lavenderrecordingco

[lavenderrecordingco]

The legacy of this largely-forgotten duo of the 1950s that that their reputation of being openly gay in the Lavender Scare era is attributed mostly by word of mouth. I found it very difficult to locate any primary sources on these two, but Queer Music Heritage found a few. A Detroit Free Press clipping on the pair identifies them as Charles Jones and Ray Williams of Mount Vernon, NY.

There's very little info on this duo - Queer Music Heritage and Darryl Bullock, unfortunately, both cite one another in their articles about the duo. QMH, however, pulled up several photos and newpaper clippings about the duo.

The men released several singles between 1954 and 1957, and made a significant stir in the doo-wop scenes in Detroit and New York. Their falsetto voices and reportedly high-energy performances were a staple of the musicians. You can hear the energy in their voices when they sing.

[lavenderrecordingco]

the project

You can call me Louise. I've been collected LGBT music for a few years now. I'm in my early 20s. This project is not intended to be a comprehensive database of LGBT musicians or recording artists, but it is my space to collect and share the music I care about.

I'm far from the first to start or share a collection like this. I find a lot of my information already online, in blogs of people who've been collecting for a lot longer, and in books dedicated to this topic. You can find a few of these resources below. Give them a look - they're a lot more comprehensive than this blog could ever be. There's a big, rich history behind us. Find a piece of it here.

David Bowie Made Me Gay: 100 Years of LGBT Music by Darryl W Bullock - Find it here

QueerMusicHeritage.com - the website is still active and updates a few times a year, but the archive is deep. Radio show recordings from between 2000-2015 are available to listen to at leisure. Run and collected by J.D. Doyle, this collection as well as his archives on Houston LGBT History, the Banner Project, and the Texas Obituary Project have been recognized by the U.S. Library of Congress for their importance in the preservation of LGBT history.

The Quality of Mercy blog and Bachelor Blog by Bachelors Anonymous - these blogs are not dedicated to the preservation of LGBT music, but it features on the blogs frequently, along with other topics about LGBT culture. Run by David Hughes and Robert Berg, the members of the band Bachelors Anonymous (1984-1992) the blog posts are always interesting.

New resources and books will be linked here as I find them. As with music and artist recommendations, resource recs are always welcome.

Thanks for being here.