on the table”) and shook her head at the state of pop music (“I’m going to have to school these people again”).

One thing Ms. Shane did not do during her decade of Canadian stardom was record a studio album. That changed in 2017, when the Chicago-based label Numero Group released her anthology, which was later nominated for a Grammy Award.

Ms. Shane shared her life philosophy with the CBC.

“Most people are planted in someone else’s soil, which means they’re a carbon copy,” she said. “I say to them: ‘Uproot yourself. Get into your own soil. You may be surprised who you really are.’ ”

Words to live by if ever there were.

So today, with gusto and glamour, I choose the indomitable Jackie Shane’s “Any Other Way” as my, grow in your own soil, be uniquely yourself, shame is a word not meant for you, song for a, break through the darkness and into the light, choose your home, choose the life you want, Thursday.

Cole Porter - "After You, Who?"

In June we will be featuring all LGBTQ+ artists in honor of LGBTQ Pride Month

He could turn a phrase and spin a lyric. He was Sondheim before there WAS a Sondheim. He had the whole world singing along to his song and dancing to the tunes he crafted, all as a silk screen to allow him to live the life he wanted.

Cole left graduate school in 1916 and moved to New York City, where he lived at the Yale Club. His first show, See America First (1916), lasted for only 15 performances, but the audience was full of prominent socialites, and Cole himself quickly became a familiar figure in social circles in New York.In July 1917, Cole moved to Paris. The First World War was raging, and Cole invented stories about joining the French Foreign Legion and performing numerous heroic exploits that were duly reported in the press back home and that remained part of Cole's official biography throughout his life. Not a word was true. In fact, Cole was enjoying Paris's fabulous social life, an endless stream of extravagant parties full of international celebrities, members of the minor nobility, cross dressers, artists, and eccentrics, accompanied by alcohol and other drugs, and featuring an assortment of gay and bisexual activity.Linda Lee Thomas from Louisville, Kentucky, was another prominent socialite in Paris. Divorced from an abusive husband, wealthy, and considered one of the most beautiful women in the world, Linda soon became one of Cole's closest friends. She was older than Cole, and was quite aware of his homosexual preferences and activities. Nevertheless, on December 19, 1919, Cole and Linda were married. Although sex was never a part of their relationship, they truly liked each other, and Linda was deeply dedicated to Cole's career, so, in its own way, their marriage proved a close, successful, and mostly happy one.Cole and Linda led a glittering social life in Paris, Venice, and the Riviera. Their Paris home had platinum wallpaper and zebra skin chairs. For one extravagant party in Venice they hired 50 gondoliers and a troupe of circus acrobats. For another party, they hired an entire ballet company.

Finally, the Broadway career that had so long escaped him began to be a reality. He followed up on Paris with another "French" show, and a full musical this time, Fifty Million Frenchmen (1929). The show, with a book by Herbert Fields, ran for 257 performances, and included "You've Got That Thing", and "You Do Something To Me". And then, for a London show called Wake Up and Dream (1929), Cole wrote "What Is This Thing Called Love?"Now living in New York, Cole entered an extraordinarily productive period in which show followed show on Broadway, and hit song followed hit song. The New Yorkers (1930) introduced "Love For Sale". His 1932 musical Gay Divorce starred Fred Astaire, in Astaire's last Broadway role and Astaire's only Broadway appearance without his sister and longtime dancing partner Adele. The show ran for 248 performances, and included "Night And Day" and "After You, Who?"In 1934, Cole wrote one of his greatest scores for a show with a book by Guy Bolton, P.G. Wodehouse, Howard Lindsey, and Russel Crouse, Anything Goes. The show starred Ethel Merman, William Gaxton, Bettina Hall, and Victor Moore and included "Anything Goes", "I Get A Kick Out Of You", "All Through The Night", "Blow, Gabriel, Blow", and "You're The Top".

He had continued success into his later years with many ups and downs, but his storied life is on that shines like a beacon to so many young LGBTQ people out there. Press far enough out into the world and you can do whatever you want. You don’t have to live by anyone else’s rules.

His ability to craft a feeling, a moment, and story, into a song that the entire world would understand was mystifying. His magnetic personality and acerbic wit were legendary. His music is eternal.

So today, with a great big smile and a lot of hope, I choose Cole Porter’s "After You, Who?" sung by Helen Merrill, as my, look into his eyes, see the sunrise, find the safety you’ve been searching for, song for a, give the love you wish to receive, you already know you heart won’t leave, here’s your chance you might not get more, Wednesday.

Jobriath - "Gone Tomorrow"

In June we will be featuring all LGBTQ+ artists in honor of LGBTQ Pride Month

Bruce Wayne Campbell  known by his stage name Jobriath, was an American rock musician and actor. He was the first openly gay rock musician to be signed to a major record label, and one of the first internationally famous musicians to die of AIDS.

In mid-December 1972, Jerry Brandt, Carly Simon's former manager, overheard a demo tape being played by Clive Davis at Columbia Records. Davis rejected the tape as "mad, unstructured and destructive to melody", but Brandt was quick to step in. Jobriath later remarked "that coming from a man who discovered both Patti Smith and Barry Manilow...so much for sanity and structure!" Brandt located Jobriath in California, where he was living in an unfurnished apartment and working as a prostitute. Brandt: "In walked this beautiful creature dressed in white. I said, Why don't you come out to Malibu and hang out?"[11][additional citation(s) needed] This became a feature of the mythology used to promote Jobriath, and helps to explain the acrimony that followed the dissolution of their professional and personal relationship.

Brandt signed Jobriath, now calling himself Jobriath Boone, to Elektra Records for a reported $500,000, in what was allegedly the most lucrative recording contract of its time. The label's president David Geffen signed Jobriath for a two-album deal.  A huge marketing campaign and media blitz ensued, including full-page advertisements in Vogue, Penthouse, and Rolling Stone magazines, full-length posters on over 250 New York City buses and a huge 41' by 43' billboard in Times Square. All featured the forthcoming debut album sleeve design by noted photographer Shig Ikeda, which featured a nude Jobriath, made to resemble an ancient Roman statue. Plans were announced for a lavish three night live debut at the Paris Opera that December, at a cost of $200,000 and a subsequent tour of European opera houses. Jobriath informed the press that the show would feature him dressed as "King Kong being projected upwards on a mini Empire State Building. This will turn into a giant spurting penis and I will have transformed into Marlene Dietrich." Elektra, concerned about spiraling production costs, postponed the Paris Opera shows until February, later canceling them due to expense.

Amidst this barrage of promotion, the debut album Jobriath was released, garnering mostly positive reviews. Rolling Stone stated that Jobriath had "talent to burn", Cashbox called it "truly one of the most interesting albums of the year" and Record World hailed it as "brilliantly incisive", referring to Jobriath as "a true Renaissance man who will gain a tremendous following". Esquire disagreed, calling it "the hype of the year". The album was co-produced by Eddie Kramer and Jobriath, featuring string arrangements by Jobriath, recorded at Olympic Studios with the London Symphony Orchestra. Kramer described Jobriath in Mojo as "a romantic soul, really. He wanted orchestrations like old film music, though he knew nothing about scoring. So he bought a book on orchestration and within a week he'd come up with scores of a haunting quality". Peter Frampton is also credited on the album, though his contribution is unclear.

During this period, Brandt continued making extravagant statements such as "Elvis, the Beatles, and Jobriath" and declaring that both he and Jobriath had booked flights on Pan American's first passenger flight to the moon. Meanwhile, Jobriath declared himself "rock's truest fairy", a comment that did little to increase his popularity at the time but has since confirmed his status as the first openly gay rock singer to be signed to a major record label.

He was a celestial entity that burned himself up with his own brightness. We celebrate the light you gave.

So today, with a little more light, we choose Jobriath’s "Gone Tomorrow" as my, crack open the world, drink the juice, find the pearl, song for a, dream a little, shake a little, die a little death, Tuesday.

Jerry Herman - "Wherever He Ain't (From Mac & Mabel)"

In June we will be featuring all LGBTQ+ artists in honor of LGBTQ Pride Month

As an out gay artist for the entirety of his career and proudly living with the AIDS virus since 1985 he has been a beacon and banner for the LGBTQ+ community.

Jerry Herman is an American composer and lyricist, known for his work in Broadway musical theater. He composed the scores for the hit Broadway musicals Hello, Dolly!, Mame, and La Cage aux Folles. He has been nominated for the Tony Award five times, and won twice, for Hello, Dolly! and La Cage aux Folles. In 2009, Herman received the Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre. He is a recipient of the 2010 Kennedy Center Honors.

Herman is the only composer/lyricist to have had 3 original productions open on Broadway at the same time from February to May 1969: Hello, Dolly!, Mame , and Dear World. He was the first (of two) composers/lyricists to have three musicals run more than 1500 consecutive performances on Broadway (the other being: Stephen Schwartz): Hello, Dolly! (2,844), Mame (1,508), and La Cage aux Folles (1,761). Herman is honored by a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, at the 7000 block of Hollywood Boulevard.

Other honors include the Jerry Herman Ring Theatre, named after him by the University of Miami. He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1982.

Herman's work has been the subject of two popular musical revues, Jerry's Girls conceived by Larry Alford, and Showtune (2003) conceived by Paul Gilger. A 90-minute documentary about his life and career, Words and Music by Jerry Herman by filmmaker Amber Edwards, was screened in 2007 and then broadcast on PBS. In the 2008 animated film WALL-E, Herman's music from Hello, Dolly! influences the character WALL-E.

In 1989, American-playwright Natalie Gaupp wrote a short play titled "The Jerry Herman Center." The play is a comedy which portrays the lives of several patients in "The Jerry Herman Center for Musical Theatre Addiction." In 2012, Jason Graae and Faith Prince collaborated on The Prince and the Showboy, a show which pays tribute to Herman; Graae worked extensively with Herman and described him as "a survivor of the highest degree [who] lives his life as an eternal optimist."

Mack and Mabel is a musical with a book by Michael Stewart and music and lyrics by Jerry Herman. The plot involves the tumultuous romantic relationship between Hollywood director Mack Sennett and Mabel Normand (transformed from an artist's model to a waitress from Flatbush, Brooklyn for the musical), who became one of his biggest stars. In a series of flashbacks, Sennett relates the glory days of Keystone Studios from 1911, when he discovered Normand and cast her in dozens of his early "two-reelers", through his creation of Sennett's Bathing Beauties and the Keystone Cops to Mabel's death from tuberculosis in 1930.

The original 1974 Broadway production produced by David Merrick starred Robert Preston and Bernadette Peters. It received eight Tony Award nominations, including Best Musical, but did not win any. There was no nomination for Jerry Herman's score. Although the original production closed after only eight weeks, the songs were praised, and subsequent productions, especially in Britain, have had success.

Bernadette was an incredible Mabel, and so of course I’m giving you her version, but I’m also giving you Marin Mazzie’s concert production of the song, because she soars.

So today, with a little humor and a lot of feels, I choose Jerry Herman’s "Wherever He Ain't (From Mac & Mabel)" as performed by Bernadette Peters or Marin Mazzie as my, get up go, gumption isn’t cheap, keep walking sister, song for a, it was a March and it’s still a protest even if it’s a Parade, shout OUT Louise, c’mon Mary we can do this, Monday.

Sylvester - "Dance (Disco Heat) feat. Two Tons of Fun"

In June we will be featuring all LGBTQ+ artists in honor of LGBTQ Pride Month

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” "Dance (Disco Heat) feat. Two Tons of Fun", 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, Friday.

Happy LA Pride!

Years & Years - "King"

In June we will be featuring all LGBTQ+ artists in honor of LGBTQ Pride Month

Since Years & Years came on the scene in 2014, Alexander has used pop music (or at least his dark, electro-inspired take on it) as a medium for expressing his sexuality. “Being able to have a platform where I can express my gay self is just really wonderful, and I feel grateful,” he says.

With that platform, Alexander sheds light on others’ gay experiences in addition to his own, and not only through music. In 2017, he released a BBC Documentary, Growing Up Gay, which shed light on mental health issues among LGBTQ youth. As someone who’s struggled with anxiety and depression, the singer worked with a subject close to home.

“[Mental health] is still so heavily stigmatized that I think anything that can be done to break down that barrier and encourage people to talk is a good thing,” he says. “Now I want to inspire other people to be themselves and not be afraid,” he adds.

They’ve been crushing the scene and staying authentically true to who they are. That bravery and courage earns my respect as much as their incredible music does.

So today, with a king in my hand, I choose Years & Years’ “King” as my, control me, live in it, take the space that you’ve made sacred, song for a, press into the discomfort, shine brighter than before, let yourself create new colors to play in, Thursday.

Troye Sivan - "Bloom"

In June we will be featuring all LGBTQ+ artists in honor of LGBTQ Pride Month

Troye Sivan has been making waves since his debut back in 2014. His bold self expression and understated confidence have helped him glide gracefully into all too often rough waters of the public eye.

In the wake of other young performers who, with no grace or respect, belittle others in their own community it is lovely to see someone quietly and calmly doing beautiful work. Like the old Cadillac ad, “Quietly doing things very, Very, Well.” 

He’s brash and he’s unafraid. He’s making bold moves in a landscape where sexual expression for young gay men is kept clandestine and silent. I applaud is grace, his bravery, but mostly his nonchalance about the entire issue. 

The fact that he wrote an entire album about sex with his boyfriend and what that was like is simply groundbreaking. The fact that no one seems to be blinking an eye at the metaphors and allusions is amazing. Welcome to the 21st century and the new pop star.

So today, with confidence and candor, I choose Troye Sivan’s ”Bloom” as my, open up, take it in, feel the magic inside you, song for a, break down the barriers, you’ve got nothing to fear, light up like tinkerbell, Wednesday.

Not to mention the SERIOUS Annie Lennox vibes he’s giving me in this video!

Kim Petras - "Heart to Break"

In June we will be featuring all LGBTQ+ artists in honor of LGBTQ Pride Month

She’s got that Carly Rae, super pop, happy vibe that I’m so down with right now. Her layered story of being trans at a young age has only served to make her creativity more dynamic.

The German born singer and songwriter, currently based in Los Angeles, was born and raised in Cologne, where she had become subject of media coverage after undergoing gender transition at a young age. Petras began recording music as a teenager, releasing her debut extended play One Piece of Tape in 2011. She independently released her debut single in 2017, the Dr. Luke-produced "I Don't Want It at All", which went on to top several viral music charts on Spotify, resulting in Petras landing a partnership with her company. Following her early success, Petras released a slew of digital singles and the EP Turn Off the Light (2018) for Halloween.

This song specifically speaks to me about the chances taken when falling in love. Isn’t love worth it no matter what? Hard spots happen in relationships, but if you can stay open hearted, you can make it through … just keep offering that other person the chance to break your heart … and hope they don’t.

It is incredible to me that a trans woman has been able to have this kind of success. In times like this, with such political darkness and feeds full of news filled with hate, I am ecstatic to help promote the success of another LGBTQ+ person. Way to go sis. You’re nailing it.

So today, with my heart sparkling in my hands, I choose Kim Petras’ “Heart to Break” as my, be vulnerable - but make it fashion, have a bop and maybe break your heart open, take a chance and fall in love, song for a, why not now, take it all the way, choose every bad idea until it turns into a good one, Tuesday.

For a little more insight on her transition and personal journey, check out the 2nd video.