Gay Love Songs: Men Sgg About Men – Billboard

Contents:

• THE 50 BT GAY SONGS TO CELEBRATE PRI ALL YEAR LONG
• 30 GAY LOVE SONGS: MEN SGG ABOUT MEN
• 55 BT GAY SONGS OF ALL TIME (LGBTQ+ PRI SONGS)
• HAPPY PRIDE! HOW “Y.M.C.A.” BEME A GAY ANTHEM!
• THE TOP 75 MOST INIC GAY ANTHEMS DERVG OF THE TLE OF BEG CALLED THE "GAY NATNAL ANTHEM"
• 35 BT GAY SGERS OF ALL TIME (LGBTQ+ SGERS)
• 55 BT GAY SONGS OF ALL TIME (LGBTQ PRI SONGS)

THE 50 BT GAY SONGS TO CELEBRATE PRI ALL YEAR LONG

While some classics do appear on our list, others do not – sorry, Gloria Gaynor, Kylie Mogue, RuPl, Brney and Cher, we still adore you — here are 25 sential pri songs om the 1970s to today. Somewhat rctively lled the “Queen of Dis, ” the virtuosic, openly gay sger approached genr ( his performative and private liv) as a fluid, non-bary ncept a pre–Judh Butler era.

Although seems most of Queen’s fans were cluels as to how openly gay and subversive ontman Freddie Mercury was – spe the unabashed swank of his stage prence – he also never really tried to hi . Rodgers later told the Mail on Sunday that they wrote the track “bee of her gay followg, ” but fibbed a ltle to a sktish Ross. Much of Erasure’s disgraphy embodi not precisely celebratory gay pri but gay romantic realy – a ankns about the emotnal, if not overtly sexual, liv of gay men toward the end of the 20th century.

So when out Brish duo Andy Bell and Vce Clarke’s plative yet buoyant sgle beme a worldwi h gay-uniendly 1988, felt quietly revolutnary to anyone the know. Ontman had long been a whe-hot sex symbol, role mol and trendsetter for gay men and other LGBTQ dividuals across the world.

30 GAY LOVE SONGS: MEN SGG ABOUT MEN

The Bay Area gay punk pneers found a ht of mastream fame when they toured wh Green Day on their Dookie n 1994, but was their sexy lyrics and who-giv-a-fuck attu that enared them to a generatn of queer kids – before that term was even fashnable.

It’s difficult to pick one song that f them – wh songs like “Dick of Death, ” “Groovy Unrwear” or their classic ver of Prce’s “Jack You Off” – but we went wh one that seems to fy the ia of a gay “anthem” no matter how you thk of . We’re not jt gay and micians, ” Jon Goli told Rollg Stone last year before the release of their latt album, Que Contrary.

I thk, over time, some of them are ls specifilly gay than they were at first bee seemed like, when we had the chance that was really what we wanted to sg about and that was really unique. Ltle did she know that her wgirl blu would not only w her the Grammy for Bt Female Rock Vol Performance but would also yield an empowerg theme for the gay muny. As both voutly straight edge and proudly homosexual, their substance-ee stance ma them stand out a time when bars, clubs and other toxitg spac prised the few safe havens for LGBTQ people.

55 BT GAY SONGS OF ALL TIME (LGBTQ+ PRI SONGS)

When I me to the pot where I was actively gay took a b of time to get fortable and e out but I felt ready for whatever me my way. ” Although only a actn of the band’s succs Europe translated to the Uned Stat, “Take Your Mama” remas a staple gay bars across the untry.

Butler later told The New York Tim that “Bld” relled “growg up a gay kid, my immediate fay and social group rejectg me, and askg why I was born to this suatn.

The tr would later make headl after the 2014 Grammy Awards, where their landmark performance of the song would soundtrack a mass weddg between 33 gay and straight upl. ” Sgg “No fay is safe when I sashay, ” he slks to a nference room and gyrat his hips for a room full of sus – a sly riposte to the legns of homophob who weaponize their fears agast LGBTQ people, om wh board rooms, Congrs, or out on the streets. Wh two gay ins on one song, “No More Tears” opens wh Streisand croong “It’s rag, ’s pourg/ My love life is borg me to tears.

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

This song, wh lyrics like “this is the life that we choose” and “e out, e out if you dare, ” add sparks to mors that Clarkson uld be gay. Bh, the song took on a bigger meang after Prop 8 — an anti-gay marriage state nstutnal amendment — was passed California.

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

For her sophomore album, Mariah Carey enlisted the help of Robert Clivill and David Cole (the lears of C+C Mic Factory) who -wrote and -produced the gospel fluenced dance track “Make It Happen. While the four members of Sister Sledge are actual sisters, the song took on a eper meang wh the gay muny beg one big fay.

While her one-two punch of her femme-bashg “Ur So Gay” and her exhibnist fx-lbian “I Kissed A Girl” haven’t aged well, Perry has bee more progrsive and would be hard to fd a Pri para not playg this boomg (pun tend) anthem. The drag-centric mil took home six Tonys, cludg bt mil; bt sre (wh mic and lyrics by gay in Cyndi Lper); and outstandg actor a mil, for out-and-proud Billy Porter’s eback performance as Lola, a drag queen.

Self-scribed “rock’s tt fairy, ” Jobriath was the first openly gay mician to be signed to a major label (Elektra).

35 BT GAY SGERS OF ALL TIME (LGBTQ+ SGERS)

Aguilera was given a GLAAD Media Award for the song’s acpanyg mic vio, which featured movg portrayals of a gay uple and a transgenr person. Will (Eric McCormack) is sgg the song the mirror while shavg, to which Grace (Debra Msg) quips, “We’re jt like 50 men and a mirrored ball away om beg a gay dis.

In what appeared to be a rponse to the Brish ernment’s damng Sectn 28 act (which crimalized the promotn of homosexualy, rultg the closg of lbian, gay and bisexual support groups across Brish schools and lleg), the song qutns “What relign or reason uld drive a man to forsake his lover? Not only is Frozen’s Elsa the first Disney prcs whout a love tert, which has ved terpretatns of her beg gay or ace/aro, Elsa’s experience of isolatn and rejectn and her inty stggl are all too relatable to the movie’s queer dienc.

55 BT GAY SONGS OF ALL TIME (LGBTQ PRI SONGS)

Datg back to at least World War II — when homosexual acts were illegal — the term “iend of Dorothy” was unrground slang for a gay man. While vtigatg homosexualy Chigo, the Naval Crimal Invtigative Service disvered that gay men ed this term to refer to themselv. They started a massive wch-hunt for the elive “Dorothy” hop that she would reveal nam of gay service members.

Lil Nas X’s flamen-spired “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)” was a cultural ret – never had a gay hip-hop star so ostentatly mercialized his queerns and sexualy to such succs. The uber-fabulo Sylvter was so beloved by the San Francis gay muny that they gave him a standg ovatn at the 1988 Castro Street Fair that lasted more than 10 mut. Controversy asi, this song’s stayg power is unniable: RuPl sent two queens packg on the same episo of RuPl’s Drag Race for not dog jtice to a lip sync of the gay staple.