Johnny Mathis - "Chances Are"

Normally during PRIDE month (June) I do my best to post only or mainly LGBTQIA+ Artists. In light of the civil unrest around the nation and the injustices that have been forced upon the Black Community through years of enslavement, systemic racism, widespread oppression, and a set of generational socioeconomic traps, I thought this year it would be important to spotlight just how many QUEER BLACK ARTISTS changed and shaped the world through music, arts, culture, and activism.

So this June I will spotlight all Queer Black Artists to show you one more way in which we should be grateful for to the Queer Black Community and how without them we would not have the world or nation that we love so much. We should be grateful and proud.

BLACK LIVES MATTER + PRIDE (LGTBQIA+ Allies)

John Royce Mathis (born September 30, 1935) is an American singer-songwriter of popular music. Starting his career with singles of standard music, he became highly popular as an album artist, with several dozen of his albums achieving gold or platinum status and 73 making the Billboard charts to date. Mathis has received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and has been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame for three separate recordings.

Although he is frequently described as a romantic singer, his discography includes traditional pop, Brazilian and Spanish music, soul, rhythm and blues, show tunes, Tin Pan Alley, soft rock, blues, country music, and even a few disco songs for his album Mathis Magic in 1979. Mathis has also recorded six albums of Christmas music. In a 1968 interview, Mathis cited Lena Horne, Nat King Cole, and Bing Crosby among his musical influences.

Mathis was born in Gilmer, Texas, on September 30, 1935, the fourth of seven children of Clem Mathis and Mildred Boyd. The family moved to San Francisco, California, settling on 32nd Avenue in the Richmond District, where Mathis grew up. His father had worked in vaudeville, and when he saw his son's talent, he bought an old upright piano for $25 (US$363 in 2019 dollars) and encouraged him. Mathis began learning songs and routines from his father. His first song was "My Blue Heaven". Mathis started singing and dancing for visitors at home, at school, and at church functions. Mathis is of African-American and Native American heritage.

When he was 13, voice teacher Connie Cox accepted him as her student in exchange for work around her house. Mathis studied with Cox for six years, learning vocal scales and exercises, voice production, classical and operatic singing. The first band he sang with was formed by his high school friend Merl Saunders. Mathis eulogized Saunders at his funeral in 2008, thanking him for giving Mathis his first chance as a singer.

Mathis was a star athlete at George Washington High School in San Francisco. He was a high jumper and hurdler, and he played on the basketball team. In 1954, he enrolled at San Francisco State College on an athletic scholarship, intending to become an English teacher and a physical education teacher. While there, Mathis set a high-jump record of 6'-5 1/2" [1.97 m]. This is still one of the college's top jump heights and was only 7 cm [two inches] short of the 1952 Olympic record of 2.04 m at the time. Just as when he was in high school, Mathis's name was frequently mentioned in the sports sections of the Northern California newspapers. He and future NBA star Bill Russell were featured in a 1954 sports section article of the San Francisco Chronicle demonstrating their high-jumping skills (Russell #1 & Mathis #2 in the City of San Francisco at that time). During one meet at the University of Nevada, Mathis beat Russell's highest jump attempt that day. Mathis was often referred to as "the best all-around athlete to come out of the San Francisco Bay Area."

While singing at a Sunday afternoon jam session with a friend's jazz sextet at the Black Hawk Club in San Francisco, Mathis attracted the attention of the club's co-founder, Helen Noga. She became his music manager, and in September 1955, after Noga had found Mathis a job singing weekends at Ann Dee's 440 Club, she learned that George Avakian, head of Popular Music A&R at Columbia Records, was on vacation near San Francisco. After repeated calls, Noga finally persuaded Avakian to come hear Mathis at the 440 Club. After hearing Mathis sing, Avakian sent his record company a telegram stating: "Have found phenomenal 19-year-old boy who could go all the way. Send blank contracts."

At San Francisco State, Mathis had become noteworthy as a high jumper, and in 1956 he was asked to try out for the U.S. Olympic Team that would travel to Melbourne, Australia, that November. Mathis had to decide whether to go to the Olympic trials or to keep his appointment in New York City to make his first recordings. On his father's advice, Mathis opted to embark on a professional singing career. His LP record album was released in late 1956 instead of waiting until the first quarter of 1957.

Mathis's first record album, Johnny Mathis: A New Sound In Popular Song, was a slow-selling jazz album, but Mathis stayed in New York City to sing in nightclubs. His second album was produced by Columbia Records vice-president and record producer Mitch Miller, who helped to define the Mathis sound. Miller preferred that Mathis sing soft, romantic ballads, pairing him with conductor and music arranger Ray Conniff, and later, Ray Ellis, Glenn Osser, and Robert Mersey. In late 1956, Mathis recorded two of his most popular songs: "Wonderful! Wonderful!" and "It's Not for Me to Say". Also that year, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer signed him up to sing the latter song in the movie Lizzie (1957).

His appearance on the popular TV program The Ed Sullivan Show in June 1957 helped increase his popularity. Later in 1957, he released "Chances Are", which became his second single to sell a million. In November 1957, he released "Wild Is the Wind", which featured in the film of the same name and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song. He performed the song at the ceremony in March 1958.

The week before his appearance at the Academy Awards, Johnny's Greatest Hits was released. The album spent an unprecedented 490 consecutive weeks through 1967 (nine and a half years) on the Billboard top 200 album charts, including three weeks at number one. It held the record for the most number of weeks on the top Billboard 200 albums in the US for 15 years, until Pink Floyd's The Dark Side of the Moon (March 1973) reached 491 weeks in October 1983.

Later in 1958, Mathis made his second film appearance for 20th Century Fox, singing the song "A Certain Smile" in the film of that title. The song was also nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song.

By the end of the year, he was set to earn $1 million a year. Critics called him "the velvet voice".

During the summer of 1958, Mathis left San Francisco with the Nogas, who sold their interest in the Black Hawk club that year, and moved to Beverly Hills, California, where the Nogas bought a house. Mathis lived with the family.

Mathis appeared on ABC's The Pat Boone Chevy Showroom on January 1, 1959.

Mathis had two of his biggest hits in 1962 and 1963, with "Gina" (number 6) and "What Will Mary Say" (number 9).

Despite missing the Olympic high-jump trials, he retains enthusiasm for sports. He is an avid golfer, with nine holes in one to his credit. He has hosted several Johnny Mathis Golf Tournaments in the United Kingdom and the US. Since 1985, he has been hosting a charity golf tournament in Belfast sponsored by Shell corporation, and the annual Johnny Mathis Invitational Track & Field Meet has continued at San Francisco State University since it started in 1982. He also enjoys cooking and in 1982, he published a cookbook called Cooking for You Alone.

Mathis has undergone rehabilitation for both alcohol and prescription drug addictions, and he has supported many organizations through the years, including the American Cancer Society, the March of Dimes, the YWCA and YMCA, the Muscular Dystrophy Association and the NAACP.

Mathis was quoted in a 1982 Us Magazine article, stating: "Homosexuality is a way of life that I've grown accustomed to." Despite the rumors, Us Magazine never retracted the statement. The interviewer, Alan Petrucelli, still has the tapes. In 2006, Mathis said that his silence had been because of death threats he received as a result of that 1982 article. On April 13, 2006, Mathis granted a podcast interview with The Strip in which he talked about the subject once again, and how some of his reluctance to speak on the subject was partially generational. During an interview with CBS News Sunday Morning on May 14, 2017, Mathis discussed the Us Magazine article and confirmed he is gay. "I come from San Francisco. It's not unusual to be gay in San Francisco. I've had some girlfriends, some boyfriends, just like most people. But I never got married, for instance. I knew that I was gay." Mathis spoke to many news sources, including CBS, about his sexuality and his story about coming out.

So today, with chance winging through my window, I choose Johnny Mathis’ “Chances Are” as my, like velvet in the evening, a memory soft with nostalgia, hold them close, song for a, look up young person, the stars will only show you the way if you look to them, find your own path and walk it like a tightrope, Monday.

Tracy Chapman - "Behind The Wall"

Normally during PRIDE month (June) I do my best to post only or mainly LGBTQIA+ Artists. In light of the civil unrest around the nation and the injustices that have been forced upon the Black Community through years of enslavement, systemic racism, widespread oppression, and a set of generational socioeconomic traps, I thought this year it would be important to spotlight just how many QUEER BLACK ARTISTS changed and shaped the world through music, arts, culture, and activism.

So this June I will spotlight all Queer Black Artists to show you one more way in which we should be grateful for to the Queer Black Community and how without them we would not have the world or nation that we love so much. We should be grateful and proud.

BLACK LIVES MATTER + PRIDE (LGTBQIA+ Allies)

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 “Behind the Wall” as my, make yourself a promise to keep, 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 fostering the growth of love is as important as fostering the love itself Friday.

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

Happy Juneteenth.

Shaun J. Wright - "My House (w/ Hercules & Love Affair)"

Normally during PRIDE month (June) I do my best to post only or mainly LGBTQIA+ Artists. In light of the civil unrest around the nation and the injustices that have been forced upon the Black Community through years of enslavement, systemic racism, widespread oppression, and a set of generational socioeconomic traps, I thought this year it would be important to spotlight just how many QUEER BLACK ARTISTS changed and shaped the world through music, arts, culture, and activism.

So this June I will spotlight all Queer Black Artists to show you one more way in which we should be grateful for to the Queer Black Community and how without them we would not have the world or nation that we love so much. We should be grateful and proud.

BLACK LIVES MATTER + PRIDE (LGTBQIA+ Allies)

A banjee child who loves to twirl and dip. He sings and DJs, too. Sometimes, while twirling and dipping...

Mostly known for his incredible collaboration with Hercules & Love Affair in 2011, he is the kind of performer who takes you on a journey when they perfom and what incredible journeys they are.

Born and raised in West suburban Chicagoland, Shaun J. Wright spent most of his teen years immersed in the sounds of house music. His love for dance music expanded throughout his high school years as he partook in the underground dance scene now globally known as Juke. While in undergrad at Morehouse College in Atlanta, he developed his skills as a dancer/voguer in professional dance companies and the ballroom scene. After acquiring an MA Fashion Curation, from the London College of Fashion, Wright enjoyed an active career in fashion in New York City. That is where he met Andrew Butler, founder of Hercules and Love Affair, and began a whirlwind collaboration with the ensemble as a vocalist. Currently, Wright is exhilarating dance floors worldwide as a dj and is featured on several acclaimed releases with Stereogamous, Bell Boys, Bobmo, Kiki, Alinka, and System of Survival with more stellar collaborations on the horizon for 2016. He is also finishing his long-awaited solo EP.

So today with a dip and a twirl, I choose Shaun J. Wright’s “My House (w/ Hercules & Love Affair)” as my, life beautifully, grow in every direction, sometimes breathing is an act of resistance, song for a, look to the stars, find the wisdom you lost, yours is the world and all it’s gifts, Thursday.

Beyoncé & Frank Ocean - "Super Power"

Normally during PRIDE month (June) I do my best to post only or mainly LGBTQIA+ Artists. In light of the civil unrest around the nation and the injustices that have been forced upon the Black Community through years of enslavement, systemic racism, widespread oppression, and a set of generational socioeconomic traps, I thought this year it would be important to spotlight just how many QUEER BLACK ARTISTS changed and shaped the world through music, arts, culture, and activism.

So this June I will spotlight all Queer Black Artists to show you one more way in which we should be grateful for to the Queer Black Community and how without them we would not have the world or nation that we love so much. We should be grateful and proud.

BLACK LIVES MATTER + PRIDE (LGTBQIA+ Allies)

This song, which I adore, was my first brush with Frank Ocean. He's a fighter. He stands up for equal rights and he fights for what he knows to be right. His unabashed queerness, which has hindered his career at times, makes him shine a beacon for those in the industry where consciously challenges homophobia and racism. 

Known for his idiosyncratic musical style, Ocean first embarked on a career as a ghostwriter, and in 2010 he became a member of hip hop collective Odd Future. He released his breakout mixtape, Nostalgia, Ultra, to critical acclaim in 2011. It generated his first charting single "Novacane". In 2012, Ocean finished second place in the BBC's Sound of 2012.

His debut studio album, Channel Orange, was released in July 2012 to critical acclaim. It reached number two on the Billboard 200 and was promoted with three singles: "Thinkin Bout You", "Pyramids", and "Sweet Life". In 2016, Ocean released the visual album Endless alongside his second studio album Blonde, which was released independently following several years of delays. Blonde was highly acclaimed by critics, and debuted at number one in the United States and the United Kingdom.

Ocean wrote an open letter, initially intended for the liner notes on Channel Orange, that preemptively addressed speculation about his attraction in the past to another man. Instead, on July 4, 2012, he published an open letter on his Tumblr blog recounting unrequited feelings he had for another young man when he was 19 years old, citing it as his first true love. He used the blog to thank the man for his influence, and also thanked his mother and other friends, saying "I don't know what happens now, and that's alrite. I don't have any secrets I need kept anymore...I feel like a free man."

Numerous celebrities publicly voiced their support for Ocean following his announcement, including Beyoncé and Jay Z. Members of the hip hop industry generally responded positively to the announcement. Tyler, The Creator also tweeted his support for Ocean, along with other members of OFWGKTA. Russell Simmons, a business magnate in the hip hop industry, wrote a congratulatory article in Global Grind saying "Today is a big day for hip-hop. It is a day that will define who we really are. How compassionate will we be? How loving can we be? How inclusive are we? [...] Your decision to go public about your sexual orientation gives hope and light to so many young people still living in fear."

In June 2016, following the Orlando gay nightclub shooting that killed 49 people, Ocean published an essay expressing his sadness and frustration regarding the event. He mentions his first experience with homophobia was with his father when he was six years old and how many people pass on their hateful ideals to the next generation which sends thousands of people down the path of suicidal tendencies. In 2017, Ocean's father Calvin Cooksey sued him for $14.5 million over the homophobia claim. On 17 October 2017, and after a day-long hearing that saw Ocean, father Calvin Cooksey, and mother Katonya Breaux taking the stand, the residing U.S. District judge ruled that Cooksey hadn't provided sufficient evidence of defamation and ruled in favor of the singer.

So today with oceans to cross and superpowers to find, I choose Beyoncé & Frank Ocean's "Super Power" as my, learn to fly, channel the storm, link your mind, song for a, find the magic in the shadows, find the power in the light, find the depth to every ocean, Wednesday.

Todrick Hall - "Nails, Hair, Hips, Heels REMIX (Feat. Ciara)"

Normally during PRIDE month (June) I do my best to post only or mainly LGBTQIA+ Artists. In light of the civil unrest around the nation and the injustices that have been forced upon the Black Community through years of enslavement, systemic racism, widespread oppression, and a set of generational socioeconomic traps, I thought this year it would be important to spotlight just how many QUEER BLACK ARTISTS changed and shaped the world through music, arts, culture, and activism.

So this June I will spotlight all Queer Black Artists to show you one more way in which we should be grateful for to the Queer Black Community and how without them we would not have the world or nation that we love so much. We should be grateful and proud.

BLACK LIVES MATTER + PRIDE (LGTBQIA+ Allies)

Todrick Hall didn’t win the ninth season of American Idol where he was told by Simon Cowell that his singing career would never go beyond Broadway.

Hall did star in Broadway’s “Kinky Boots” beginning last November, but he wasn’t limited the stage as salty Simon predicted. Prior to the play, the queer multi-talented 32-year-old released a 16-song visual album “Straight Outta Oz” which has garnered over 1.1 million YouTube views and led to a nationwide tour. 

He’s a multi-talented performer who I’ve had the pleasure of seeing perform life a few times. While I can’t say I was a huge fan walking in to his show, and can sure tell you that while I was there I was laughing, stepping, and stomping, and then as I left I was more impressed than I can express.

He’s a star, and he’s been able to elevate the queer black community in a way that hasn’t been done since Mama Ru herself.

So today, with a little more girt in my get, I choose Todrick Hall’s “Nails, Hair, Hips, Heels - REMIX (feat. Ciara)” as my, do you, born to be blue, fight on, song for an, open your heart, lift up the laughter, remember that nothing is worth your peace of mind, Tuesday.

Shea Diamond - "I Am Her"

Normally during PRIDE month (June) I do my best to post only or mainly LGBTQIA+ Artists. In light of the civil unrest around the nation and the injustices that have been forced upon the Black Community through years of enslavement, systemic racism, widespread oppression, and a set of generational socioeconomic traps, I thought this year it would be important to spotlight just how many QUEER BLACK ARTISTS changed and shaped the world through music, arts, culture, and activism.

So this June I will spotlight all Queer Black Artists to show you one more way in which we should be grateful for to the Queer Black Community and how without them we would not have the world or nation that we love so much. We should be grateful and proud.

BLACK LIVES MATTER + PRIDE (LGTBQIA+ Allies)

I was just made aware of this incredible human last year. Her sound is raw and authentic, and her passion is as vibrant as she is. It’s incredible to see a member of the LGBTQ community thriving so well after so many possible setbacks. Hers is the kind of career potential that gets you excited just because it’s so powerful.

I first read about Shea in a Billboard article. Here’s some if, to give you a bit of her backstory:

“As early as transgender singer Shea Diamond can remember, she identified as a girl -- and was punished for it. “I got whoopings for walking like a girl, for using the restroom sitting down like a girl,” says Diamond today. “Even singing when I was little, I remember being corrected: ‘Put some bass in your voice.’ It was like robbing me of the only joy I had in this world.” She ran away from home in Flint, Mich., as a teen, and at age 20 robbed a convenience store at gunpoint -- desperate, she says, to fund her gender-affirming surgery. According to records, she was incarcerated at various men’s correctional facilities in Michigan from 1999 until 2009.

Behind bars, Diamond found her voice as a songwriter. After her release, she relocated to New York and entered the world of trans activism. When songwriter-to-the-stars Justin Tranter saw a video of Diamond singing a cappella at a Trans Lives Matter event, he reached out. Now, he’s executive producer of Diamond’s first EP, Seen It All, a collection of roof-rattling anthems showcasing Diamond’s soulful voice that comes out June 29 on Asylum Records.

In person, Diamond, 40, is radiant, reveling in one of several “firsts”: She has never been photographed for a magazine before. Eliah Seton, president of Warner Music Group’s Alternative Distribution Alliance (which includes Asylum), says the label is putting a strong push behind Diamond, and Asylum president Kenny Weagly adds that single “American Pie” has been targeted for synchs on TV and beyond.

“Shea transcends labels and limitations, even genre,” says Weagly. “She isn't just an amazing trans or LGBTQ artist, but an amazing artist overall.” After a hard journey, Diamond has a team on her side. “Frankly, when I close my eyes,” says Seton, “I see her performing onstage at the Grammys.””
 

So today, with thunder in my hips, I choose Shea Diamond’s “I am Her” as my, make then see you, stand up, stand out, song for a, yours is the power, life runs through you, the arc of history bends towards justice, Friday.

Sylvester - "Over and Over"

Normally during PRIDE month (June) I do my best to post only or mainly LGBTQIA+ Artists. In light of the civil unrest around the nation and the injustices that have been forced upon the Black Community through years of enslavement, systemic racism, widespread oppression, and a set of generational socioeconomic traps, I thought this year it would be important to spotlight just how many QUEER BLACK ARTISTS changed and shaped the world through music, arts, culture, and activism.

So this June I will spotlight all Queer Black Artists to show you one more way in which we should be grateful for to the Queer Black Community and how without them we would not have the world or nation that we love so much. We should be grateful and proud.

BLACK LIVES MATTER + PRIDE (LGTBQIA+ Allies)

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.

"When I was little, I used to dress up, right? And my mother said, 'You can't dress up,' " Sylvester told Joan Rivers when he appeared on The Tonight Show in 1986. " 'You gotta wear these pants and these shoes. And you have to, like, drink beer and play football.' And I said, 'No I don't!' And she said, 'You're very strange.' And I said, 'That's OK!' "

"The [Pentecostal] church was oppressive," says singer Jeanie Tracy, who shared Sylvester's religious background and became his friend and collaborator. "They just didn't tolerate gayness. They didn't tolerate a lot of things. They didn't allow you to wear makeup. You couldn't wear toeless shoes or sleeveless dresses. It was just real ... controlled."

Too much so for Sylvester. At 13, he left the church. Two years later, he left home. He lived with friends and his grandmother, who accepted him as he was.

In his early 20s, Sylvester moved to San Francisco to join an avant-garde theatre troupe called The Cockettes, whose fans included Truman Capote and Gloria Vanderbilt. But he left the group soon after — to front his own act. Jeanie Tracy remembers being introduced to him by friends in the music industry.

"They said, 'Oh, Jeanie, this is Sylvester,'" she says. "And I said, 'Sylvester? I thought you were a woman.' And then I said, 'Oops! I'm sorry!' He goes, 'Oh, no, girl, that's okay!'"

When guitarist and songwriter James Wirrick saw the singer for the first time, Sylvester was backed by a tight three-piece band and flanked by two drag queens — "in full drag, with full neck-beards," he laughs.

Wirrick became Sylvester's bandmate and collaborator a few months later. By then, the drag queens had been replaced by backup singers Izora Rhodes and Martha Wash, aka Two Tons O' Fun. (They went on to record another anthem — "It's Raining Men" — as The Weather Girls.) Wirrick and Sylvester wrote "You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)" together. Getting the rest of the band on board was a challenge.

"At first the band didn't wanna play it as a dance tune," Wirrick says. "They were kinda snotty about it. 'We don't really wanna do that,' y'know? And Sylvester and I kept saying, 'No, you have to do that because that's what's on the radio.' "

More than on the radio, the song was a huge it in discos — and its falsetto vocals, four-on-the-floor beat and bouncing synthesizer influenced generations of electronic dance music producers to follow. Eleven years after the original came out, vocalist Jimmy Sommerville of the British band Bronski Beat paid tribute with a cover. The following decade, Chicago House vocalist Byron Stingily's version once again took the song to the top of the U.S. dance chart.

The song also went on to become the centerpiece of a 2014 off-Broadway musical that tells Sylvester's life story. It's appeared in ads, films, and TV shows. So far this year, James Wirrick says he's gotten eight requests for permission to use the song he co-wrote: a video game, three television commercials, three movies and an episode of The Simpsons.

Sylvester never had a mainstream hit after "You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)". A year after it came out, Chicago radio DJ Steve Dahl made "Disco sucks!" a rallying cry with his "Disco Demolition" promotion between the games of a White Sox doubleheader; the ensuing melee forced the Sox to forfeit the second game.

Joshua Gamson says the event was a reaction by straight white fans of classic rock against a music that they saw as too black and too queer — and that that backlash is partly why he missed the anthem's power when it first came out.

"In a way, if I had felt that earlier, I'd have come out earlier," he says. "Embracing who you are, celebrating who you are, being as fabulous as you could possibly be, I think that's the message that he's preaching in the song. And I could've used a dose of that as a teenager."

But Sylvester remained popular among dance music fans, and he leveraged that popularity to raise AIDS awareness. He played benefit shows and distributed safe-sex information to his audiences. When he appeared on The Tonight Show, he thanked Joan Rivers and guest Charles Nelson Reilly for their early support of what was becoming a movement. "I was there trying to do whatever we could at the time to get it together. And now it's like a national thing to do," Sylvester said. "I want to thank you myself."

Less than 10 years after "You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)" came out, Sylvester's husband died of complications from AIDS. The singer was never tested for HIV — he told friends there was no point, because he knew he had the virus. Within a few months, his own health was deteriorating. But, Jeanie Tracy says, his senses of style and humor stayed intact, even as he was planning his own funeral. "He looked at me and he says, 'I wanna be buried in a pearl-colored casket,' " she recalls. " 'Don't bury me in a white casket, 'cause I don't wanna look like I'm lyin' in a white refrigerator!'"

A few months before he died, Sylvester appeared in the 1988 gay pride parade in San Francisco. He was emaciated and weak and rode in a wheelchair. But he didn't want to hide, Gamson says — he wanted the crowds along Castro Street to see him.

"It was part of the same almost philosophy of realness — like, this, this is being real," Gamson says. "This is mighty real, to be marching in the Gay Freedom parade looking, like, 40 years older than you are. And people, knowing that they've seen this icon of their freedom, they see him [as] a symbol of the devastation that AIDS took on the community."

Sylvester made sure to champion that community even after he died. In his will, he left his share of future royalties for "You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)" to two San Francisco nonprofits: the AIDS Emergency Fund and the meals program Project Open Hand.

Jackie Shane - "Any Other Way"

Normally during PRIDE month (June) I do my best to post only or mainly LGBTQIA+ Artists. In light of the civil unrest around the nation and the injustices that have been forced upon the Black Community through years of enslavement, systemic racism, widespread oppression, and a set of generational socioeconomic traps, I thought this year it would be important to spotlight just how many QUEER BLACK ARTISTS changed and shaped the world through music, arts, culture, and activism.

So this June I will spotlight all Queer Black Artists to show you one more way in which we should be grateful for to the Queer Black Community and how without them we would not have the world or nation that we love so much. We should be grateful and proud.

BLACK LIVES MATTER + PRIDE (LGTBQIA+ Allies)

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, Wednesday.