Unearthing the Hidden Beats: How LGBTQ Music Revolutionized Culture from 1969 to 2000
The chapter begins with an homage to Smokey Robinson that, in the first paragraph, mentions trans performer Jackie Shane and her two-year run on the Canadian charts with her cover of “Any Other Way”. But Walters pans back to Robinson’s Shop Around. Walters describes Motown’s appeal thusly:
“[It] was particularly popular among LGBTQ people before, during, and after Stonewall. Common ground between show-tune gays and rock ’n’ roll queers. Motown crossed Broadway’s perky melodiousness with R&B’s ingenuities of harmony and meter. The Miracles and what followed showed us how to thrive in the straight world while being true to ourselves.”
Post Comment