Written by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II.Gay men began identifying not only with the song, but also with the character that sang it, often referring to themselves as “friends of Dorothy.” It is sung here by Ann Hampton Callaway, a vocalist and composer who married her partner Kari Strand in a celebration at NYC’s Birdland Jazz Club in 2015.
#GAY PRIDE SONGS 2015 MOVIE#
The connection between Dorothy’s escape story and the one experienced by so many closeted individuals clearly points to how easily Over the Rainbow - the theme from that movie - could become an anthem for the gay community. The Wizard of Oz tells the story of Dorothy, a young girl who escapes the confines of the life that she feels has her trapped, and moves into a world of colour, sparkle and glamour.
Strayhorn’s sexuality was known by those in the business at a time when being openly gay certainly wasn’t commonplace. Lorenz Hart was charged with the task of writing an unorthodox love song to someone who didn’t posses characteristics and qualities traditionally deemed “beautiful.” As the story goes, Hart - a short, closeted Jewish man - placed a mirror in front of where he sat, looked at the reflection of his own face staring back at him, and wrote some of the most poignant lyrics in the Great American Songbook - to himself! This performance by out and proud artist Michael Feinstein packs an emotional punch.īilly Strayhorn is known for some of the most important works in jazz, including Take the A Train and the classic torch song Lush Life. This classic was written for the 1937 musical Babes In Arms, in which the song was sung to a character named Valentine “Val” LeMar. Written by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart.
There are some true gems in here, and I’m willing to bet you’ll listen to a few of them differently after this. To mark the occasion, we’ve put together a sampling of music that connects the jazz community and the LGBTQ community.
The LGBTQ community has always had strong ties to the world of jazz, including composers such as Cole Porter and Lorenz Hart, whose works populated the Great American Songbook, and some of the star performers of the idiom such as Fred Hersch, Ian Shaw, Chris Connor and Gary Burton. It has been more than 50 years since the riots at the Stonewall Inn in the West Village area of Manhattan beginning on Jthe first time that members of the gay community stood up to the abusive treatment they’d received at the hands of authorities.Ī year and a half later, in March of 1970, the Christopher Street Liberation Day march effectively began a movement that is commemorated in marches and parades all over the world, including one of the biggest in North America that takes place annually right here in Toronto.