HAPPY PRIDE! How “Y.M.C.A.” Beme a Gay Anthem! | Now See Hear!

Contents:

• HAPPY PRIDE! HOW “Y.M.C.A.” BEME A GAY ANTHEM!
• IS Y.M.C.A. REALLY A GAY SONG? THE MEANG OF THE LYRICS
• BT GAY ANTHEMS 2023: LGBTQ PRI SONGS PLAYLIST
• THE TOP 75 MOST INIC GAY ANTHEMS DERVG OF THE TLE OF BEG CALLED THE "GAY NATNAL ANTHEM"
• THE ARE THE 20 MOST IMPORTANT GAY ANTHEMS OF ALL TIME

HAPPY PRIDE! HOW “Y.M.C.A.” BEME A GAY ANTHEM!

” Though, today, you’ll hear the track at everythg om a school dance to a 50th anniversary party, has also been adopted by the gay muny as one of s unofficial anthems. The songs targeted a niche rerd buyg dience: gay disthequ and their patrons. The tl were self-explanatory: “Fire Island” (the East Coast’s gay summer retreat); “San Francis (You’ve Got Me)” (the Wt ast’s premier gay statn); “Village People” (a look at the habants of New York Cy’s largely gay Greenwich Village); and “In Hollywood (Everybody is a Star), ” the promise of artistic acplishment the word’s entertament pal.

Village People nsisted of six members, each of whom personified a popular gay archetype.

Only Willis and Rose participated on the “Village People” LP–wh Rose roly creded as “Felipe ‘Indian From the Anvil’“ (the Anvil was a gay NYC sex club). The gay msagg their songs, the gay fantasy stripper-stum, the gay dancg and fx macho posturg seemed to go over the heads of the dience–or they jt didn’t re. “Key Wt” (a gay rort statn), “Jt a Gigolo, ” “I Am What I Am” (a gay claratn), and “Sodom and Gomorrah” reached their re dience–but the sgle “Macho Man” reached further.

IS Y.M.C.A. REALLY A GAY SONG? THE MEANG OF THE LYRICS

An energetic chant song whose lyrics extoled the male form, exercise and gym culture, “Macho Man” was heard by straight dienc as ls gay and more sports/athletics/ol-du fun mic.

Neteen seventy-ne’s double entendre-tled “Cs’” (referencg gay cisg) h stor jt seven months after “Macho Man. ” was not a “gay” song, but “a song for everyone.

Addnally, lyrics like “lger on the siwalk where the neon signs are pretty” and “someone who is jt like you and needs a gentle hand to gui them along” were tac vatns for a gay listeng dience. ” was more than a h rerd, was a cultural tone: a world anthem built on, for, and about gay life and sensibili that was, neverthels, fully embraced by mastream dienc. The latt episo of Billboard Explas div to what mak a gay pri anthem, and discs the hs that have ntributed to the LGBTQ+ muny over the years.

BT GAY ANTHEMS 2023: LGBTQ PRI SONGS PLAYLIST

Members of the LGBTQ+ muny have a vast soundtrack of songs at their disposal to play every year when Pri Month around, but what exactly mak a songs a gay pri anthem?

Much like the LGBTQ+ muny self, gay pri anthems are credibly diverse and span a variety of genr and are performed by a range of micians who spire the urage to be your most thentic self. One of the earlit hs emblematic of gay pri was Judy Garland‘s “Somewhere Over the Rabow.

Of urse, morn-day divas like Mariah Carey, Madonna, Brney Spears and Christa Aguilera are gay ins, but isn’t jt pop sgers who soundtrack Pri Month — even Disney movi like Ennto and Frozen provi spiratn, as unnventnal of a choice as may seem. Among her imprsive talogue of dance-pop gems, “All The Lovers” marked the first time the sger seemed to directly addrs her gay fanbase, along wh the acpanyg vio that featur a mass of upl of all strip makg out around her. From the song’s openg synths and Jimmy Somerville’s unmistakable falsetto, “Smalltown Boy” marked a historic moment pop mic, pecially g om an openly gay group durg the peak of the AIDS crisis.

THE TOP 75 MOST INIC GAY ANTHEMS DERVG OF THE TLE OF BEG CALLED THE "GAY NATNAL ANTHEM"

Co-wrten by Tom Robson (who gave “Glad To Be Gay”), ’s one of the rare LGBTQ songs that chews the dancefloor for a more tenr moment. Among their untls hs, their ver of Village People’s “Go Wt” stands as their most endurg gay anthem. Emergg om London’s gay-bar circu, Culture Club and their ontman, Boy Gee, brought both genre and genr fluidy to the MTV generatn.

While many pot to the ballroom culture-spired “Vogue” as her pivotal LGBTQ anthem, “Exprs Yourself” and s homoerotic visual was a siren ll to fans, enuragg them to have tonomy over their needs and sir.

One of mic’s greatt stigators, Grace Jon was always a beloved gay in. From her strikg androgyno style to dis cred, she knew how to navigate gay club culture and brg to the mastream.

THE ARE THE 20 MOST IMPORTANT GAY ANTHEMS OF ALL TIME

Inspired by “sad, gay dis anthems by Sylvter and Donna Summer, ” Swedish pop in Robyn turned an observatn on club culture to somethg much larger. Defg gay anthem of the dis era or wholome celebratn of young male-oriented muny centers? Before was blasted at every bat mzvah, this 70s h, wh s fect chos and simple choreography, was a fixture at New York Cy’s gay clubs.

Des before Gaga’s gay anthem and pre-datg The Village People, Carl Bean brought gay pri to the clubs (and charts) on the 1977 Motown smash “I Was Born This Way. ” Origally released as a dis sgle by Valento, Bean brought his gospel-powered vols to the track, as he proclaims, “I’m happy, I’m reee and I’m gay/I was born this way.

When Lady Gaga penned her bombastic o to self-love, her words cemented a greater shift cultural attus around homosexualy. “I’m Comg Out” didn’t jt allu to the former Supreme’s dis makeover, was a sign of support to her gay fanbase (whether Diana Ross was overtly aware of or not) crafted by funk archects Nile Rodgers and Chic -founr Bernard Edwards.