Unearthing the Hidden Beats: How LGBTQ Music Revolutionized Culture from 1969 to 2000
Happy to learn that the 1975 recording of “I Was Born This Way,” as performed by Charles Valentino, is available on YouTube (because I really wanted to hear Stevie Wonder playing those skippy triplets on the drums in the backing tracks). After Motown acquired the song from its original producer, Bunny Jones at Galilee Records, saying, “‘We didn’t purchase this record because it was socially controversial, but because it sold enormously in New York and is, we think, a hit record,’” they engaged Carl Bean to record it in 1977. I have heard the Bean version before, and learning this history inspired me to play both Valentino’s and Bean’s recording. A glorious start to any day.
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