A companion for the QMH & OutRadio shows & Website
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Mary’s Naturally – The Song
In Houston, if you ask anyone what was THE iconic gay bar in its history, and the answer would be Mary’s Naturally. It closed in November 2009, after 39 years serving as a front-and-center force in gay visibility in the city. Located a block from the gay crossroads of Montrose and Westheimer, it was definitely…
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Paisley Fields – Windows Fogged Up In Your Pickup Truck
The Paisley Fields The last time I played the music of James Wilson on my OutRadio show, it was under the name of his act then called Frightened Cellar. But some folks just keep evolving, and how he and long-time collaborator Jessica Kimple are known as The Paisley Fields, and I’m delighted with their new…
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Rev JM Gates – “Manish Women”
Something different for me…an anti-gay recording, or at least one condemning acting like the opposite sex. Rev Gates was probably the most successful ministers in the South. He was definitely of the fire-and-brimstone call-and-response type, and was unique in that many of his sermons were recorded, about 200 of them, done between 1926 and 1941.…
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The Battle of the Bette Davis Impersonators
Okay, sometimes I amuse myself in unusual ways, and for example, a number of years ago for one of my QMH shows…on a show called Gender Benders, I put together a sort of medley of comedy clips from several female impersonators, all doing impressions of Bette Davis. Of course many drag performers “do” Bette Davis,…
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Rod Stewart’s “The Killing of Georgie”
Rod Stewart’s “The Killing Georgie” reached #30 on the Billboard Charts in July of 1977, the third of four singles to make the Top 40 from the huge selling LP from the previous year, “A Night On The Town.” Of course, “Tonight’s the Night” was the big hit, stuck to the #1 spot for…
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“Why the F@#k Aren’t We Famous” by The Kinsey Sicks
The Kinsey Sicks ask the musical question, and I totally agree with them. I’ve been a huge fan since their first CD in 1997 (“Dragapella”) and cheer every time a new one is released, and I have 8 now. Their live shows are hysterical, and they give great head line making interviews. It’s a mystery…
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The First Openly Gay Country Singer….Was Patrick Haggerty, in 1973
Today I want to salute one of much under-appreciated gay music pioneers, Patrick Haggerty. From my research I believe he was the very first, as leader of his band Lavender Country, to release a recording of country songs with openly gay lyrics, and this was in 1973. On my Queer Music Heritage show for March…
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Tom Goss Sings, and Talks About – “Bears”
I’ve been a big fan of the music, and videos, by Tom Goss for many years. This week he premiered a new video, and what better way to do it in an article in Huffington Post, so I congratulate him for that. The song/video “Bears” is a fun, and very wet romp celebrating the Bear…
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Anita Bryant Sucks Oranges
Houston LGBT History: Ray Hill Talks about Anita Bryant 36 Years Ago on June 16, 2013 What role did Houston play in the protests against Anita Bryant, and what were the local and national impacts? You’re about to find out. In January of 1977 Dade County Florida…that’s the county that includes Miami…passed an ordinance that prohibited…
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The Most Important LGBT Song of Recent Years…Is By A Straight Guy
Macklemore, born Benjamin Haggerty, being from the Northwest and white, is an unlikely rap star, but in the last year or so he has reached unprecedented exposure, thanks to the success of his latest CD, “Thrift Shop,” done with his producer, Ryan Lewis. The title track, which makes fun of his liking to wear thrift…
Got any book recommendations?