Paul Wagner is one of our music pioneers. He and a handful of others, like Steven Grossman, Chris
Robison, Patrick Haggerty, and Michael Cohen, were the first male singers to release LPs with lyrically
gay songs, in 1973. I have played Wagner a couple times on my shows over the years, and always
wished I could interview him. But I just could not find a way to contact him. In January, out of the blue,
he emailed me, to thank me for playing him, and I immediately requested an interview. His 1973
release, "To Be a Man," included four lyrically gay songs.

Click for Script
Click for Paul Wagner Gallery

Part 1 - 59:48
Paul Wagner - Need Your Gentle Love (1973)
Paul Wagner Interview
Paul Wagner - In My Dreams Tonight (1972)
Paul Wagner & Mark Robinson - Whoope-Ti-Yi-Yo (1972)
Paul Wagner - As a Friend (1973)
Paul Wagner - Meadows of Peace (1973)
Paul Wagner - Need Your Gentle Love (1973)
Paul Wagner - But I Love You / To Be a Man (1973)
Paul Wagner - And Now (1973)
Kim Dorell - Micro-Man (1981)
Kim Dorell - You Won't See Me (1981)
Paul Wagner - The One (1973)

The GAA Firehouse

For me one of the bonus delights of doing this interview was that I got to hear about
"The Firehouse," the hub of the activities by the Gay Activist Alliance (GAA) in New
York City, from 1971 through 1974.

Below, two photos capturing the "scene." The dance photo was in the Firehouse, 1971.
Photos by Richard C. Wandel, Courtesy LGBT Community Center National History Archive

The singer below is Marty Becker, in front of the Firehouse Mural, June 20 1971.
The Mural is by artists John Button and Mario Dubsky.

No, those are not bushes on the stage but crowd-member Afros.
To my knowledge Marty Becker did not record any music,
but please let me know if that is not correct and how I can get it.

Two below added Oct 2021

Above & below, from "Where It's At," NYC mag
from the Summer of 1973

Below, more photos, from the internet

While all Paul Wagner recordings are decades out of print,
the track "The One" can be downloaded from the wonderful
compilation "Strong Love," from Amazon and other places.
And I interviewed the CD's producer Guy Blackman, of
Chapter Music in Australia on my November 2012 show.

I got a nice message from Paul about the show:

I just finished listening to the interview for the third or so time, and just wanted to thank you for it.

So... you REALLY did a hero's job in turning that random-seeming (I don't mean your questions, but
my answers) set of paragraphs into a meaningful narrative. WOW!

I have to say that this whole thing with listening to the single, the album, the cassette, going through
the reviews, the interview itself, and listening to it, have been a wonderful experience.

Thank you for putting the time into the community to do this, and for honoring me by
making me part of it. I appreciate it more than I can say.

Sincerely,

-Paul Wagner-