Show #2  

    

Above, from the 1993 AIDS musical "All That He Was" I took the wonderful ballad, "Our First Christmas." Behind it are the only pics I could find of its singers, Gary Imhoff and Robert Patteri. Upper right is San Francisco cabaret artist Russ Lorenson, who has two new albums this year. Below, I'll name Tina C the Queen of Country Dragdom, and I'm delighted that this season she added an xmas album to her stable of releases.

    

    

Above, a very rare cassette single by Corday & the Curious, from 1996, Corday's very queer CD single from 2006, and the frantic Kiki & Herb 2001 CD. Below, I took the song "Self-Esteem" from the 1997 CD, "Dragapella," by my fave drag quartet, Kinsey Sicks. In 2005 they released a full-length xmas adventure.

  

       

Above, flanking the Andrews Sisters were choruses from two coasts: The Bayou City Performing Arts, from Houston, and The San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus. Below is Robert Anton, whose first CD was called "What About Christmas." Next to Robert is Sam Harris. His song "One More Sleep" is only found on an obscure V.A. disc called "A Hollywood Christmas," from 1996. He's now starring on TV in the weekly comedy "The Class," playing a flamboyantly gay straight man, go figure. His latest CD is "Always."

    

    

Laura Nyro died in 1997 and left behind a wonderful body of work. Shown above is her 1990 release, "Live from Mountain Stage." In the middle is a brand new xmas CD, from Janet Villas, and Joi Cardwell gave us an xmas CD single in 2004. Below, do you remember when Jill Sobule kissed a girl? Her 2005 Xmas EP is only available from her site. To her right is Debbie Friedman, who has released 19 albums in the last 35 years.

      

Tomboy is out of Denmark, and way out of the closet. His brand new CD includes the anthemic dance song "OK2BGAY" and alas, a Christmas ballad, "When I Saw Santa," which I believe to be the first xmas song where the singer talks about his two gay daddies. To the right, well, perhaps a predecesor of Tomboy, Liberace, and wunderkind Rufus Wainwright, who seems to be everywhere.

         

Closing Show #1 is Jimmy James, doing Bette Davis. He does her (and other divas) singing for xmas on
his 2002 CD, "Have Yourself a Jimmy James Merry Christmas." You've got to hear it to believe it!

Something for history buffs...

Above, perhaps a bit of queer history, a pic I found on eBay....candid shot of ordinary people.
Bob & Shep would likely be in their 80s now...I wonder what kind of lives they led. And, of course, this pic does not necessarily mean they were gay. It could just be clowning around at a party. Still...

Actually, (isn't the internet wonderful), I did a google search on Shep's name and sure found someone about the right age and right look. It's on a history page devoted to the town of East Hampton, Florida, and has a 1946 photo of him on a fire department baseball team, and a 2002 pic of him. Notes say he was in the Coast Guard during WWII.

And, searching on Bob, I found someone again with the right age and look, on this page. He was 77 in 2004, served during the war as a decorated D-Day hero, and at least was alive in 2004.