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If you follow the history of music, particularly popular music, you know that certain years always recur in the conversation. 1936 marked the first of Robert Johnson’s legendary blues recordings, while 1956 marked the ascent of Elvis. You know that The Beatles did
Sullivan in 1964, Woodstock happened in 1969, and that The Sugarhill Gang recorded the first hip-hop song to hit the Top 40, “Rapper’s Delight,” in 1979. Those years and many others always swirl about the conversation, but one year is consistently overlooked. In retrospect, 1961 is hugely important, as it set the stage for the rest of the decade and for decades to come. Let’s turn back the clock to the year that Berry signed the girls from the Projects, two former school friends met up again, Patsy went pop from the hospital, and four lads played the Cavern Club for the first time.
These days, with more and more public figures coming forward about their sexuality, it was only a matter of time that we here at TheBacklot.com put together a list of the most influential and intriguing openly gay and bisexual male musicians of the past century. Compiling a list like this was no small feat.
While we’ve limited this to only 50 musicians, the number of openly gay artists far surpasses that number, and we’re sure you will likely spot an artist near and dear to your heart that we left out. Trust us that it was not done in malice. We simply tried to assemble a list of those artists we feel have been both successful in their careers while also raising awareness toward gay rights issues and giving back to the community in which they belong.