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Dec
2004
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Special
This Month..THREE Christmas Shows!! Click to Listen1, 2 or 3 Above.
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#1
Playlist (airdate
12/13/04)
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#2
Playlist (airdate 12/20/04)
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#3
Playlist (airdate 12/27/04)
Artist Links given below
Goldenrod
Music (if you click |
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Show #1
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[Many
photos may have photos "behind" them, pass your cursor over
them to see]
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Drag Diva Jackie Beat and her twisted Xmas songs. Who else would sing "I Saw Daddy Doin' Santa Claus" and "Sleigh Ride in Leather"?
Above is the latest album by Robin Renee, but her xmas song is from when she fronted the band The Loved Ones |
Matthew Duffy (below) contributed his unreleased demo of the Wham song "Last Christmas" to this show. His debut album "Here I Come" was released in 2004.
Not content to rest on shakey ground, in 2000 she came back with more stars and "Another Rosie Christmas," hey, at least Donna Summer was on it. |
Gladys Bentley, no doubt one of the most blatantly lesbian blues singers of the 30s & 40s
Left, Rosie O'Donnell tried to sing with the stars...with varying success
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KJ Denhert and Brady Earnhart both had albums that landed in the Audiofile 2004 Best of the Year show this month, and I've got xmas songs by each of them. KJ's xmas song was not on her album "Girl Like Me," but she sent me a special CD EP that I was very pleased to receive, as it was not sold and very few were distributed. And my favorite song from Brady Earnhart's wonderful album "Malapan" was "Honey Don't Think Your Mama Don't Know," in which the story takes place at Christmastime.
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Below, Kenny Mellman and Justin Bond perform as washed-up lounge act Kiki & Herb. Their rather frantic Christmas album from 2000 was "Do You Hear What We Hear," and they have a new double disc CD of their alleged "farewell concert" at Carnegie Hall due out in January of 2005. And, sultry & sexy Dave Koz gives good jazz, and came out of the closet this past year. He has released nine albums since 1990, including two Christmas discs, and garnered a Grammy nod in the process.
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Eric Lane Barnes (left) is Assistant Artistic Director of the Seattle Men's Chorus, and prior to joining them in 2000 directed the Windy City Slickers in Chicago. He's written a number of musicals and has done commission work for GLBT choruses across the country.
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He arranged "White Christmas," "Blue Christmas" and his own "Lavender Christmas" into the wonderful "Shades of Christmas," as sung by Aria, the Windy City Women's Ensemble on a 2000 album. And "Am I Welcome Here" appeared on "A Homemade Holiday" by the Cincinnati Men's Chorus, in 2002. |
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Okay, this clip is not gay, but it certainly is camp...it's Bette Davis in a Christmas sketch from a 1943 War Bonds trailer |
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Closing Show #1 is Jimmy James, doing Bette Davis. He does her (and other divas) singing for xmas on her latest CD, "Have Yourself a Jimmy James Merry Christmas." You've got to hear it to believe it! |
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Instrumentalists Pledge Drive (Steve Rosenthal, Tim Walters, Michael VanLandingham, David Hearst and Chris Now) were joined by a cappella vocal group One of Each (below, Scott Adler, Dave Bender, Lisa Gallien, and David Taylor) to create what I consider a parody masterpiece. I think their xmas version of "Bohemian Rhapsody" is so amazing that I included the lyrics so you can follow along. I've no photo of Pledge Drive, as none is available on their site. I guess they prefer their art to speak for them. And I've no knowledge that any of the artists are gay, but as the original was done by Queen, well, it qualifies for our ears.
Christmas
Rhapsody Is this the Yuletide? Santa, been really bad Too late
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I see a jolly silhouetto of a man I'm such a bad boy, nobody loves me Raising Cain, raising hell, please don't
give me coal No, no, no, no, no, no, no! C'mon Santa, c'mon Santa So you think you can snub me and give
me no gifts Christmas really matters Waiting for the sleigh bells...
Above, actual issue of a Manchester (UK) paper from '61 |
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Above, drag diva Jackie Beat graced both Shows #1 & #2 with her whacked parodies. And indy divo Rufus Wainwright only holiday song, "Spotlight on Christmas," can only be found on the 2003 compilation "Maybe This Christmas Too?" Below, Melissa Ferrick stopped by Queer Voices in November for a delightful visit and interview. Her only xmas song is a very acoustic version of "White Christmas," found only on theAtlantic comp "You Sleigh Me!" from 1994.
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See, I didn't make up the name of this act. 4 Poofs & a Piano are a very popular UK cabaret act, and their debut release features the delightful "Camp Up Your Christmas" and "My Enormous Penis" (don't ask)
Above, John Springate
was a member of the UK group The Glitter Band (center), part of the
Glam scene in the early 80's. And, every year the New York charity organization
Broadway Cares / Equity Fights AIDS records a holiday album that includes
the casts of most of the major current Broadway hits. Last year's album
("Carols for a Cure, V") included Hugh Jackman and the
cast of the show "Boy From Oz." The song they sang was
"Wrapped Up Nice," which was not at all about wrapping presents.
It is about safe-sex, and was written by a New York City friend of mine,
gay songwriter, Jim Laev (below center). In five years of QMH
I've never before played Johnny Mathis, because, well, he's never
sung anything very gay, but I have to admit I was encouraged to include
the title track of his 1961 album because I thought the cover was so
gorgeous. The scan doesn't do it justice, you should see the album in
real life.
Remember the trash disco hit "Right On Target," from 1982? That was Paul Parker's big hit, and he's still making music, though his contribution to the comp "Carols Across America" was very different from his dance style.
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While the Kinsey Sicks didn't release the Xmas CD they promised me, they did upload about 11 minutes of their Holiday Observance, and I cobbled a couple clips from it. |
Brian Grillo (3rd from left) and his group Extra Fancy were short lived, but their CD EP "No Mercy" gave us the very neat song "Christmastime"
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RuPaul released "Little Drummer Boy" on a CD single in 1993, but we had to wait four more years for her full length Christmas album, called "Ho, Ho, Ho," and I think it's one of the best queer xmas albums ever. I've got Ru commenting on her Xmas album on this show, but tune in next month for a full scale interview with her.
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I found the lovely refrain "Happy Happy New Year" from last year by Sophie B. Hawkins, but one of my most delightful finds recently was the marvelous Village People parody done by Holiday Express. They really captured the VP feeling. I've no photos of the group, as it's a rather large volunteer charity organization from New Jersey, who do concerts all year, using various combinations of members for different songs. The song "Disco Santa" can be found on both of the albums pictured below
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#3 |
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The heading on their site reads: "Open the door... to your a cappella dreamboats..." Works for me. Mystery Date is comprised of Joshua Koffman, Ken Browne, John Whitley and Bob Stern (left to right). Three of the members (Brown, Whitley, Stern) were in the earlier group Sons & Lovers (helped by other members Elliot Pilshaw and Deian McBryde). Whitley, Pilshaw and McBryde all have contributed wonderful solo albums to our culture as well. Mystery Date did a guest shot with the NYC Gay Men's Chorus on their 2003 album "A Holiday Homecoming." And that song ("All I Want For Christmas Is You") was written by another talented singer/songwriter, Ernie Lijoi. Following that song were two more choruses, from Cincinnati and Seattle, with songs by composer Eric Lane Barnes.
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Below, Jill Sobule, that "I Kissed A Girl" girl released, only from her website, "Jill's Holiday Songs," with four of her charming originals. Right, handsome and talented composer and lyricist Thomas Raniszewski gave us an album of beautiful compositons, including the gorgeous Christmas song "Through a Child's Eyes." And he should know, he's a single parent, raising his son Andy.
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The British seem to have a fascination with drag, and two of their most loved characters were Dr. Evadne Hinge and Dame Hilda Bracket. They graced UK radio and television through the 70's and 80's. The duo in real life were George Logan, and Patrick Fyffe, who died in 2002 at age 60. |
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All we are asking, is give punk a chance...
What a charming grouping...the version of "White Christmas" by Temptress almost seemed calm next to the not so "Silent Night" by the Transexpistols. The Vandals displayed the most talent, with the sort of Christmasy "My Brother Is Gay" from "Internet Dating Super Studs," from 2002. |
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Rod McKuen & Dusty Springfield did an unlikely duet with "Baby, It's Cold Outside" on Rod's 1978 TV special |
"Christmas Time Is Here" by Meg Hentges appears only on the rare 1994 various artists comp "It's Finally Christmas," and in 2001 Bitch & Animal gave us a twist on "Angels We Have Heard On High" with "Ganja" |
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A nine-year veteran of NFL teams the Minnesota Vikings, Green Bay Packers and Atlanta Falcons, Esera Tuaolo retired and came out of the closet in 2002, but he's be working on a singing career for years. His first release, an EP with the songs "First Christmas" and "Silent Night" came out in December 2004. I barely got it in time for this show. |
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Pioneer lesbian artist Cris Williamson released "Snow Angel" in 1985. Above center is her latest CD, with another pioneer, Holly Near, from 2003. And the appropriate ending song is "Happy New Year." That was done by dance artist Ernest Kohl, and came from the comp "Carols Across America" from last year. |
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I want to thank Outsmart editor Tim Brookover for the very nice write-up in their December issue
Haven't had
enough queer xmas music yet? |
Artist
Links
* = straight artists, as far as I know |
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Eric
Lane Barnes |
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Well, we can pretend this is a Christmas story... |
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The wonderful drawings above are used with permission of and are copyrighted by the artist, Michael Breyette, who reserves all rights. Please visit his site and check out his fantastic gallery, at www.studio1088.com. |
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Two holiday covers from groundbreaking lesbian publication The Ladder |
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