Comprehensive . . . [from] the tragic losses of talent in 2016 (including those who died at the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando) . . . to New Orleans in the nineteen-teens before spinning back, like a record, to the present day.
A fun and enlightening read, Darryl Bullock’sDavid Bowie Made Me Gayis to popular music what William J. Mann’sBehind the Screenis to Hollywood filmmaking: a convincing account of the hitherto ignored influence of LGBTQ people in a popular medium. Although there are other studies of some of these decades, Bullock’s treatment of the past 100 years is an engaging ‘one-stop’ of many genres—[its] detailed coverage of women’s music is welcome—and uniquely inclusive of both the US and UK. A valuable addition to the history of popular music as well as queer studies, and should appeal to general readers of all sexualities.”
Music fans are likely to treasure this tome as it highlights the contribution from many artists now forgotten or, in some cases, unappreciated during their lifetimes. It also demonstrates that not only have there been LGBT recording artists since the dawn of recorded music but many did little to hide their sexual orientation.
A great read that reveals how the marriage of music and sexuality can create new and exciting horizons.
A compelling music history . . .detail[ing] the influence LGBT musicians have had on popular culture over the past century, from early jazz and blues through today’s hits, and stopping to examine icons like Elton John, Freddie Mercury and, of course, Ziggy Stardust himself.
Reading Bullock’s 100-plus-year history, you could conclude that gay people invented jazz, the blues, and rock & roll, and that we commandeered Broadway show tunes and disco, and had a hand in establishing punk and new wave.And your conclusions would be accurate. Bullock disentangles [the history] in fascinating detail. Rich and inspiring . . .Bullock has reached far beyond the famous and infamous and created an invaluable resource for anyone interested in LGBT or musical history—a resource which, incidentally, is sumptuously packaged with dozens of high-quality photographs, many in color.Bullock’s personal interviews yielded bounties of rich material [and his]prolific research stands beside his personal commitment to preserving the history of LGBT music.
Bullock’s reparative history brings attention to an impressive number of LGBT performers, composers, technicians, and producers, and it is shocking such a guide doesn’t exist already . . . Many will be very excited at the existence of such a capacious reference . . . It is my secret hope that every LGBT reader of this book will mad-lib the title and think about which pop music icons, LGBT and otherwise, played a role in shaping their sexualities.
Los Angeles Review of Books
A highly comprehensive history of LGBT music, spanning a century from early jazz and blues to today’s most recognizable pop stars out of the closet. Bullock meticulously chronicles the LGBT community’s vast influence on music through a historical lens, revealing how society’s oscillation between acceptance and persecution has shaped what we listen to today.
Darryl W. Bullock’s new timeline of the last century in popular music and the contributions that LGBT artists—many of whom are almost completely unknown today . . .bring[s] to life these performers and the stages upon which they performed . . .David Bowie Made Me Gay is an important volume. One that deserves to be read. One that deserves to be taught”
New York Journal of Books
Lovingly detailed and exhaustively researched—easily the most readable and comprehensive guide I've seen to this fascinating hidden history.
A comprehensive, illuminating and entertaining celebration of LGBT singers, composers, producers and musicians who created music over the last century. Bullock enhances these mini-biographies by placing them in context with historic advancements and setbacks in the quest for gay civil rights . . .Bullock's sensational reference guide uncovers a lot of fascinating and unfamiliar queer history and shares it in an entertaining and breezy style.
[Bullock’s] returned with a second book of much grander ambition,David Bowie Made Me Gay: 100 Years of LGBT Music.Such a project could certainly fill a set of encyclopedias . . . this is a good starter kit to give a queer teenager who doesn't know anything about all the music that comes before Lady Gaga, or for older queers who tuned out new music after the second decade of Elton John.
From 'Ma' Rainey to Adam Lambert—with Janis Ian, the Village People, k.d. lang, and Pansy Division discussed along the way—David Bowie Made Me Gayis a whirlwind tour through how queer musicians have changed the rhythm and the beat of music and culture for almost one hundred years. Everyone knows that music is sexy, and sex is better with the right music—and LGBT people have been pushing the boundaries of music and sex for decades. The 'soundtrack' for cultural liberation over the decades has been written and performed by gay people—and this book does not miss a beat documenting who, how, and why that happened. A must read for anyone interested in, or fascinated by, music and popular culture.”
Popular music is the great stealth art form, able to slip past our censors and explore all kinds of sexuality in ways closed to print or movies. Darryl Bullock's book is a wonderful encyclopedia of queer music, an encyclopedia with a plot: the history of one hundred years of social change. He not only connects the musical dots, but reveals dots I didn't know existed. Ambitious, wide-ranging, unpredictable, fast-paced, and highly informative,David Bowie Made Me Gayis also very entertaining.”
A look back at a century of LGBTQ music, [Bullock’s] history lesson serves as a primer of a movement in which Bowie was key.
★ 10/15/2017
★ 2017-10-02
