Gay Sger Gee Michael Was Found Dead on Christmas of 2016 & Buried Unmarked Grave for Years

CARL BEAN, GAY SGER WHO TURNED TO PREACHG, DI AT 77

“Lavenr Country,” Patrick Haggerty’s first album rerd unr the same name, is wily nsired the first untry album rerd by an out gay mician. He died Monday, several weeks after havg a stroke. * gay singers who have died *

Pri that beme a much-remixed club favore — and who then beme a mister and AIDS activist, foundg a church Los Angel that sought to serve the spirual needs of gay people and others who were margalized — died on Tuday Los Angel. It did not give a Bean, who was openly gay om a young age, was a sger before he was a preacher and received the tle archbishop, rerdg gospel songs for ABC Rerds the mid-1970s as the ontman for the group Carl Bean and Universal Love.

The chos went: “Oh y I’m happy, I’m reee and I’m gay, y I’m gay. ”The Bean versn, wh a more pronounced dis flair and a streamled chos (“I’m happy, I’m reee and I’m gay; I was born this way”), beme a favore gay clubs all over the untry and abroad.

PATRICK HAGGERTY, TRAILBLAZG GAY UNTRY STAR, DI AT 78

It's always heartbreakg to fd out that a beloved gay celebry has died of AIDS. AIDS is a disease which effects an dividual's immune system, for which ... * gay singers who have died *

“I suppose this song and s msage is a sort of mistry to gay people, ” he said the 1978 terview. “I am g my voice to tell gay people that they n still feel good about beg gay even if there are people like Ana Bryant around” — a reference to one of the most proment opponents of gay rights the Uny Fellowship Church MovementHe always praised Motown for backg the rerd, but, he said a 2009 terview wh the webse Out Alliance, he and the pany parted ways “when they wanted me to do songs like ‘Ooh girl I love you so’ — right after they promoted me as openly gay.

He was ordaed 1982 by Archbishop William Morris O’Neal of the Universal Tabernacl of Christ Church and began workg Los Angel, wh a particular tert reachg out to gay Black people and other groups who had felt unwele mastream Christiany. “AIDS took the cloak off for the world that homosexualy exists, pecially for mori, ” he told The Los Angel Tim 1989. “People who wanted to thk there was no such thg as a gay Black man or a gay Lato had a awakeng.

“Mom was 15, Dad was 16, and they never married, ” he wrote his tobgraphy, “I Was Born This Way: A Gay Preacher’s Journey Through Gospel Mic, Dis Stardom, and a Mistry Christ” (2010), wrten wh David & SchterIn the book, he portrayed his upbrgg as a munal affair.

FAMO GAY PEOPLE WHO DIED OF AIDS

”But he also knew om an early age that he was gay, and eventually the muny turned on him. He uld be the dtry-iendly untry star and rema the closet, or he uld e mic to make a statement about what was like beg a gay man a eply discrimatory world.

40 BT GAY SGERS & MICIANS OF ALL TIME (LGBTQ+ SGERS)

He chose the latter, and 1973’s “Lavenr Country, ” Haggerty’s first album rerd unr the same name, is now wily nsired the first untry album rerd by an out gay mician.

“Lavenr Country” was a fiantly queer rerd, wh songs like “Cry’ The C**ksuck’ Tears, ” durg a time when few micians any genre were fortable g out as gay. He was kicked out of the Peace Corps the ’60s for beg gay, he told CNN earlier this year. He told Pchfork 2014 that his gay iends Seattle were “who we ma for, and that’s who we played to.