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Incredible LGBTQ Songs, Young & Old, Vol. 2 [📷: Brent Faulkner, cottonbro, The Musical Hype, Pexels]Incredible LGBTQ Songs, Young & Old features, Vol. 2 features music courtesy of Charlotte Day Wilson, Elton John, Kendrick Lamar, Myylo & Omar Apollo.  

[📷: Nicholas Swatz]

First and foremost, if you didn’t know, or couldn’t tell, The Musical Hype is, and always will be, a welcoming, open, and supportive place for the LGBTQIA community. Each and every year, there are superb additions to the LGBTQ+ catalog from musicians who identify as members of the community, as well as those serving as allies.  🎧 Incredible LGBTQ Songs, Young & Old, Vol. 2 – originally part of 35 Intriguing LGBTQ Songs, Young & Old before some unfortunate content loss on the website 🤬 – seeks to avoid song repeats from past published LGBTQ-themed playlists.  Rather than release one big list, Incredible LGBTQ Songs, Young & Old arrives in volumes (Check out 🎧 Vol. 1 if you missed it).

🎧 Incredible LGBTQ Songs, Young & Old, Vol. 2 features music courtesy of 🎙 Charlotte Day Wilson, 🎙 Elton John, 🎙 Kendrick Lamar, 🎙 Myylo, and 🎙 Omar Apollo among others. Stylistically, this list encompasses various musical styles. So, without further ado, let’s jump right into this LGBTQ-themed musical compendium!


 

1. Osvaldo Supino, “Body Burning”

🎵 “Body Burning” • 🏷 Osvaldo Supino • 🗓 2022

Osvaldo Supino, "Body Burning"“When we move like this, we got the / Body burning up, body burning.” Ooh, wee! It’s incredibilmente caldo qui dentro (incredibly hot in here)! Please, do continue! “Oh, the floor so hot we own it / Body burning up, body burn I /… Burning up burning up / Burn that son of a bitch!” Hot, hot, hot 🔥! The catalyst for the hotness is the incredibly handsome, talented Italian musician 🎙 Osvaldo Supino 😍.  The award-winning independent musician delivers a must-hear, surefire bop with 🎵 “Body Burning”.  Infectious from the get-go, there’s no way you won’t ‘feel some type of way’ partaking of this bop that more folks need to be listening to beyond Italy.

“Oh yeah, it’s alive

I feel it growing and the feeling is golden

Ugh, yeah, we got it all right!”

So, what makes “Body Burning” the bop that it is? It starts with the confident, playful, sexy vocals of Osvaldo 💪 (“Everybody in the club, yeah they know my name”). He has a gorgeous instrument – a truly clear, ripe tenor on his hands – tailor-made for pop.  Combine that with dancefloor-ready, suggestive, seductive lyrics, and born is an indisputable pop hit.

“This song, it’s got me feeling things

I’ve learned a lot and boy, I’ve grew

Yeah, my time is overdue

Oh, it’s happening, happening

Yeah, the beat take over my life.”

Furthermore, sick production work, with a beat readymade for the club/disco/‘busting a move’ at home, is the cherry on top.  This, my friends, is a surefire vibe!

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2. Kehlani, “more than I should” (Ft. Jessie Reyez)

💿 blue water road🏷 Atlantic • 🗓 2022 

Kehlani, blue water road [📷: Atlantic]🏆 Grammy-nominated R&B singer/songwriter 🎙 Kehlani is incredibly talented with the voice of an angel.  Also, she’s firmly planted in the LGBTQ community, officially identifying as a lesbian in 2021🎵 “More than I should”, finds Kehlani living her truth in a hairy situation – she’s cheating on one woman with another. *GASPS* #SCANDALOUS!!! She has her reasons, of course, on this standout from her third studio album, 💿 blue water road.  Notably, she is assisted by 🏆 Grammy-nominated Canadian R&B singer, 🎙 Jessie Reyez.  Reyez finds herself in the same boat as Kehlani, except cheating with her own sexual preference, a man.  It’s juicy y’all!

With slick production work from 🎛 Pop Wansel, 🎛 GRADES, and 🎛 Daoud, Kehlani and Jessie Reyez have an awesome canvas to paint upon. “If you knew how long it’d been since I felt her on my skin,” Kehlani sings in the verse, adding, “And why I keep lookin’ at the shape in the pants she got on.”  She justifies her cheating because she feels her girlfriend isn’t fulfilling her needs and treating her right (“Is it really cheating if she ain’t lovin’ me right? / If she’s not touching me right?”).  Admittedly, in the chorus, she’s more impressed with her side chick “more than [she] should” be.  The same scenario for Reyez in verse two, where she unapologetically asserts, “Swear I’m not the type to lie / But I’d feel hella justified / If I climbed on top and we fuck tonight away like two wrongs.” Wow! These ladies both understand that two wrongs don’t make a right.  They also understand that they need to be fulfilled and loved to the utmost by their respective partners.  Cheating should never be advocated, but man oh man, is it captivating on this surefire bop which should please the hetero- and non-hetero crowd alike!

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3. Myylo, “Abercrombie & Fitch Boy”

🎵 “Abercrombie & Fitch Boy” • 🏷 Myylo • 🗓 2022

Myylo, “Abercrombie & Fitch Boy” [📷: Myylo]Whether you’re a gay boy or an envious straight guy, at some point, Abercrombie & Fitch male models have affected your life.  Up until this point, we were lacking a song! 🎙 Myylo filled a need with his pop bop that mentions those hot, perfect A&F boys, fittingly titled, 🎵 “Abercrombie & Fitch Boy”.

Myylo doesn’t disappoint, penning “Abercrombie & Fitch Boy” alongside 🎼✍ Dorian Electra and 🎼✍ Christian Fiore.  He’s a fabulous vocalist who infuses ample personality into his music.  With a steamy topic like A&F boys involved, you know that he’s totally locked in.  “Abercrombie & Fitch Boy” may be tongue-in-cheek, but how Myylo crushes on, objectifies, and characterizes the thirst – it’s legit! “You got those V lines / The kind I want to see lines / So come on make a B line / Over to me tonight” isn’t the least bit far-fetched! Furthermore, who can’t relate to “And I’m staring at your poster / Wishing I was closer / To those washboard abs / On the bag?” Even if you identify as heterosexual, admit it – you’ve at least been jealous of the abs and compared your own or lack thereof! Making this thirst trap even more alluring is the fun music video where the artist conjures up Abercrombie boys and finds himself in, I dunno, A&F heaven I suppose! Myylo has given us a musical gift to accompany our thirst (or envy)!

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4. Victoria Monét, “Touch Me”

💿 JAGUAR🏷 Tribe • 📅 2020

Victoria Monét, JAGUAR [📷: Tribe]“Went from hands on the wheel to hands on my thigh / To hands on my body in the back of the Porsche / I’m in love with your fingertips / I reminisce places you kiss / Girl, it’s been too long.” 🎵 “Touch Me” appears as the ninth track on 💿 JAGUAR, the debut studio album by R&B singer/songwriter, 🎙 Victoria Monét.  Monét delivers cool, calm, collected, and incredibly smooth vocals throughout the three-minute-plus joint. Furthermore, she sounds incredibly sexy in the process.  Add in ‘girl’ in the mix, and “Touch Me” becomes a stellar addition to LGBTQ+🌈 collection of songs.

Additionally, Victoria pens a set of sexy lyrics alongside 🎼✍ 🎛 Dernst “D’Mile” Emile II and 🎼✍ B. Edmonds – great songwriting team to say the list.  Amplifying the closing cut from JAGUAR even more is slick, balanced production from D’Mile. The sound is modern yet soulful, and highly effective when it’s all said and done.  You’ll be touched (and perhaps wanna be touched) after indulging in the gem that is “Touch” from this talented R&B singer/songwriter.

 

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5. Omar Apollo, “Evergreen”

💿 Ivory • 🏷 Warner • 📅 2022 

Omar Apollo, Ivory (Marfil) [📷: Warner]🎵 “Evergreen” is arguably the crème de la crème of 💿 Ivory, the debut album by 🎙 Omar Apollo. The intro of this soulful, heartbroken record says it all: “He don’t love / Me no more.” Most of Ivory has focused on a relationship that Apollo has been part of with another man and the various ways it’s affected him.  “Evergreen” might be the biggest moment, as he can’t get him and apparently, the rejection off his mind. “Evergreen, he controls me / Was there something wrong with my body?” he asks in the first verse.

In the second verse, more light is shed by Apollo: “She don’t know you like me / She could never love you more / More than me.” It’s interesting as Apollo has previously sung about this with 🎵 “Stayback” and 🎵 “Bi Fren” from 💿 Apolonio.  Is he potentially singing about the same situation where the guy chose a girl over him? Regardless, this situation has hurt him tremendously: “Evergreen, he tears me to pieces.” Nobody wants to see this incredibly gifted, handsome man in pain, but at the same time, his pain on “Evergreen” is our listening pleasure.  Oh, the schadenfreude of it all!

 

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6. Kendrick Lamar, “Auntie Diaries”

💿 Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers 🏷 Aftermath / Interscope / pgLang / Top Dawg Entertainment • 🗓 2022

Kendrick Lamar, Big Morale & The Big Steppers [📷 : Aftermath / Interscope / pgLang / Top Dawg Entertainment]“My auntie is a man now / I think I’m old enough to understand now…” Well – you don’t hear that often from a major-label rapper! 🎵 “Auntie Diaries” is one of the most surprising records from 💿 Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers.  Few rappers who don’t identify as LGBTQ+ dare address LGBTQ+ issues.  Far too often, if rappers dive into it, it’s because they are being homophobic. 🏆 Grammy and Pulitzer Prize-winning rapper 🎙 Kendrick Lamar admits to past ignorance regarding homophobia, asserting in the second verse, “Faggot, faggot, faggot, we ain’t know no better / Elementary kids with no filter, however.”  Anytime that f-word comes into play, it’s often much more controversial than the f-bomb.  Interestingly, as the record progresses, Kendrick later says, “I said them f-bombs, I ain’t know any better.”

Lamar talks about evolving into a better, more accepting person, using the example of his trans aunt whom he loves and respects. Also, he mentions a trans cousin as well:

“My auntie was a man now, we cool with it

The history had trickled down and made us ign’ant

My favorite cousin said he’s returning the favor

And following my auntie with the same behavior.”

Worth noting, Kendrick Lamar references the church’s insensitive reaction to his cousin’s trans identity, something commonplace, particularly in the black church. Though some black denominations are considered more liberal, progressive institutions (the African Methodist Episcopal church is a prime example), they aren’t as progressive when it comes to the LGBTQ+ community.  Refocusing on “Auntie Diaries,” reactions to this bold number are mixed from both hetero- and LGBTQ+ communities. Still, this is a legitimate LGBTQ+ record worth analyzing and discussing.

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7. Charlotte Day Wilson, “Mountains”

💿 ALPHA 🏷 Stone Woman Music • 📅 2021 

Charlotte Day Wilson, Alpha [📷: Stone Woman Music]Sometimes, it takes a village to write a song.  For the 🎙 Charlotte Day Wilson record, 🎵 “Mountains” (💿 ALPHA), it DEFINITELY took a village.  The writing credits, in addition to Wilson, include 🎼✍ Varren Wade, 🎼✍ Babyface (!), 🎼✍ D’Mile, 🎼✍ Brandon Banks, 🎼✍ Kyla Moscovich, 🎼✍ Teo Halm, 🎼✍ Marcus Reddick, and 🎼✍ Mk.gee. Wow! With that many cooks in the kitchen, this song should, indeed be awesome – mountainous to the nth degree. No worries – the results are stunning!

“Up to the mountain

Search through the valley (Valley)

You hear me calling

Won’t you come find me?

Please don’t forsake me

All of a sudden

My heart is breaking

I feel it coming.”

The chorus is on-point, justifying that village of writers. Also, the backdrop is the perfect canvas for the Canadian R&B singer/songwriter to sing over.  On this mountainous gem, the love – the relationship – is going south.  “When it rains, it only rains on me,” she sings in the first verse, adding, “Where were you when I was frozen? / Drenched in white stone, it was cold.” Well, where were you CDW’s lover? Later, in the second verse, she asks, “So, how could you turn into demons you / Once said that you’d keep way.” “Mountains” is incredibly relatable – we’ve all been there. 

Appears in 🔻:

  • 11 High Flying Songs About Mountains
  • 15 M Songs: No Rhyme or Reason, Vol. 2

8. Elton John, “Elton’s Song”

💿 The Fox • 🏷 Mercury • 🗓 1981 

Elton John, The Fox [📷: Mercury]🎙 Elton John has no shortage of hits – he’s a legend.  Furthermore, he ranks high on the list of gay icons.  That said, while John is a proud LGBTQ musician, much of his music isn’t dominated by sexuality.  In today’s age, LGBTQ musicians are freer to express their sexuality – it’s more common to hear about boy-on-boy or girl-on-girl love.  In John’s heyday, that wasn’t the case.  Still, the legend has had his fair share of moments, including the marvelous 🎵 “Elton’s Song” from his 1981 album, 💿 The Fox.

The Fox isn’t the first Elton John album that comes to mind – UNDERSTATEMENT. Furthermore, with an abundance of hits, “Elton’s Song” is one that easily gets lost in the shuffle.  It shouldn’t, of course. “Elton’s Song’ was co-written with 🎼✍ Tom Robinson (known for 🎵 “Glad to Be Gay”).  Robinson, like John, is gay and wrote some incredible lyrics.  Those lyrics, of course, reflect same-sex attraction – queer love – something misunderstood back then and still irks folks even in the 2020s.  “They say it isn’t real but I know how I feel and I love you,” John sings at the end of the second verse.  No, the pronouns aren’t explicit, but Elton has confirmed it’s gay, and honestly, it sounds gay.

The chorus is my favorite section of the song. It also sheds light about this ‘queer’ teenage crush that is misunderstood but the protagonist feels passionately:

“If you only knew what I’m going through

Time and again I get ashamed to say your name

It’s hard to grin and bear when you’re standing there

My lips are dry, I catch your eye and look away.”

The thing is you don’t have to be gay to relate to those lyrics – they’re applicable to many situations.  The lyric that really hits hard appears at the end of this stunning, underrated piano ballad (with some marvelous instrumental pizazz via orchestra): “But I would give my life for a single night beside you. 🎵 “Elton’s Song” = masterpiece.  Sadly, it doesn’t get the same love the beloved classics in his catalog, but it should.  He sings beautifully, with incredible authenticity and sincerity.

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9. The Killers, “Terrible Thing”

💿 Pressure Machine 🏷 Island • 📅 2021

The Killers, Pressure Machine [📷: Island]“I’m in my bedroom on the verge of a terrible thing.” Man, that is heavy – it hits hard. 🎵 “Terrible Thing,” as you’d expected, is sad.  It appears as the third song on 💿 Pressure Machine, the seventh studio album by 🎙 The Killers.  What exactly is that ‘terrible thing’ the male character in the song is on the verge of? Contemplating suicide.

Why does the character consider ending it all? He’s gay but he comes from a place where that’s unaccepted, particularly given the time.  You could say, he’s knee-deep into the Pressure Machine, as “Around here, we all take up our cross and hang on His Holy name / But the cards that I was dealt will get you thrown out of the game.” Wow.  🎙 Brandon Flowers does a masterful job performing this and putting himself in the situation of this young man.  It marks one of many fancy-tickling, bright spots from Pressure Machine.

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10. Jxckson, “Loverboy”  

🎵 “Loverboy” • 🏷 Jxckson Music • 🗓 2022

Jxckson, "Lover Boy" [📷: Jxckson Music]“Don’t have to buy me flowers / I don’t need new things / I just want your hours / Spent thinking about me.” Woo! Don’t we all want to feel that kind of love, 🎙 Jxckson? On 🎵 “Loverboy”, the electrifying pop musician wants to be your – well, his – lover boy. It gets more ‘intense’ in the second verse, where he asserts, “On my knees, like you’re my savior / Always on my worst behavior / My loyalty never waivers / (You can get it now or get it later).” Da-yum, well, I’m doubtful that Jxckson is doing much praying while down on his knees – just a hunch.

Beyond the excerpted verses, Jxckson adds in the pre-chorus, “Whatever you want from me / I can provide it.” That seems to be a lucrative offer.  The chorus, of course, is the centerpiece:

“I could be your lover boy

Tell me what you want from me

I could be your lover boy

So, tell me what’s your fantasy.”

Well, I don’t think it would be far-fetched to characterize “Loverboy” as very gay. Of course, it slays! You know what else slays about this gay gem? The production, honey! The beat is lit, and those synths are potent – bursting in your face.  Jxckson has a colorful, epic background to work with on this steamy, suggestive cut (🎛 Cheta Meister). He “does the da-yum thing,” NO CAP!

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11. Willie Nelson, “Cowboys Are Frequently Secretly Fond of Each Other”

💿 Lost Highway🏷 UMG Recordings, Inc. • 🗓 2009

Willie Nelson, Lost Highway [📷: UMG Recordings, Inc.]“Well, a cowboy may brag about things that he’s done with this women / But the ones who brag loudest are the ones that are most likely queer.” Woo! How often does it seem that men who aren’t comfortable with their masculinity and sexuality feel they need to brag about (and likely, exaggerate) their conquests? That’s explored in 🎵 “Cowboys Are Frequently Secretly Fond of Each Other”.  Cowboys, these ultra-masculine beings – have ‘gay’ sensibilities, tendencies, and historically, some participated in same-sex activities. In country music, it seems that you can count the number of queer songs on one hand.  Interestingly, back in 1981, 🎙 🎼✍ Ned Sublette wrote and recorded this gay country song ahead of its time. “Cowboys Are Frequently Secretly Fond of Each Other” has become known as the gay cowboy song. In 2006, one of country music’s legends, 🎙 Willie Nelson, recorded a high-profile cover – huge considering the genre’s conservative reputation.

The Nelson version, which ultimately appears on his 2009 album, 💿 Lost Highway, arrived at a more ‘accepting’ time for LGBTQ-themed music. “Cowboys” has some old-school lyrics, but still relevantly highlights sexuality, gender, and stereotypes, making it a unique conversation piece. It’s humorous, but also, it’s clear Ned Sublette was making a statement.

“Cowboys are frequently secretly fond of each other

Say, what do you think all them saddles and boots was about?

And there’s many a cowboy who don’t understand the way that he feels for his brother

And inside every cowboy there’s a lady that’d love to slip out.”

For good measure, there’s even a f-bomb, which easily comes off of Willie’s tongue: “So, when you talk to a cowboy don’t treat him like he was a sister / You can’t fuck with a lady that’s sleepin’ in each cowboy’s head.” 🎵 “Cowboys Are Frequently Secretly Fond of Each Other”, a post-Brokeback Mountain gem, maybe funny and silly to an extent, but it’s also a great conversation piece.  The world may be viewed by many through a totally straight, heterosexual lens, but that view is myopic.

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12. Mike Taveira, “Sex for Breakfast” (Ft. Allie X)

🎵 “Sex for Breakfast” • 🏷 Mike Taveira • 📅 2021  

Mike Taveira, "Sex for Breakfast" [📷: Mike Taveira]🎙 Mike Taveira delivers a delicious, titillating pop single with 🎵 “Sex for Breakfast”.  While he does awesome getting us ‘hot and bothered,’ so does his partner in crime, featured guest 🎙 Allie X (Alexandra Hughes). “Sex for Breakfast” is as good as advertised featuring slick production by 🎛 Sky Cocco and 🎛 Jordan Palmer ‘put in work.’  Cocco is also credited as a writer alongside Taveira, Hughes, and 🎼✍ Paul Mauer.

Vocally, Mike sings smoothly, showcasing a marvelous tone.  Even so, that doesn’t keep him from delivering a bite, early on, mind you: “How the fuck can we be friends when all we wanna do is / Fuck it if it happens, we already do it.” Woo! Following those eyebrow raising bombs, Taveira backs off the profanity, but keeps it sexy (we wouldn’t have it any other way).  I like the way Allie X both complements and contrasts in the second verse.  She gets her ear-catching lyrics in too, even if she’s not as ‘salty’ as Mike: “It’s a physically sadistic state, I feel so manic / And this body talk, it got so rude.” Of course, the crème de la crème – the centerpiece – is the chorus:

“Sex for breakfast
Aah
If you want it, if you want it, if you want it like that
You can’t wait for a second
Aah
Got you coming, got you coming, got you coming right back.”

Coming, huh? Gotta love sexual innuendo! Mike Taveira delivers a surefire bop with “Sex for Breakfast.”

Pop GIF - Find & Share on GIPHY

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13. PWR BTTM, “Ugly Cherries”

💿 Ugly Cherries 🏷 PWR BTTM • 📅 2015 

PWR BTTM, Ugly Cherries [📷: PWR BTTM]Just in case you can’t figure it out, 🎙 PWR BTTM is a stylized spelling for Power Bottom.  Also, in case you’re unfamiliar with gay terminology/slang, there are informative articles about the role of a power bottom.  For our purposes, what is to be understood is that PWR BTTM was a queer punk duo comprised of 🎙 Ben Hopkins and 🎙 Liv Bruce.  The duo was ‘cancelled,’ including being dropped from their labels, and eventually broke up.  Sounds like an ugly ending to a talented collective, particularly the not-so-ugly song at hand, 🎵 “Ugly Cherries” (💿 Ugly Cherries, 2015).

“Ugly Cherries” is queer AF, and we #STAN!  Here, Hopkins addresses their personal experiences with identity and being queer.  Via Spin, Hopkins asserts, “It’s a confrontation: an attempt to unpack my own queerness with humor and self-care.” The gender aspect explored on “Ugly Cherries” might be the biggest selling point and most fascinating takeaway.  “My girl gets scared / Can’t take him anywhere,” Ben sings, continuing, “Every time he goes outside / He runs his mouth, and he runs and hides.” That is incredibly personal.  Later, Hopkins again explores identity asserting, “My girl’s so sad / Everything I do makes her mad / Cries and cries till his eyes are red / Two ugly cherries up in his head.”  Let me be clear, I don’t condone any misconduct committed by PWR BTTM.  I do find “Ugly Cherries” to be a fascinating record.

 

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14. ur pretty, “Keep Riding Me”

🎵 “Keep Riding Me” • 🏷 ur pretty • 📅 2021

Ur pretty, “Keep Riding Me” [📷: ur pretty]Four words: “Just keep riding me.” How about six words: “Just keep on fucking me deep.” Now that is sexual AF, NO CAP! 🎙 ur pretty (🎙 Jake Hill) intended the lyrics to involve those private parts.  Furthermore, 🎵 “Keep Riding Me” doesn’t go straight – it’s G-A-Y.  “I can’t think straight when I look into your eyes,” Hill sings on the first verse, later adding, “Yeah, your mustache tickles my nut sack, baby.” Wow – TMI!  It doesn’t stop there, folks, on this sub-two-and-a-half-minute joint! “You got a way with your words and a big fat cock.”

“Flip me over, beat my meat up while you pound it.” Holy sheee-it! The lyrics are ‘something else’ to say the least – UNDERSTATEMENT.  That said, in this case, they should be taken with a grain of salt.  “Keep Riding Me” feels less an ode to male-on-male love than, say, pop-punk humor. Regardless, Hill serves up some compelling vocals.  His best moment comes by way of the risqué chorus, which is sexed-up to the nth degree but also, entertaining:

“He spreads my cheeks, and he makes me scream

He’s my number one daddy, gotta make him cream inside of me

Just keep riding me

When I’m slurping him down, it’s my favorite sound

You let out a little moan, what a beautiful tone

So softly, just keep riding me.”

🍆 💦

@iamactuallyjakehill

Just trying to leave my hometown with my friends and never look back #fypシ #poppunk #pop #funnyy #music #guitar #punk

♬ original sound – Jake Hill

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15. Lou Reed, “Walk on the Wild Side”

💿 Transformer • 🏷 RCA • 📅 1972

Lou Reed, Transformer [📷: RCA]When it comes to the late, great 🎙 Lou Reed, the first song that comes to mind is: 🎵 “Walk on the Wild Side”.  This highlight from 💿 Transformer (1972), written about Andy Warhol’s friends and the New York underground, peaked at no. 16 on the Billboard Hot 100.  One of the greatest songs of all time, Reed brilliantly captures oddballs perfectly, all of whom happen to be members of the LGBTQ+ community.  Worth noting that Reed was bisexual and struggled with his sexuality. The colorful characters he sings about in “Walk on the Wild Side” are Holly, Candy, Little Joe, Sugar Plum Fairy, and Jackie.

In the first verse, Lou sings about Holly Woodlawn: “Plucked her eyebrows on the way / Shaved her legs and then he was a she.” Holly was transgender, a topic today that wasn’t often covered in rock or any musical genre back in the day.  In the second verse, Candy Darling (also trans) gets her moment, with arguably the most famous line in the song: “But she never lost her head / Even when she was giving head.” Wow! Oral sex – a blow job – in an early 70s song? It’s commonplace now in many rap songs, but eyebrow-raising then. In the third verse, Reed portrays bisexual actor Joe Dallesandro as a hustler, true to the character he plays.  In the fourth, Sugar Plum Fairy (Joe Campbell, a former lover of gay activist, Harvey Milk) gets his moment, while Jackie Curtis’ demons (“Jackie is just speeding away…”) in the fifth and final verse preface her eventual death from a heroin overdose at just 38.  How Reed portrays oddballs and misfits makes “Walk on the Wild Side” not only outlandish but a certified classic.  Another reason why “Walk on the Wild Side” is so great? The music. Reed keeps things on the lighter side.  After all, it is the lyrics, which tell a compelling story, that are ultimately the reason why this song is a success.  That said, musically, the bass line, the background vocals where (“the colored girls say / doo, doo-doo, doo-doo, doo-doo-doo), and the baritone saxophone solo marks some of the song’s bright spots.

Appears in 🔻



Incredible LGBTQ Songs, Young & Old, Vol. 2 [📷: Aftermath, Atlantic, Brent Faulkner, cottonbro, Island, Jxckson Music, Mercury, Mike Taveira, The Musical Hype, Myylo, Osvaldo Supino, pgLang, PWR BTTM, RCA, Stone Woman Music, Top Dawg Entertainment, Tribe, UMG Recordings, Inc., ur pretty, Warner]