Smokey - Strong Love

Strong Love explores the first wave of openly gay songwriting,
emerging after New York’s Stonewall Riots kickstarted the modern
gay rights movement in 1969. It took just a few years for the defi-
ant chanting and interlocked arms of early 70s pride marches to
reverberate onto record, and Strong Love begins with the earliest
known example, 1972’s A Gay Song by London hippie collective
Everyone Involved.
Across 15 tracks, the compilation takes in disarmingly personal
folk, uplifting soul, outsider country and dark synth-rock. But
tellingly, none of its songs could be considered well-known. New
York’s Steven Grossman released the first major label album by an
openly gay artist in 1974, and Tom Robinson hit the UK Top 20 with
the fiery Glad To Be Gay in 1978, but these are the exceptions. The
coy ambivalence of Lou Reed and David Bowie was about as
sexually adventurous as the 1970s music industry got, and most
Strong Love artists released their own self-funded recordings in
very limited numbers.
Unlike their lesbian counterparts, who joined forces to create
long-lasting record labels, strong distribution networks and consid-
erable sales figures for artists such as Cris Williamson and Holly
Near, gay male musicians in the 1970s existed largely in solitary
bubbles. Which doesn’t mean they didn’t carve out niches of
their own. Eccentric one man band Chris Robison played with the
New York Dolls and Elephant’s Memory, while LA glam seducer
Smokey saw members of the Stooges and Quiet Riot pass through
his backing band. Steven Grossman was covered by Twiggy and
Scrumbly & Martin are justifiably infamous for their work with San
Francisco drag hippies the Cockettes.
Whether known or not, what the songs on Strong Love illustrate is
the vision, talent and raw courage that drove 1970s songwriters to
sacrifice popular careers for the sake of honesty and self-
expression. Compiled by Chapter Music’s Guy Blackman, with an
evocative introduction from drummer RIchard Dworkin (who
played with Blackberri and Buena Vista and is one of the few to
have witnessed many Strong Love artists firsthand), the album is a
powerful tribute to pioneering artists whose music has been
neglected for too long.

Various Artists
Strong Love - Songs Of Gay
Liberation 1972-81
Chapter Music CD
Cat#: CH70
UPC: 9 326425 806449
Release Date: 4 May 2012

Available for pre-order now from
www.chaptermusic.com.au