 |
Nov
2007
|
  |
 |
 |
 |
     |
|
In 1991 the hip hop trio Salt N Pepa had a big hit with the song "Let's Talk About Sex." A year later they released a version of it with a different focus. The chorus was the same but this time they were now talking about AIDS, and their cassette only single was released only as promo copies.
|
AIDS obviously affects everyone and not only gay & lesbian artists, but artists from all over the spectrum have been moved to write about it. In this show I endeavored to showcase music dealing with AIDS. There are many aspects of the AIDS crisis I wanted to cover, the emotional areas of grief, anger, sympathy, the political and social approaches, some of the musical history, and a variety of genres, including musicals and choruses. Included are comments from some of this music's creators: Ron Romanovsky, Janis Ian, Dan Martin, Lynn Lavner, Tom Robinson, Doug Stevens, Mary Gauthier, and Mark Weigle.
Playlist Part
2 - 64:50 Part
3 - 61:05 |
|
Part
1
|
|
Perhaps
the earliest songs about AIDS came from the San Francisco musical As
a special treat, you can download a complete speech by Michael Callen,
A
unique project was "Feeding the Flame: Songs by Men to End AIDS,"
The breathtaking "When Angels Cry" is found both on "ALWFF" and her own album "Revenge." Gregory Gray is from Ireland but moved to the US and resumed his career, with one release from 1995 having the interesting title of "Euroflake in Silverlake." The most known song from it is "The Pope Does Not Smoke Dope," but I love "Three Minute Requiem." Of course the hit musical "Rent" had the theme of AIDS running all through it, and it was such a hit that it invited parody, which I found in a skit called "Lease" from the movie "Team America" in the form of the song "Everyone Has AIDS." And I love Jay Spears' song "Positive," in that it's the first song I can think of dealing with the very real issue of dating someone who is HIV positive, when you're not.
Again from the album "A Love Worth Fighting For" I took this part's closing song. It's "Lay Your Burden Down," and Dan Martin recorded it several times, on the 1992 cassette "Human Being" by he and his partner Michael Biello, and on the "Chosen Family" cassette in 1996, a concert with Grant King and Robin Burdulis. All are good but I love the extra element given on "ALWFF" by Lavender Light Gospel Choir.
|
|
One
of my friends, Jed Ryan, asked me, and others, in November 2010, for the
purpose of a website he contributes to, to reply to what World AIDS Day
means to me. Here's what I wrote:
I
feel like I am holding a camera and keep pulling it back, to include more
in the image. |
|
Also See Voices for Life
Late Addition,
added 9/2020, had I known about it, I would have included it in
my show. I shouldn't need to tell you about Howard Ashman, the brilliant
lyricist who with Alan Menchen wrote many Disney hit musicals. This
song was a demo....about friends he lost to AIDS, of which he also
died.
New Addition, added February 2025. My friend Matthew J Jones has just published an excellent book on Music About AIDS. I am very proud that he references this website about eight times. You can find a stellar review of it in the Bay Area Reporter by Michael Flanagan, At This Link. I've done a lot of research on this area, but the work I did on my QMH radio show doesn't hold a candle to this masterpiece. Yes, it is a quite academic offering, but this part of our history demands a careful study. I highly recommend this book.
Right now,
it's a fairly pricey "academic" text, but there will be
a |
